By Dan Parker
Putting the Labour initiated Emissions Trading Scheme on ice was one of the John Key's first acts as Prime Minister.
But today Key announced he has the support of the Maori Party and the numbers to introduce an amended scheme next year.
“The energy, transport and industrial processes sector will enter the scheme on 1 July 2010,” he says.
“The agricultural sector will enter the scheme on 1 July 2015.”
The scheme sees big polluters essentially pay for the carbon they produce, that cost is then passed on to consumers.
The Government says the late introduction of the agriculture sector was crucial to gaining the support of the Maori Party.
Future Crown-Iwi forestry partnerships and a 50 percent reduction in the increase to the cost of power also helped the deal.
Environment Minister Nick Smith says power prices will see a slight increase for households.
“The increase to the cost of power will be about 5 percent or one cent per hour for a domestic consumer,” he says.
That will cost the average New Zealand household three dollars extra a week from next year.
An amount Labour leader Phil Goff says is too much and support for National is unlikely.
“It will be ordinary Kiwi family’s that are picking up the bill for aluminium smelters and big farmers and other industries that are heavy polluters,” he says.
Labour had offered its hand to support National but the party is annoyed at the way it has been ignored.
Mr Goff has had a swipe at Key saying he has breached trust between the two parties.
3 News