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Priorities

Posted by Damien O'Connor on November 10th, 2010

The outbreak of Psa is a grim reminder how exposed we are as an economy to the effects of biological attack by unwanted organisms. Why then, would a party that claims to represent farmers reduce the border protection efforts to help pay for tax cuts.

The farmers and orchardists at risk from this ridiculous stance should reconsider their loyalty to a party that has deserted their needs. I have been contacted by people working in the system who say this is just the beginning of incursions that will occur because they can’t do their job properly.

Money and resources have been shifted internally to set up Smartgate and smoother passenger processing at our airports. Delays coming into this country are rarely long compared to the US process or the chaos at some larger international airports.

We should never compromise our biosecurity for convenience. The US dont do it for their security, why should we?? I wonder if Hilary passed that wisdom on to John or was he too starstruck to hear?

Filed under: agriculture, conservation, environment, rural
15 Comments

Sometimes, the planets align…..

Posted by Maryan Street on November 4th, 2010

I met Hillary Rodham Clinton today. Two weeks ago, in Washington, I met  Melanne Verveer, Hillary Clinton’s appointee to a new position reporting to her: Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues. I was attending a conference, or seminar really – there were only a dozen of us  from nine different countries – to look at some of those irritating issues of no significance compared with guns and bombs and things, like human trafficking, women’s rights as human rights, getting women to participate in peace talks in the world’s hotspots, maternal and child health, the disproportionate effect of climate change on women, etc  etc.

Then I went to New York. There the UN Security Council was discussing Resolution 1325. I can see your eyes glazing over already! That is a ten year old resolution of the UN calling for action on women’s engagement with security and peace. Like having women at peace negotiating tables in the world’s hotspots.

I mean, how can you negotiate peace in the Congo or Afghanistan or Burma without having some of the victims of rape as a weapon of war being engaged in reconciliation processes? Hillary Clinton made a statement with Ban Ki-Moon (UN Sec Gen) about Resolution 1325 and then went on to make a joint statement a few days later with the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs on the same theme before they headed off to a conference on it in Denmark.

So I knew what I wanted to talk to SOS Clinton about: how NZ could work more efficiently and effectively with the US in the Pacific on issues like encouraging women to participate in decision-making, elected or otherwise, how to improve maternal and child health, how we could combat HIV and AIDS which are epidemic in the Pacific, how we could build an enduring peace in our difficult areas. So I did.

You know what she said? “This is music to my ears.” I knew it would be.

Filed under: Foreign Affairs, Pacific issues, climate change, democracy, environment, human rights, inequality, peace, social development
57 Comments

Unlocking Our Potential

Posted by David Cunliffe on October 4th, 2010

The Canterbury Earthquake, terrible though it was, reminds us of the courage and resilience of New Zealanders in a crisis. 

 If only the same courage and strength could be tapped as part of our normal ‘economic development’, NZ would be able to unlock enormous untapped potential.

 That same courage was evident in many of our forebears: those who voyaged to NZ by waka or ship, and those hacked down the bush to form arable pasture (often on slopes so steep it should not have been touched, but their courage was undeniable).  

 Tapping into that same strength of character to unlock future potential is part of the task that lies before us. 

 Our world is changing.  The old solutions will not work for tomorrows problems.  The old certainties have gone.   The era of guaranteed markets in the UK for our sheep and beef has gone.   The era of free and easy credit has now gone.  

 We are told we face a ‘decade of deleveraging’.  All around us we see growing signs of despair.  

 Just as in the 70’s we were called upon to diversify our markets, in the 80’s to deregulate our economy, and in the 00’s to rebuild our torn social fabric, Labour is now called upon to rise to a new challenge in a new era. Just as Mickey Savage did in the 1930s, we are being called upon to find a better way.

 NZ is currently meandering through the aftermath of the global financial crisis.  We are beset by malaise.  We lack confidence.  We appear unable to define our own future, and even lack awareness of our own potential and character.

 So NZ falls back passively on its proximity to larger Asian growth centres, its traditional bulk agricultural base, and its relationship with its nearest neighbour Australia.

 These are undeniable strategic advantages, but if any are a substitute for owning our own future, they will ultimately undermine our national wellbeing and identity.  

