The New Zealand Government must dramatically increase its target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions as public demands for change both at home and internationally raise serious questions about inaction on climate, the Green Party said today. Last night, a Dutch court ordered the Dutch Government to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent in the next five years, in order to protect its citizens from climate change. It had been sued by citizens for neglecting to look after its people....

More than 8000 people have asked for a moratorium on state-owned enterprise Landcorp’s conversion of Waikato forestry land to dairy farms, in a petition presented to Parliament by Green MP Catherine Delahunty today. “New Zealanders are very concerned about water quality in our country. More than 66% of our rivers aren’t clean enough to swim in, and a big part of the problem is large scale dairy farming. The 8,102 people who signed the petition are saying Landcorp has got...

Further evidence that the Ministry of Primary Industries may have been negligent in its implementation of the Forests Act 1949, including confusing diameter and circumference measurements, means a moratorium on swamp kauri mining and exports is urgent, says the Green Party. “The Green Party has no confidence in the Government and MPI's implementation of the Forests Act, or in its understanding of basic mathematical measurements. An urgent halt to exports is needed while an inquiry is conducted into the chaotic...

The National Government is attempting to remove the right of communities such as Northland, Hawkes Bay and the Bay of Plenty and their councils from controlling the release of genetically engineered trees in their regions. “The proposed National Environmental Standard for Plantation Forestry (NES-PF) aims to replace existing plan rules for many plantation forestry activities,” Green Party forestry spokesperson Steffan Browning said. “Increasing numbers of councils, in response to their ratepayers and businesses, are including precautionary provisions or controls for...

The Pope’s unprecedented call for genuine action on climate change by governments highlights the National Government’s failure to reduce New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions, the Green Party said today. “The Pope warns of Governments who mask the problem of climate change rather than implementing genuine solutions, a criticism that speaks to the heart of the National Government’s actions,” Green Party Co-leader James Shaw said today. The papal encyclical, released overnight, says: “Many of those who possess more resources and...

Latest reports from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment show dairy intensification is causing more pollution to our waterways, and the water quality of many waterways is continuing to decline, the Green Party said today. “While we welcome the good work the Parliamentary Commissioner Dr Jan Wright has done on this report, the findings are grim reading,” said Green Party water spokesperson Catherine Delahunty. “We would like to see the Commissioner call for a moratorium on further dairy conversions in...

The Government’s excuses for allowing the export of swamp kauri as finished products are being bogged down by mounting evidence that rough sawn slabs of kauri timber are being exported illegally, the Green Party said today. “Evidence is mounting that the Government’s claims that exports are legal because they’re finished products are entirely inaccurate, with rough sawn slabs of kauri timber openly for sale on Chinese, American, and Polish websites,” Green Party conservation spokesperson Eugenie Sage said. “It’s increasingly clear...

The National Government is continuing to undermine the Department of Conservation’s (DOC) work protecting New Zealand’s natural spaces by shifting responsibility for new marine reserves legislation to the Ministry for the Environment (MFE), the Green Party said today. “It means we’re likely to see weak legislation promoting Clayton’s marine reserves that allow fishing instead of effective no take marine reserves which properly protect marine life and seascapes for their own sake,” said Green Party conservation spokesperson Eugenie Sage.  “The Government...

The Pope’s call for urgent action on climate change highlights an absence of leadership on climate from the National Government, the Green Party said today. The Pope is set to release his encyclical on climate change today at noon Vatican time (10:00pm New Zealand time). A draft of the document was leaked on Monday. “The Pope’s call for urgent action on climate change is further evidence that the National Government is not only out of step with ordinary New Zealanders...

The illegal export of ancient swamp kauri logs needs to stop and a Ministerial inquiry started to prevent more environmental destruction and the loss of New Zealand taonga, the Green Party said today. “It’s clear that the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) is allowing ancient swamp kauri logs to be exported to China, despite this being illegal under the Forests Act 1949,” said Green Party conservation spokesperson Eugenie Sage. “The restrictions on the removal of swamp kauri from wetlands and the...