Under National, commercial fishers are getting away with killing supposedly protected native wildlife including sea lions, dolphins and fur seals, and our marine mammals need better protection, the Green Party said today. “There is a large disparity between how many marine mammals the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) estimate are being killed by commercial fishers, and how few the industry reports it has caught and killed in its nets,” said Green Party environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage. “New Zealanders should be...

The Green Party applauds Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s decision today to finally end the Ruataniwha Dam fiasco, which has seen $14 million of local ratepayers' money wasted on a potential white elephant. “The proposed Ruataniwha dam was a bad idea from start to finish,” said Green Party water spokesperson Eugenie Sage. “The Green Party has been calling for this dam to be shelved for years. It’s about time the environment and our rivers were put ahead of the interests of...

The Green Party is calling on Bay of Plenty Regional Council to notify Cresswell NZ Ltd and Nongfu Spring’s application to take up to 580 million litres of water annually from Otakiri Springs, so that the community can have a say. “Bottling companies have consents to take up 23 billion litres of water a year in New Zealand and aren’t paying anything for it," said Green Party environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage.  “Water is a community asset and the public must be...

The Green Party in government will begin a Royal Commission of Inquiry into New Zealand’s environmental management and planning laws, including the Resource Management Act (RMA). Green Party environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage made the announcement in a speech to the Environmental Defence Society in Auckland on Thursday morning. “The RMA was ground-breaking in its time but since then, more of our birds are closer to extinction, climate and water pollution have increased, and our cities are more clogged with cars....

A move by Thames-Coromandel and Hauraki District Councils to give themselves special powers to destroy manawa/mangroves in the Firth of Thames and around Coromandel Peninsula is ill conceived, the Green Party says. The Thames-Coromandel and Hauraki District Council Mangrove Management Bill is sponsored by National MP, Scott Simpson and is awaiting its first reading in Parliament. “The councils’ lack of understanding about the role mangroves play in providing habitat for fish, birds and shellfish in the harbour is disappointing,” Green...

Laws allowing overseas ownership of key New Zealand companies such as Silver Fern Farms need to be tightened to protect our economy and all New Zealanders, the Green Party said today. The comments come on the back of news that Silver Fern Farms, part-owned by Shanghai Maling, is to close a meatworks in Ashburton, costing 370 jobs. “Laying off nearly 400 people is a disaster for Ashburton. Shanghai Maling’s part-ownership of Silver Fern Farms was meant to bring substantial benefits...

New Zealand's water bottling saga has reached a new low with the West Coast Regional Council shutting the public out of its decision to grant consents allowing a bottling operation near Mount Aspiring National Park, the Green Party said today. Okuru Enterprises has been given the final consents it needs to go ahead with plans to pipe glacial water from near Mount Aspiring National Park directly onto tanker ships offshore of Jackson Bay. “It’s completely unfair that New Zealanders have...

The Green Party welcomes news from Dairy NZ that dairy farmers have made good progress in improving farm management to exclude dairy cattle from waterways. The comments come on the back of a Dairy NZ report showing nearly all farmers who signed up to the Water Accord have fenced out dairy cattle and have bridges or culverts at stock crossings points. “Fencing dairy stock from waterways and bridging stock crossing points is the new normal. Hard work by dairy farmers has...

It’s time for a moratorium on new dairy farms and to start thinking about how to reduce the number of cows on our paddocks to halt water pollution, the Green Party said today. “Even Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy has admitted that there’s no room for more cows because of the impact they have on our rivers, lakes and aquifers,” said Green Party primary industries spokesperson Eugenie Sage. “The Government has all the reports it needs to show the...

Weak forestry regulations proposed by the National Government will do little to prevent forests being planted on steep, erosion-prone country, or avoid forestry debris harming streams, the Green Party said today. The comments come on the back of news that Northland’s Mangakahia River has been clogged with forestry debris from plantation forests in the catchment. “With heavy rain from more intense storm events as a result of climate change, care and thought around plantation forests is important to protect our...