Reference :- The right honorable Mr Scott Morrison wants to fast track environmental approvals . They are stifling investment ,he says .

Reference :-   If Mr Morrison claims tough environmental regulations are damaging the economy , then surely the countries in the world with the toughest environmental laws must be near broke . But strangely , it's the countries with few environmental policies that are near broke .  This demands a closer a look .

Hello again Mr Morrison, sir.    I was going to point at the country in the world that rates highest on the World Bank's rating for ease of doing business . But it happens to be New Zealand , damn it .  They also have an excellent environmental record , damn it again .  I fully understand that there can be a bit of rivalry between close neighbours , and bugger the ANZAC tradition .  So with their Prime Minister being abused by Sky News all the time , and Jonesie telling her where she should wear her socks , it might be better to research this Sky Reply elsewhere . 

 So I thought we might look at the country with the most stringent environmental laws in the world .   It sounds scary , I know , but hang in there, sir . That country is said to be Lithuania . In that weird foreign clime , people have free access to environmental information from the government , and are allowed to challenge the government if it's decisions violate environmental rights .  It must be like having a country full of activists and no laws restricting them .  So the next question is , how do they rate with the World Bank for ease of doing business?   Well it turns out that it that they rate better than most other OECD countries , including us.   It also turns out that they have a much stronger economy , and less debt than us .  They currently run a healthy budget surplus .  You know , a surplus like that holiest of grails shining at the end of the short tunnel that marks your stint as PM .    But here's the thing I find  hardest to fathom . With all that pointless greenie legislation holding them back , they have an employment  rate in the industrial sector four times our own !   Can you believe that ?  What are they all doing for God's sake ?  Are they building lifeboats for polar bears or weaving safety nets to catch falling Walruses or what ?

My son , Ken junior  , says he wouldn't mind moving there to get a job .  But I tell him there will be jobs everywhere here soon, rebuilding the country after it has burnt to the ground .  It will be like a post war boom .  It will also be handy for wealth redistribution , if the insurance companies all cough up as they should , and pay for it all .  They will , wont they , Mr Morrison ?  We don't want another Royal Commission . Each time we run one of those it's more horrifying than the last . 

 Your comrade , Ken