The Reserve Bank’s reliance on one tool, the Official Cash Rate (OCR), relies on damaging the very sectors we need to prosper if we want a more sustainable and productive economy, the Green Party said today.

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This Bill is designed to retain ownership and control of sensitive land within New Zealand. It amends the Overseas Investment Act 2005 to prevent overseas persons from purchasing sensitive land.

I was one of the speakers at a fascinating Lincoln Uni forum last night in Christchurch about the future of environmental law after the ECan Act.  It was organised by Anne Brower, Senior lecturer of public policy, Faculty of Environment, Society and Design and it overfilled the Great Hall at the Arts Centre.

I will address some of the issues with regard to how we can deal with some of the underlying objectives of the Reserve Bank. Its implicit objectives are, or should be, to keep inflation low, to maximise employment, and also to have a stable currency. These objectives are not all part of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act* currently. One of the changes that needs to be made is that some other objectives need to be incorporated within the Act, as they are in the governing legislation of other reserve banks around the world.

The Government’s current review of overseas investment needs to make certain New Zealand retains the ability to block companies like Chinese Government owned Bright Dairy from controlling our dairy industry, Green party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman said today.

Recent recreational water quality data released by the Ministry for the Environment paints a depressing picture of the state of our rivers and lakes, the Green Party said today.