 Our relationship with foreign investment has to change.  As it stands we are becoming more and more deeply indebted to foreigners.  We have been through a phase of selling state assets to cover the interest.  We are now selling our land at the rate of dozens of rugby fields a day.  But still our national debt keeps rising. 

 It was not primarily ‘the government’s’ fault.   Most of this debt is private debt.  Most of it fuelled the private binge on property consumption (it was never really ‘investment’ despite the temporary up-cycle in which much of it happened).

 That we need more foreign investment is undeniable, but it must be channelled into genuinely value-creating and productive activity and not simply transfer the ownership of existing assets to foreigners making our future income deficit worse.   

 A new conversation must begin – one that starts from the proposition that we wish to own and govern our own affairs.

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Filed under: Investment, business, commerce, community, debt, economic, economy, environment, monetary policy, politics, social development
51 Comments

“Kickstarting” the biofuels industry

Posted by Chris Hipkins on September 29th, 2010

Yesterday Pansy Wong put out a press statement lauding the National government’s move to “kickstart New Zealand’s fledgling biodiesel industry”. Coincidentally, I’ve been visiting biofuel companies over the past few weeks and they’ve been telling me that the policies of the current National government are doing the opposite – they feel like the rug is being pulled from under them.

Before the last election the Labour government put in place a biofuels sales obligation. It would have required fuel retailers to mix a small amount of biofuels into their blends, thus guaranteeing a market for biofuel producers and ensuring the development of the fledgling industry, whilst at the same time also reducing our carbon emissions from transport.

For reasons known only to them, National repealed the sales obligation as soon as it took office and replaced it with a subsidy scheme for biodiesel. It was an odd move for a government that claims it wants to cut government spending – the sales obligation wouldn’t have cost the government anything, it would have put the cost back onto the oil industry, unlike their subsidy.

Biofuel producers I’ve spoken to have all said the same thing, as soon as the sales obligation was removed the oil companies walked away.Their slick marketing may try to convince us they care about sustainability and the environment, but in reality the mighty dollar rules.

The biofuel sales obligation wasn’t perfect, and I think companion legislation ensuring the sustainability of the feedstock (the material the biofuels are made from) was also needed. But recent history has shown that left to its own devices without any sort of government regulation, the oil industry has no intention of supporting biofuels. Gerry Brownlee’s biodiesel grants scheme has been a flop. It’s time to go back to the drawing board.

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Filed under: Energy, climate change, environment
22 Comments

Innovation in Alicetown

Posted by Trevor Mallard on September 1st, 2010

David Shearer is encouraging Labour MPs to focus on innovative businesses.

Dazza and I went to see a Green Diesel group in Alicetown. Great business with  chance of making it big. Good experience in international oil. Into recyling.

Most important is the ability to massively reduce pollution from diesel – and to use their fascinating testing system to prove the results.

The first bus company or owner of service station chain that gets into this will win big.

Filed under: Energy, climate change, environment
42 Comments

Silly idea number 9 – what do you think?

Posted by Pete Hodgson on August 25th, 2010

Remove the biofuels sale obligation on oil companies on the basis that it is nanny state!! At a stroke, destroy investor confidence among biofuel producers.

Rush to repair the damage by offering biofuel producers a fat taxpayer funded subsidy. Producers decline to uplift the subsidy, of course, because (competitively priced) biofuels are just too much bother for oil companies now that the legal obligation on them has been removed.

I think this idea is –

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Filed under: Energy, environment
23 Comments

Environmental Reporting Bill

Posted by Chris Hipkins on August 5th, 2010

This morning I’ve introduced a new Environmental Reporting Bill into the ballot. The Bill does two things. It requires the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment to produce a comprehensive report on the state of the environment at least every 5 years. It also gives the Commissioner the power to establish a standardised set of indicators to assess the state of the environment on a regular basis.

A recent report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment found that the quality of data currently available on the state of our environment is patchy at best. Establising a standardised set of indicators will help to remedy this problem. It will also improve the quality of the 5-yearly report the Commissioner will produce.

Improving the quality of information available on the state of our environment has never been more important. We now place a much greater focus on the impact of our actions on the environment. Assessing the effectiveness of our policy responses to issues like climate change will rely on the availability of quality, objective information.

