The Green Party is condemning the Government's decision to disestablish the Ministry for the Environment.
“This is failure by a Minister who has turned her back on the very portfolio she was entrusted to protect. Abolishing her own ministry is as monumental as it is shameful,” said Green Party environment spokesperson Lan Pham.
“The Ministry for the Environment exists because in 1986 New Zealanders decided that protecting our natural world needed a dedicated voice at the heart of government.
"Burying the Ministry for the Environment inside a super-ministry designed to drive growth and infrastructure sends a clear signal that the environment comes last for this Government.
"This is a Minister who claimed the balance had swung 'too far' towards the environment, even as her own ministry's reporting showed air pollution, freshwater pollution, ocean pollution, and biodiversity loss all getting worse.
"At a time when climate change is flooding our communities week after week, costing billions of dollars, lives, and livelihoods, this Government's response is to dismantle the ministry responsible for environmental protection.
"Abolishing the Ministry to streamline consent processes for roads and mining tells you exactly what this Government values more. It is economic growth at any cost.
"Adding an 'E' to a new super-ministry and expecting New Zealanders to believe the environment will be looked after is fooling no one. New Zealanders deserve so much better," said Pham.
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