Work has begun to develop a beverage container return scheme for New Zealand announced Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage made at the WasteMINZ Conference in Hamilton today. “Citizens, councils and stakeholders have been calling for a well-designed container return scheme to recover the millions of beverage containers used each year so they can be re-used and recycled. Today I’m pleased to announce that work is underway to design a fit-for-purpose scheme for New Zealand,” said Eugenie Sage. “A...

The Government is planning to strengthen New Zealand’s measures to prevent international trade in endangered species the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced today. “In New Zealand we value and seek to protect endangered species, both our indigenous species, and those from elsewhere in the world.  By reviewing the Trade in Endangered Species Act 1989 we aim to strengthen their protection,” said Eugenie Sage. “There is growing concern worldwide about the role that trade in elephant ivory plays in the...

The Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage is celebrating 50 years of Conservation Week or Te Wiki Tiaki Ao Turoa and encouraging people to get involved in conservation. “We’ve come a long way since the first Conservation Week in 1969. Some of the biggest conservation triumphs include remarkable turnarounds in the populations of species that were on the verge of extinction,” Eugenie Sage said. “Fifty years ago, the Chatham Islands’ black robin, tieke/saddleback and kākāpō were in dire straits, with dangerously...

Māori place names have been restored to the small central North Island town of Benneydale, and a nearby stretch of the North Island Main Trunk railway announced Minister for Land Information Eugenie Sage. Benneydale has been changed to a dual name ‘Maniaiti / Benneydale’ and the main trunk railway between Te Awamutu and Taumarunui, is now named ‘Te Ara-o-Tūrongo’ following a request from Ngāti Maniapoto. “I am pleased to restore official place names which bring to light our history for...

A project with a zero waste vision for marae is getting extra support to expand into new regions as part of the Government’s plan to tackle New Zealand’s long term waste problem announced Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage in Raglan today. A grant of $528,000 from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) will help the marae-based Para Kore programme to expand to four new regions: Te Tai Tokerau (Northland), Wairoa, Maniapoto (Waikato/Waitomo) and Wairarapa. “It’s great to...

Aucklanders will soon have a new community recycling centre as part of the Government’s plan to reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfills announced Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage alongside Auckland Mayor Phil Goff in Auckland today. A major new community recycling centre will be developed by Auckland Council in Onehunga supported by $2.2 million of funding from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund. The Waste Minimisation Fund recycles the landfill levy into projects...

A programme to build a skilled tourism workforce and a recovery plan for the critically endangered kākāpō are among the first projects to receive funding through the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL), Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced today. An initial investment plan of ten tourism and conservation projects will receive $18 million from the IVL this year, with an expected $42 million to be invested in these ten projects over five years. Kelvin Davis said...

As the clean-up of the Fox River draws to a close the Minister of Conservation and Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage is thanking volunteers and government agencies involved in the massive clean-up since the Government stepped in to unify efforts. “This is a beautiful part of the country and it’s been incredible to see the massive effort put into Operation Tidy Fox to clean up the rubbish in the Fox and Cook Rivers and along the coastline with...

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...

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...