Giving responsibility for establishing what data is to be collected to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment brings some independence to that process. I think it’s really important that the public can have confidence that the data presented has been selected and collected free from any form of political interference and manipulation.

There are still some logistical and resourcing issues to sort out. The Commissioner currently doesn’t have the resources to do this job effectively, so no doubt that will be the topic of some discussion should the Bill make it as far as a Select Committee. Should it be drawn from the ballot I’m hopefully my parliamentary colleagues will at least support the First Reading so that we can have that debate.

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Filed under: climate change, environment, legislation
5 Comments

Ethical Investment Bill goes down

Posted by Grant Robertson on August 4th, 2010

Well, my first private members Bill is over. The Ethical Investment (Crown Financial Institutions) Bill was voted down 63-58 tonight. Supporting it were Labour, Progressives, Greens, Maori and United, against National and ACT. Check out the debate here if you are interested.

It was not a great surprise that National and ACT opposed the bill, but disappointing all the same. The Bill sought to have clear and consistent criteria for ethical investment in the legislation that govern our major investment funds such as the Super Fund and ACC. The criteria are based on international norms and treaties and emphasise the importance of investing in organisations that have good governance, treat their stakeholders fairly and uphold human rights and good labour standards. From an environmental standpoint the organisations that are invested in should be conscious of their ecological footprint and should not be harmful to resources such as air, water and land.

The opposition was based on the fact that some good progress has been made in ethical investment policies and that “the market” would deal with the issues. I thought this was an opportunity to move from a passive approach to ethical and sustainable investment to a positive one that could re-inforce our image as an environmentally and socially conscious country on the world stage.

Anyway it was an interesting process to go through, and I am the wiser for it. Pleased to extend the support for the Bill across the House, and have agreed with other parties to keep working on the issue.

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Filed under: economy, environment, finance, human rights, labour
22 Comments

Farms for foreigners?

Posted by Trevor Mallard on July 10th, 2010

The Herald has an article which goes into a bit more depth on the question of overseas ownership of land. While we are short of capital and have relied on foreigners since the days of the whalers and sealers the time has come to tighten up. It is now almost impossible for a kiwi to buy farmland from scratch.

The Landcorp Crafar bid is one I supported and in fact called for Landcorp to run the farms in two postings on Red Alert one Landcorp Should take over Crafar farms in October last year and the other use Lancorp for orderly disposal of Crafar farms in May.  I’m pleased the government has accepted my advice.

As far as foreign land ownership generally maybe the line should be that there is to be significant benefit to New Zealand that could not be gained any other way?

A Weekend Herald investigation of consents granted under the Overseas Investment Act shows at least 24 countries have been given approval to invest in the agricultural sector, covering 154,855ha and a wide range of sectors from sheep farming to viticulture.

The Overseas Investment Office is currently assessing seven applications involving land totalling about 3678ha.

Under the Overseas Investment Act 2005 any non-urban land of 5ha is deemed “sensitive” and needs approval, while farmland must be offered on the open market before consent can be granted.

Westpac chief economist Brendan O’Donovan says foreign investment generally has been an integral part of New Zealand’s growth.

“Because we’ve always had a capital shortage and we’ve been very dependent on foreign funding and foreign firms,” O’Donovan explains.

Foreign direct investment in New Zealand is currently about $92 billion in total, he says.

“By and of itself there’s nothing that you need to be particularly scared of.”

New Zealanders buy into foreign companies and land, he says. “If you expect to be able to buy land in other countries then you’ve got to be prepared to sell it here.”

Although it is notable that New Zealanders cannot buy land in China, O’Donovan says.

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Filed under: agriculture, economy, environment, national
63 Comments

We don’t need your education

Posted by Brendon Burns on July 6th, 2010

National standards for education – and proof-reading – are slipping. Rangitata’s Nat MP Jo Goodhew has sent out a survey asking : What issues are most important to you (rank in order 1-7) Health. Education. Environment. Education. Economy. Law and order. Other

Hope plenty of Rangitata voters double-tick the environment box and educate Goodhew. She’s never denied revving up Timaru’s mayor to complain about ECAN- along with Christchurch’s Bob Parker – setting in train the loss of local democracy and the Government’s agenda to rush new water allocations into place next year in Canterbury without new environmental rules. Extraordinarily, Parker is now calling for earlier new ECAN elections than scheduled. E for consistency.

