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A vital step towards better protecting indigenous freshwater fish was taken with today’s introduction of a new indigenous fish conservation bill in Parliament.
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage said the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Bill amends the Conservation Act 1987 to provide a much-needed “modern toolbox” to help indigenous freshwater fish.
A new report shows serious concerns remain for the continued existence of the native Canterbury mudfish, which is on the brink of extinction.
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage released the New Zealand Threat Classification System report on freshwater fish today. The report provides the latest conservation status of New Zealand’s 76 known freshwater fish species.
“Canterbury mudfish remain in the Threatened – Nationally Critical category, and continue to decline,” Eugenie Sage said.
The Government is supporting a project to make Wellington the world’s first predator free capital city with a $3.27 million funding boost announced by Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage today.
Capital Kiwi Project (a charitable trust) and Predator Free Wellington, a joint venture between Wellington City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council and NEXT Foundation are jointly working to create a predator free Wellington which the Predator Free 2050 Limited funding will support.
The Green Party today welcomed the settlement of the nurses’ dispute that will give them a decent pay rise.
“Nurses, who are at the heart of health care, have historically been underpaid and undervalued,” Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said. “It is great they have fought for and won their battle to be paid reasonably and to have more staff employed so they can safely carry out their vital work.”
More than half the new appointments to Conservation Boards announced by Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage today are women.
Eugenie Sage announced 57 appointments to the 15 Conservation Boards across New Zealand.
“Conservation Boards are the link between DOC and the community. They help ensure their region’s voice is heard on conservation issues,” Eugenie Sage said.
“These appointments bring the number of women on the boards to 52 per cent and 41 per cent identify as Maori.
The Green Party has welcomed the establishment of the new Crown-Māori partnership on freshwater, Te Kāhui Wai Māori, and will continue to push strongly for Māori rights over water to be upheld, Co-Leader Marama Davidson said today.
“We welcome the establishment of Te Kāhui Wai Māori as it sends a clear signal that this Government will engage robustly with tangata whenua on their rights to freshwater, as opposed to the previous Government who kicked the can down the road,” said Ms Davidson.
The Green Party is celebrating the latest figures that New Zealand’s game development industry earned a record $143 million in the last financial year and is urging practical policies to kick this into overdrive.
“While this growth is phenomenal, the New Zealand Government can do more to assist in growing it to a billion dollar industry,” said Green Party ICT spokesperson Gareth Hughes.
“While income has been concentrated amongst the ten largest companies we think the Government needs to act to encourage start-ups for a more diverse, sustainable industry.”
Green Party Co-Leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw have welcomed today’s announcement by Statistics New Zealand that a broad set of indicators will be developed to measure the nation’s success.
“Aotearoa New Zealand will become the first country in the world to produce a comprehensive set of indicators to measure things such as our natural environment, our social wellbeing and our human and social capital,” James Shaw said.
“Our new wellbeing measures will change our thinking and our decision-making. What gets measured, gets managed.”
James Shaw, Green Party co-leader and the Minister of Statistics, today launched the development of a new comprehensive set of environmental, social and economic indicators to better measure New Zealand’s overall wellbeing and success.
“This Government is expanding beyond traditional narrow measures of economic success to reflect the wellbeing of New Zealanders, including the environmental wellbeing that sustains us,” James said.
Tena koutou katoa and, because it’s Cook Islands language week, kia orana.
Welcome.
Today we are launching Indicators Aotearoa New Zealand and this gives effect to the commitment in the Green Party-Labour Party Confidence and Supply Agreement to develop a comprehensive set of environmental, social and economic sustainability indicators.
Our Government is committed to more accurate, broader measures of wellbeing.