Shaw bags HWEN

Speaking on Country TV’s election special, the Minister for Climate Change said he had a ‘problem’ with the HWEN proposal because he didn’t believe it will work.

“I think it will, actually, just impose an additional cost without achieving the result and so, I’ve been reasonably vocal about that,” he explained.

“It’s also a massively bureaucratic proposal. It relies on ministers making decisions on both the supply side and the demand side – so they set the price of the levy and they also set the price for the rewards that you get.”

Meanwhile, Shaw claimed there were myths being spread surrounding the issue of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). However, he did concede that the ETS represents an additional tax.

His comments come just a couple of weeks after sector leaders labelled the Government’s emission plan ‘tone-deaf’.

“I think there are some myths that I’d like to bust. People will say ‘Well, why are you just focusing on farmers? Why isn’t anyone else being asked to do anything about it?’”

But Shaw said that currently agriculture was the only sector that does not face a price on emissions.

“I understand, with all of the other things that are going on and the uncertainty about what that policy decision will be, that that’s anxiety-inducing for people.”

Despite the anxiety surrounding the policy, Shaw claimed he had still seen some positive reactions to it.

“One thing that I hear a lot from farmers is they say, ‘We’re not opposed to regulations on the environment, but we want something that works, that’s workable’.”

“One thing that I hear a lot from farmers is they say, ‘We’re not opposed to regulations on the environment, but we want something that works, that’s workable’.”

Shaw reckoned that one of the biggest myths that needs busting is the idea that rural communities are specifically being targeted instead of urban and suburban Kiwis.

“Our focus has been almost entirely on the kind of pollution that you see in cities,” he added.