Proposed changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) appear on first reading to be a boon for seabed miners and property developers, the Green Party said today. The National Government today released a new Bill which proposes changes to the RMA, laws governing conservation lands, and the Exclusive Economic Zone. “The Government has repeatedly attacked the RMA to weaken its environmental protection, reduce public participation, and fast track high impact development. The more than 200 proposed changes in the Bill need...

The National Government and Minister for the Environment Dr Nick Smith have been missing in action in failing to provide local authorities with clear national direction on how to plan for sea-level rise, the Green Party said today. “With sea-level rise inevitable, the Government needs to provide national direction under the Resource Management Act (RMA), so New Zealanders in low-lying areas such as Napier and Dunedin South aren’t left with uninsurable and uninhabitable homes,” Green Party environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage said....

The Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith should not be given the power to appoint Environment Protection Agency (EPA) decision-makers who decide applications for seabed mining and other development in New Zealand’s oceans, the Green Party said today. Yesterday, Greenpeace revealed that Dr Smith is seeking to change the law to give himself the power to personally choose who will sit on the Environmental Protection Agency’s “decision-making committees” for marine consent applications, responsible for deciding if companies can prospect for oil...

Christchurch deserves a co-ordinated transport agency with a region-wide plan, not just the new Bus Exchange that Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee is visiting today, said the Green Party. “The National Government is tinkering around the edges when it comes to public transport, but what we need is a coordinated regional transport agency that’s able to make smart planning decisions for all the people who live and work in Canterbury,” Green Party Christchurch spokesperson Eugenie Sage said. “The new Bus Exchange...

The National Government’s lack of interest in protecting the environment is becoming an international embarrassment, the Green Party said today. The OECD environment report out this week shows New Zealand is one of the worst performers in the OECD on a range of environmental indicators, including greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater use, overuse of fertiliser, and taxing pollution. “Not only is the National Government failing to protect the environment we love, but it’s embarrassing New Zealand internationally. Other countries are making...

The National Government should aim to be as proud of the environment as we are of the All Blacks, the Green Party said today. However, the release of last week’s dire Environment Aotearoa 2015 report shows the state of New Zealand’s environment under the National Government is nothing to be proud of. “New Zealand is proud of the All Blacks’ persistence, determination, courage and compassion. All these qualities are sadly missing from National’s attitude to the environment,” said Green Party...

The inaugural Environment Aotearoa report highlights the major shortfalls in the Government’s environmental management, and must lead to urgent action to protect our indigenous wildlife, rivers, and seas, the Green Party said today. "The Government’s hands-off approach to environmental  protection is a major reason for the fact that 66% of monitored river sites are no longer safe to swim in and the precarious positions of many of our native seabirds and marine mammals," said Green Party environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage. “Our native plants,...

The Green Party will be strongly opposing the Government’s Environment Canterbury (Transitional Governance Arrangements) Bill, which is due to have its first reading in Parliament today. “There is no justification for the Government to treat Cantabrians as second class citizens, denying them the right to elect a full regional council and the right to access the Environment Court,” said Eugenie Sage, the Green Party’s Canterbury spokesperson. “There is no reason for having the Resource Management Act continue to apply differently in Canterbury than elsewhere in...

Stronger rules and enforcement to protect our beaches and marine environment are needed in the wake of new information that more than 360 oil spills have occurred in New Zealand waters since the 2011 Rena disaster, the Green Party said today. “With summer just around the corner, we need better ways of protecting the beaches and seas that are so important to Kiwi ways of life,” Green Party environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage said. “Every New Zealander has a birthright to...

The Department of Conservation’s (DoC) decision to allow the habitat of threatened species such as long-tailed bat to be used for an irrigation reservoir sets a dangerous precedent that threatens our native wildlife, the Green Party said today. DoC’s Director-General has agreed to revoke the conservation status of 22 hectares of Ruahine Forest Park to allow the Ruataniwha irrigation dam and reservoir to proceed in return for 170 ha of private land called the Smedley Block. “DoC’s decision to sacrifice...