June 30, 2014
Rushed bill could have been better
Labour’s Te Tai Tonga MP says the new law allowing wind-blown trees to be salvaged from West Coast forests would have been better if the Government had made it clear the benefits would go to coasters.
Rino Tirikatene was given permission by party leader David Cunliffe to cross the floor and vote in favour of the amendment to the Conservation Act that deals with the 20,000 hectares of forest blown over in April’s Cyclone Ita.
He says Mr Cunliffe wrote to John Key that Labour was prepared to support the bill if changes were made.
"We wanted to make it more explicit that the benefits will go to the coast and not just big contracts dished out to National Party mates in Christchurch or up in the North Island. We didn't get a response back from John Key on that, and being Her Majesty's loyal Opposition our leader took the posiiton we would oppose it but allow Damien (O'Connnor) and I as local MPs to cross the floor to support it," he says.
Mr Tirikatene says the urgency around the bill was unnecessary, and there would have been time in the parliamentary session for a quick review by a select committee.
FOR THE FULL INTERVEW WITH RINO TIRIKATENE CLICK ON THE LINK
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