The Green Party is appalled by the Government’s use of urgency to rewrite the Wildlife Act–without consultation, without an impact statement, and in direct response to a court ruling in favour of protecting wildlife.

The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country.

The Green Party is disappointed tonight that the Government has voted down Eugenie Sage’s members’ bill to stop new mining on conservation land. The time is now for a government that takes conservation seriously.

Today’s news of a Ministerial inquiry into forestry slash and land use in Te Tarāwhiti/Gisborne and Wairoa is welcome, but the forestry sector should have to compensate councils, landowners and communities for the enormous damage caused by land and logging management which has generated so much slash and sediment.

The Green Party is today welcoming reports of Government progress towards having no new mines on conservation land.

The Green Party welcomes an historic new global agreement to protect 30% of the planet for nature by the end of the decade and calls on the Government to follow it with immediate action to protect native wildlife. 

The Green Party is calling on the Government to tighten the rules on synthetic fertiliser use and intensive land use, including intensive winter grazing, after new monitoring data revealed almost two-thirds of monitored rivers and streams are in poor health.

Following months of work by the Green Party and community and environmental organisations, Parliament will have the opportunity to pass legislation to protect public conservation land and waters from mining.