A new report shows New Zealand is continuing to lose its precious wetlands and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage says it will take years to turn the trend around. The Minister released the eighth national report under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance to mark World Wetlands Day today. “It will take a concerted and serious effort and years to change this trend. Our wetlands are the land’s kidneys capturing sediments and nutrients and slowly releasing water in drought...

New Zealand’s position as 10th worst nation for creating urban waste per capita is shameful, says Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage, who will review how the Waste Minimisation Act is being implemented. Recent news reports have highlighted World Bank data which puts New Zealand at number 10 on a list of countries creating the most urban waste. “Significantly reducing waste going to landfill by 2020 is a key goal of the Green Party’s confidence and supply agreement with Labour and...

New research showing that three quarters of fresh water pollution is coming from streams exempt from fencing requirements means that new measures are needed to stop the pollution of our waterways, the Green Party said today. A new study, led by the principal scientist for Ag Research Invermay’s Environment Group, shows that streams currently exempt from fencing regulations contribute 73 percent of total nitrogen and 84 percent of dissolved reactive phosphorus into waterways. “Requiring farmers to fence off larger rivers...

Northland Regional Council and Refining NZ need to release scientific evidence to support claims there has been no environmental damage from the rupture of the pipeline taking aviation fuel to Auckland airport, the Green Party said today The Regional Council and the company need to be open with the public about how and why the rupture occurred, and the damage the fuel spill has done to the peat wetland, wildlife habitat and water quality at Ruakaka and beyond the site....

Using water for commercial gain is a privilege that should be paid for, the Green Party said today. “We recognise that the issue of charging for water is complex and that everyone needs to be heard on the issue,” said Green Party water and primary industries spokesperson Eugenie Sage. “Our policy is to put an interim charge of 10c per litre on all water for bottling and export, and to consult with New Zealanders on how other commercial uses are...

Selling off Landcorp farms is a backward step for New Zealand farming that risks our land falling into overseas ownership, and worsening water quality, the Green Party said today. The comments come on the back of National’s announcement it will sell Landcorp farms. “As a state-owned enterprise Landcorp is accountable to all New Zealanders, and their farms should stay in the public’s hands” said Green Party environment and primary industries spokesperson Eugenie Sage. “Selling Landcorp farms risks undoing the good...

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....