The Government must suspend the commercial catch of New Zealand's longfin eel, and accept the conclusion by Parliament's environment watchdog that the eel is on a path to extinction, the Green Party said today. In her submission on the Government's catch limits for South Island eel fisheries, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment recommended that the commercial catch of longfin eels should be suspended until it is clear the species is recovering. “The Government can take the simple step of...

The Government needs to come clean with Cantabrians, and provide a detailed financial breakdown of the true cost of the proposed Christchurch convention centre, the Green Party said today.

The National Government is failing to report properly on the extent and seriousness of New Zealand’s environmental problems, and is instead hiding behind misleading statistics, the Green Party said today. A report the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE), responding to the Government’s own State of the Environment report released last October, criticises the Government for not providing New Zealanders with "information about how good or bad aspects of the environment are in different parts of the country", focusing on...

The Green Party says the Environment Canterbury Regional Council is failing in its role to protect Canterbury’s rivers and the natural environment, following the release of new information showing it didn’t bother to monitor over 80 percent of the resource consents it was meant to.

The Government must take strong action to clamp down on fishers who dump fish illegally and threaten our fish stocks, the Green Party said today. Leaked reports show that the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) was aware that illegal fish dumping has been rife in the industry, with between 20 to 100 percent of some quota fish being dumped with every catch. “MPI is either running scared of the fishing industry or happy to look the other way on illegal...

The Green Party is calling on Climate Minister Paula Bennett to set a firm deadline within in the next four years for including agriculture in the Emissions Trading Scheme.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is in denial if it thinks under-reporting of fishing catch isn’t important, the Green Party said today.

The Green Party is calling for more government observers on commercial fishing vessels and at ports following the release of an international study showing major under-reporting of commercial fish catches in New Zealand waters. “The Government can’t claim that our fisheries management is sustainable when it clearly has no idea how many fish are being taken,” said Green Party primary industries spokesperson Eugenie Sage. A new report by the University of British Columbia, with research from the University of Auckland, shows...

The Green Party is calling on the Government to rule out any funding or investment in the controversial Ruataniwha Dam. It’s been reported that ACC is considering investing in the Ruataniwha Dam and that Crown Irrigation Investments may yet help fund the $900 million scheme, despite widespread concern about the impact it would have on Hawke’s Bay rivers. “It’s time for the Government to put the environment ahead of the interests of a few people who stand to make money out...

The Green Party is calling the fishing industry’s legal challenge against the Kermadec Sanctuary self-serving and a step too far. The New Zealand Fishing Industry Association today filed legal proceedings in the High Court against the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill. "The fishing industry has overstepped the mark, with a self-serving attempt to override New Zealanders’ and the government’s ability to regulate and protect our oceans," said Green Party environment and fisheries spokesperson Eugenie Sage. “The industry’s legal action against the...