Your rabbitings about the ETS appear to be spot on, but I wonder if they go far enough. I doubt we have introduced the ETS just to look good to the rest of the world. Our politicians cannot not know there is no significant man made climate change. There is overwhelming evidence published on the internet, and most evidence in favour of man made climate change seems to be based on fudged data. As a sideline reply to Roger Bailey, Sir Peter Gluckman didn't become the PM's scientific advisor without being well informed. He must know too.
Over 50 years of watching NZ politics, it seems to me that it doesn't matter which party is in power. They make different noises, but on key issues they do what our masters overseas tell them. I am not sure who these masters are, probably those we are indebted to, but my observation indicates that they exist. At the moment they want us to act as a test bed for ETS's. We are sufficiently similar to the US, Europe and others to be a good test bed, and far enough away that the rest of the world will not notice if there are problems with it.
We are currently negotiating several free trade agreements. If we are good, obedient folk, who knows what our reward will be.
Kevin Mooney BE(Elect)
MIPENZ CPEng, Papamoa.