The National Government must honour the Paris climate agreement by setting a deadline for including agriculture as part of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Now is not the time to gamble on “silver bullet” solutions, the Green Party said today. “It has been less than a week since the world signed the historic Paris climate agreement and already the National Government has reverted to its polluting stereotype. We saw Government hock off more of New Zealand’s oceans for oil drilling...

“New Zealanders should be appalled by revelations today that the National Government is denying us deep sea marine reserves so it can promote oil exploration,” Green Party environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage said today.   According to reports by TVNZ, the Minister for the Environment has had to drop planned law changes which could have protected marine life in New Zealand’s deep oceans (known as the Exclusive Economic Zone). “National is saying that all of our deep oceans outside of 12...

The National Government should immediately promise the funding needed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) to save Northland forests from being destroyed by possums, the Green Party said today.    

The Green Party will oppose the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill, Green Party Environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage said today. “National has wasted its opportunity to strengthen the Resource Management Act (RMA). Instead many of the changes proposed to the Act weaken rather than improve the protection of the environment and reduce the opportunities for public participation. “The RMA is the fundamental law that protects the environment that New Zealanders love. Any changes to the law should provide more protection, not less....

The Green Party is calling on the Government to send a navy vessel to the Southern Ocean to ensure Japan adheres to international law when it resumes whaling early next year. Japan has announced that it will resume whaling after a one-year hiatus, which followed an International Court of Justice ruling that its whale hunt for “scientific purposes” could not be justified. “We are glad the Government has spoken out against Japan’s resumption of this cruel and inhumane practice, but...

Locust swarms, invasive ants, tick borne livestock diseases and rampant aquatic weed growth are just some of the potential impacts on our agricultural and horticultural industries that the Government must protect against at the Paris climate talks next week, the Green Party said today.   The comments come on the back of a report soon-to-be released by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) on the effects of climate change on current and potential pests and diseases.   “The MPI report...

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...