They wanted to get Labour to help them give money to farmers. Labour agreed to give a lot for five year, but not the close to a billion per year (at current prices), in perpetuity, that National have just handed over.

A desire to be accomodating and create durable policy on one part, and to get a better deal for (a very narrow subset of) their people on the other.

“So why negotiate anything at all, given that National’s proposals will make the ETS less effective in reducing emissions than the one enacted last year?”

I think you answered this in your previous sentence when you said “They could, I suppose, have gone with Act and moved to repeal it, but they would not dare, as that would have made New Zealand an international laughing stock and had grave repercussions for trade and tourism.”

This current bunch are that strange that I do not think we can trust anything to be beyond them. The steps they have already taken to undermine measures aimed at reducing CO2 emissions speak volumes.

But what I don’t understand is why either Labour or the M?ori Party needed to enter negotiations at all. The existing ETS legislation was on the statute books, and National couldn’t get the numbers to amend it.

They could, I suppose, have gone with Act and moved to repeal it, but they would not dare, as that would have made New Zealand an international laughing stock and had grave repercussions for trade and tourism.

So why negotiate anything at all, given that National’s proposals will make the ETS less effective in reducing emissions than the one enacted last year?