Filed under: education, environment, local government, water
16 Comments

The end of days

Posted by Clare Curran on June 27th, 2010

How can we survive as a species if we treat so many other species with disdain?

The Atlantic bluefin tuna, when prepared as sushi, is one of the most valuable forms of seafood in the world. It’s a fish that regularly journeys between America and Europe and whose two populations, or “stocks,” have both been catastrophically overexploited.

I’ve eaten bluefin a few times. It’s exquisite. I don’t think I ever will again.

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, one of only two known Atlantic bluefin spawning grounds, has only intensified the crisis.

By some estimates, there may be only 9,000 of the most ecologically vital megabreeders left in the fish’s North American stock, enough for the entire population of New York to have a final bite (or two) of high-grade otoro sushi. The Mediterranean stock of bluefin, historically a larger population than the North American one, has declined drastically as well.

These are exerpts from a New York Times article by Paul Greenberg, called Tuna’s End.

It’s quite long, but compelling. And it’s a warning to us. Not that we’ll heed it.

Sorry to be depressing.

Hat-tip @juhasaarinen (via Twitter)

Disclosure: I was on the Board of Greenpeace NZ from 2006-07

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Filed under: environment
17 Comments

NZ and China- The 5th First?

Posted by Grant Robertson on June 27th, 2010

This weekend I am attending part of the University of Otago’s Foreign Policy School that examines China’s place in the world. It is timely, and not because of the incident involving Russel Norman’s flag. China’s “ascent” as the conference title terms it, in world affairs is remarkable, seemingly inexorable and certainly vital to our future economic, strategic and security interests. Forget about the G20 for a moment, people are talking about the G2 (US and China, though some speakers today are wary of this).

MPs, and indeed all New Zealanders must have their right to protest protected.  My view, though,  has always been that a strategy of engagement with China is the best path for New Zealand. I do hold concerns over human rights abuses and lack of media freedom in China as elsewhere. I have been in the room when Helen Clark and Phil Goff have raised these concerns, as they should. But to really see change in these areas, and some depth to the relationship of a very small country with a very large country we have to engage- and we have to be bold.

There is instant recognition in Chinese government circles of the “four firsts” that have defined China and New Zealand’s recent relationship. The first first being supporting China’s entry to the WTO, then the first recognition of China as a market economy, followed by being the first to start free trade negotiations and finally the fourth first by finalising a free trade agreement.

When I was in Shanghai recently with the Wellington City delegation I challenged the participants at a Young Leaders Forum (thank goodness 38 is still considered young in China!) to work out what the fifth and sixth firsts will be in our relationship. We need to have the courage to move the relationship forward, as a relatively insignificant country in terms of China’s wider interests.

At the opening of the Foreign Policy School I understand Murray McCully said an FTA with Hong Kong is the fifth first.  I think we need to focus on how we broaden our relationship, beyond trade.  The Chinese are well aware that their rapid economic growth is straining the environment. They see the damage that it does not just to their way of life, but also their international reputation. They are doing a lot in this area, and see New Zealand as a country with much to offer in this regard.

So how about the fifth first being a comprehensive treaty level agreement on the environment and clean technology?  One that explicily recognises how much China has done and the scale of the challenges they have. We already have an environmental cooperation agreement that sits alongside the FTA. This could be enhanced to develop cooperative projects on issues such as renewable energy, air quality (a massive issue in Chinese cities), freshwater management, “green” buildings and more. There is enormous opportunity around clean technology, especially in China’s rapidly growing agricultural sector. As the doctor said to Steve Austin- we have the technology. Let’s use it, and take our relationship with China to the next stage.

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Filed under: Foreign Affairs, environment
21 Comments

You drink first Minister

Posted by Brendon Burns on June 17th, 2010

Challenged acting Health Minister Jonathan Coleman in the House this afternoon to drink some water. Big deal? Well it is water from Port Robinson, small community near Cheviot and it ain’t safe to drink, despite being a reticulated supply. 1 in 6 New Zealanders are in the same boat.

