What the hell is this damn commie doing in the National Party??? I don’t think there is a more odious reptilian character among all of them than the leader of the Bluegreen Faction, Nick Smith. Here he is again handing out more cash to his watermelon friends and brainwashing schoolkids with foolish ideas on recycling, an idea that’s never been worth a pinch of goat’s excrement:
The first grant is to the Environmental Education for Resource Sustainability Trust for up to $199,500 to expand the Paper4Trees programme into at least 1000 more schools and preschools in the Auckland area and was announced at Bayswater Primary School on the North Shore.
“Schools generate a huge amount of paper and cardboard waste and it is of educational benefit to teach children how this can be recycled. This innovative project enables schools to trade used paper and cardboard for recycling for native trees for their school grounds. It helps ensure we build a recycling culture amongst the 200,000 pupils of participating Auckland schools and early childhood centres,” Dr Smith said.
The second grant is to Ecostock Supplies for up to $180,000 to buy more machinery to process waste food into stock food.
“Ecostock Supplies was the supreme winner at the 2011 Green Ribbon Awards and is an exciting new green growth business. It now processes up to 900 tonnes a week of food waste into stock food and has created 35 jobs in South Auckland. This business is not only reducing waste going to landfill but is enhancing New Zealand’s reputation as an environmentally sound producer of quality food products,” Dr Smith said.
The third grant is for Abilities Incorporated, an employer of people with disabilities, to receive $110,000 to buy Cathode Ray Tube glass separation equipment.
“This equipment will enable Abilities to bolster its operation, and separate leaded from unleaded glass in TVs and computer monitors,” Dr Smith said. “Abilities’ expansion comes at a time when pressure to recycle TVs and computers is increasing, due to ever changing technology and falling prices for new TVs and computer equipment,” Dr Smith said.
These three grants totalling $489,500 are being funded from the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund that was established from the introduction of the waste disposal levy in July 2009 with the objective of reducing waste going to landfill.
Green energy and jobs will cripple the UK economy
Obama blows billions on phoney “green jobs”. More crony capitalism.
Why did it take so long to uncover the green jobs racket?
Seattle’s ‘green jobs’ program a bust
Note: I know Smith’s cronyist actions are intended to reduce waste not create jobs, but I would bet my house if these schemes Smith is investing our money in were put to any kind of real scrutiny they would prove just as ineffective as the schemes reported on above.
TrueblueNZ 
3 responses to “Odious Cronyist Nick Smith- Brainwashing kids and selecting “winners””
I too would like to see some cost-benefit analysis of these projects. On the face of it, producing stock feed from food waste and separating out leaded glass both seem positive things. I don’t know what happens to recycled paper, but if it reduces overall consumption that’s probably not a bad thing either, although I suspect that one at least is not cost-effective. I do know it’s great to put out my blue bin every two weeks and see my glass, plastic, tins and paper disappear like magic! Of course my rates keep increasing (and by more than Len’s claimed 3.9%, even after allowing for higher GST). But of course anything promoted by Mr ETS is automatically suspect.
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The point is jonno, if all of these things were commercially viable, and sustainable, and necessary, they would be started by private entrepreneurs risking their own money and managing it and making it a success. The way the nasty little Smith person is going about it is straight out of the defunct Soviet Union.
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Agreed – I would prefer to see any kickstart characterised as a loan rather than a grant.
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