Maggie Barry must stop fudging the figures and come clean about Department of Conservation under-funding, the Green Party said today.
Figures compiled by the Parliamentary Library and revealed by the Green Party on Q and A yesterday show that funding for DOC has fallen since National has been in government, adding up to $336 million over eight years.
“Maggie Barry disputes our figures and says that baseline funding has risen $62 million over eight years, but it’s not clear where she’s getting her numbers from. She needs to come clean because she’s not showing the whole picture of DOC funding.
“We can clearly see in the Budget documents that when National came into office, DOC funding fell by nearly $47 million in real terms, and has remained in the same vicinity since then – an average of $55 million a year less than the last Labour Budget,” said Green Party conservation spokesperson Kevin Hague.
“Cumulatively, DOC and our native species have missed out on $336 million since John Key came into the Beehive.
“We’re seeing DOC funding cuts put pressure on volunteers, more species sliding towards extinction, and a reliance on corporate sponsorship for key species recovery programmes.
“Sponsorship can work if you’re a charismatic bird that everyone loves, but if you’re a snail or a caddisfly, you’re on your own.
“This isn’t what New Zealanders want – we love our native species, landscapes and bush, and want to protect them,” said Mr Hague.
| Year | Vote Conservation ($000) nominal | CPI Jun quarter - 2015 Dec quarter | Inflation adjusted ($000) | Budgeted amount (on budget day) nominal | Shortfall | Difference from '08/09 baseline (in real terms)*** | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Budgeted amount less Actual; nominal) | |||||||
| 08/09 | 417,546 | 1081 | 462,738 | 416,130 | 1,416 | 0 | |
| 09/10 | 383,564 | 1099 | 418,116 | 419,078 | -35,514 | 44,622 | |
| 10/11 | 393,317 | 1157 | 407,255 | 423,660 | -30,343 | 55,483 | |
| 11/12 | 402,318 | 1168 | 412,652 | 441,328 | -39,010 | 50,086 | |
| 12/13 | 397,744 | 1176 | 405,185 | 444,954 | -47,210 | 57,553 | |
| 13/14 | 395,117 | 1195 | 396,109 | 444,013 | -48,896 | 66,629 | |
| 14/15 | 401,804 | 1200 | 401,134 | 430,812 | -29,008 | 61,604 |
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