Smelter puts Government on notice

3News led tonight with New Zealand Aluminium Smelter's overseas owners throwing down the gauntlet to the government over the ETS. Here's the story, just posted on the 3News website in the last few minutes with video link: http://www.tv3.co.nz/SmelterthreatensclosureoverGovtscarbonscheme/tabid/209/articleID/55508/cat/87/Default.aspx

NZAS told the Select Committee that passing the ETS could be the beginning of the end for the Tiwai Point smelter, Southland's biggest employer with almost 1000 staff. To quote the company's head honcho for Asia-Pacific if the bill is passed in its current form, the company will start the "path to closure". Will the threat of 1000 jobs lost be enough to make the government blink?

Keeping Stock certainly hopes so. We are calling on the government to park this legislation. We are too close to the election to be rushing through legislation of this significance. There are only 37 sitting days maximum available to the government before this Parliament dissolves. We saw the folly of rushed legislation last year with the fiasco known as the Electoral Finance Act. Let all parties put forward their proposals regarding the ETS or whatever as policies during the election campaign, and let the electorate decide. After all, isn't that what happens in a democracy?