The May round of the Waste Minimisation Fund will target projects that build in reducing waste from the outset, Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said today.  “We need to stop thinking that recycling is the answer to our waste problems when actually producing less waste in the first place is better for the environment and our country,” Ms Sage said.  “I hope to see projects come through that encourage a circular economy where we make, use and return products and...

New Zealand has joined the United Nations-led CleanSeas campaign to rid our oceans of plastic, Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage announced today. Ms Sage signed a pledge showing New Zealand’s commitment to the global CleanSeas campaign at the Volvo Ocean Race Village in Auckland. More than 40 other countries have already signed up. “Turtles and other wildlife are being killed by litter in our oceans. Also the issue of microplastic in our oceans and its effect on the food chain...

In the wake of the signing of the CPTPP, the Green Party is calling on all parties in Parliament to rule out signing any future trade deals with ISDS clauses. “No future governments should sign trade agreements with ISDS clauses in them,” said Green Party trade spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman.  “ISDS clauses are a threat to our sovereignty, to our people and to our environment. We are giving foreign investors and multinational corporates the right to sue us for future progressive law...

One of New Zealand’s rare bats is on its way to recovery after successful large-scale predator control in Fiordland, according to a new science report released by Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage today. The New Zealand Threat Classification System report on the conservation status of New Zealand bats updates the last review in 2012. The most significant change is the move of southern short-tailed bat from ‘threatened’ to ‘recovering’, largely due to DOC’s sustained control of rats, possums and stoats in...

Hon Stuart Nash Minister of Fisheries Hon Eugenie Sage Minister of Conservation Two options to protect areas of ocean off the east coast of the South Island will be considered by Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage. The Ministers today released the final report of the South East Marine Protection Forum. The Forum is an independent body established by the previous government in 2014. It includes representatives of Kāi Tahu as manawhenua, commercial and recreational fishers, tourism,...

“The new Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s first report dealing with New Zealand’s proposed Zero Carbon Act provides a valuable contribution to the national conversation on this issue,” says the Acting Minister for Climate Change, Julie Anne Genter.

Two options to protect areas of ocean off the east coast of the South Island will be considered by Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage. The Ministers today released the final report of the South East Marine Protection Forum. The Forum is an independent body established by the previous government in 2014. It includes representatives of Kāi Tahu as manawhenua, commercial and recreational fishers, tourism, science, the environmental sector, and the broader community. The report provides two...

Statistics Minister James Shaw says ensuring government-held data is used to help achieve better outcomes for New Zealanders is a key reason why the Government is officially adopting the international Open Data Charter.

Green Party Co-leader James Shaw has today announced two important new transparency measures, which will apply to Green Party Ministers, MPs and staff, to help counter the influence of money in politics. Green Party Ministers will soon proactively release their ministerial diaries, to show who they’ve met with and why. Additionally, Green Ministers, MPs and staff will not accept corporate hospitality, such as free tickets to events unrelated to their work. The announcement was made at the Party’s summer policy...

Seaweek celebrations, beginning on 3 March, provide an opportunity to highlight the plight of our precious marine species, Conservation Minister, Eugenie Sage says. “We’re incredibly lucky in New Zealand; we have an ocean area over 15 times our land mass and more than 17,000 marine species are found in New Zealand waters. “But around 90% of our seabirds are in trouble including all our endemic albatross, mollymawk and penguin species, and a number of very rare petrels and terns. More...