Two projects aiming to plant 247,000 native trees and develop skills and employment, as part of the One Billion Trees programme, were announced today by Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage. The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) will provide just over $2.2 million to plant 247,000 native trees in two areas - Punakaiki on the West Coast and Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere in Canterbury. “Planting these native trees has multiple benefits. It’s good for the economy and...

The Green Party welcomes funding for an additional 600 coordinators in schools to assist teachers with students who have additional needs.

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage today launched a milestone agreement towards a pest free Banks Peninsula/Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū in Canterbury. More than a dozen participating groups and agencies including the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust, Department of Conservation (DOC), Christchurch City Council, Environment Canterbury and Ngāi Tahu rūnanga today signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to remove pest animals from the 115,000 hectare peninsula by 2050. “This is a significant step towards the vision of a pest free Banks...

Visitors to Ōtamahua/Quail Island in Te Whakaraupõ­/Lyttelton Harbour will now be able to stay overnight after Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage today opened the new Ōtamahua Hut. The hut has been transformed from an historic caretaker’s cottage into a comfortable 12-bunk tramping hut on the 81 hectare pest-free island, which is managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). “Ōtamahua Hut is a fantastic new asset that will for the first time enable people to stay overnight on the island, just a...

A large predator free area featuring some of the South Island’s most majestic landscapes is the long-term vision of a multi-million-dollar predator control project announced by the Minister of Conservation, Eugenie Sage today. “Encompassing 310,000 hectares between the snowy mountain lands of Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park, glacier fed lakes and the iconic drylands of the upper Mackenzie Basin, the Te Manahuna Aoraki ‘mainland island’ is inspirational,” Eugenie Sage said. “I am pleased to launch this fantastic project. Te Manahuna Aoraki...

The Green Party has written to the Environment select committee asking for it to consult the public on banning the private sale and use of fireworks.

Instead of hosting US-style weapons expos like that being held in Palmerston North, New Zealand could be a world leader in peace mediation, humanitarian work and neutrality like Norway, Switzerland and Finland, Green Party Defence spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman said today.

In response to calls for a compulsory energy rating for buildings the Green Party is renewing calls for the building code to take better account of energy efficiency. 

New Zealand has joined an international pledge to cut plastic wastes from our economy and environment, Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage announced today. “The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment sees the countries involved commit to a ‘circular economy’ approach to plastics, preventing them from becoming waste and ensuring they don’t end up in the environment,” Eugenie Sage said. Led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme, the Global Commitment brings together governments, businesses and...

Over $3.5 million in anonymous donations to the National Party in 2017 shows why we urgently need donations reform in Aotearoa New Zealand, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today.