News

The Government is proposing a new way to deal with environmentally harmful products before they become waste, including plastic packing and bottles, as part of a wider plan to reduce the amount of rubbish ending up in landfills.

Associate Minister for the Environment, Eugenie Sage released a public consultation document titled, “Proposed priority products and priority product stewardship scheme guidelines” at the Sustainability Trust in Wellington today.

“New Zealanders are proud of our country’s clean, green reputation and want to help ensure we live up to it.

The Green Party is celebrating significant changes to the Misuse of Drugs Act that will ensure police treat drug addiction like the health issue it is.

"Today we’ve passed the most transformative change in drug law in New Zealand in over 30 years", Green Party spokesperson on drug law reform Chlöe Swarbrick said.

"We’re living up to the rhetoric as a country that implements evidence-based policy, and one that prioritises compassion.

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage and the New Zealand Conservation Authority have directed the Department of Conservation (DOC) to undertake partial reviews of the Conservation General Policy and the General Policy for National Parks, to give better effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The direction is in response to the recent Supreme Court decision in Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, a case which examined the way DOC considered Treaty principles when it granted two commercial tour concessions on Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands.

The Government is set on restoring the dawn chorus and giving nature more of a helping hand, Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Associate Minister for the Environment Nanaia Mahuta said today as they launched a new action plan for biodiversity in Wellington this morning.

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage launched Te Koiroa O Te Koiora – Our shared vision for living with nature, for all New Zealanders to help shape our biodiversity strategy for the next 20 years.