Coleman, filling in for Tony Ryall, had earlier maintained the charade that local bodies are responsible for ensuring safe drinking water supplies, 10 months after Ryall put a stopper on Labour Govt funding to help small communities to improve water supplies; Ryall has also put a three year moratorium on the need for local bodies to meet World Health Organisation minimum guidelines for safe drinking water.

Challenged to drink a glass of the water, Coleman said only if I did. Well I will – but a week after Coleman sups up. If he doesn’t come down with e-coli, giardia, cryptosporidium or some other nasty lurking in many water supplies, then I’ll down a glass too.

Game on Jonathan?

Filed under: environment, local government, water
19 Comments

Don’t drill here

Posted by Chris Hipkins on June 12th, 2010

As the world watches helplessly as BP furiously tries to stop oil gushing uncontrollably into the Gulf of Mexico it’s somewhat staggering to think that our government’s response is to wave their hands furiously in the air yelling “come and drill over here”.

It would only take one thing to go wrong, one disaster like the one they are facing right now in the Gulf, and the entire New Zealand economy would go down the drain. Tourism would be dead. Aquaculture and fisheries down the gurgler. Our agricultural and horticultural industries would struggle as our “100% pure” brand disappeared beneath the oil slick enveloping our coastline.

This week US President Barack Obama reversed a planned expansion of offshore drilling stating he’d been wrong to think oil companies knew how to deal with a catastrophic spill. “It just takes one to have a wake-up call” he was quoted as saying. Apparently not if you’re Gerry Brownlee…

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Filed under: Energy, environment
70 Comments

Forget power plants, generate your own

Posted by Chris Hipkins on June 10th, 2010

A few weeks ago I had a fascinating conversation with a local entrepreneur who visited me in my electorate office. He claims to have designed a ‘silent’ horizontal wind turbine that could be scaled in size to produce enough power for an individual household or a high-rise office block. It’s still early days, but having seen it in action and having seen some of the early reports, it’s certainly exciting stuff.

At the moment our electricity almost exclusively comes into our homes through hundreds of kilometres of cables, which in turn are connected to massive power plants, a number of which are in the South Island despite most of the demand being in the North. Imagine how fundamentally different the electricity market would be if we could generate our own electricity on a local scale and feed back any surplus we generated into the grid?

The technology is basically already there. The economics don’t quite add up in some cases yet and the market certainly isn’t ready for it. But it’s going to be the way of the future. The government of today should be asking how it can promote more localised generation. A good starting point would be a robust feed-in tariff (FIT) regime, allowing individual households to essentially sell any surplus they generate back into the system.

We then need to look at how we can encourage up-take. We’re providing incentives on the efficiency side through home insulation and heat pump subsidies, what more could we do to encourage greater uptake of solar panels and local wind turbines? I think these are far more important questions to ask than how can we get more gas out of the ground and turn it into electricity?

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Filed under: Energy, environment
39 Comments

The energy efficiency challenge

Posted by Chris Hipkins on June 8th, 2010

Do you really pay that much attention to how much electricity you are using at any point in time? I suspect most Kiwis think about their electricity use once a month – when the bill arrives! These days our electricity meters are tucked away discretely somewhere outside our homes. We don’t pay all that much attention to how much electricity we’re using, or when we are using it.

In the next few years technology is likely to change all of that. Smart meters and web-based technology is likely to give us much greater information, and through it much greater control, over our electricity use. We’ll be able to monitor the impact each additional appliance has on our power bill. We’ll also be able to spread our electricity demand, allowing us to save money by using cheaper electricity in times of lower demand. The retail pricing model will have to change for this to happen because at the moment we’re charged the same unit price for our electricity regardless of when we use it. That may be simple, but it doesn’t incentivise more even usage throughout the day.

Smart meters and smart appliances will also allow us to use less or cheaper electricity without even having to think about it. Our hot water cylinder and our deep freeze will be able to switch themselves on and off depending on other demands within the household and external factors such as price. I particularly liked the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright’s recent comment that we’ll soon be able to drive our electric cars home, plug them in, drain the remaining electricity they have in order to cook our dinner and heat our homes during ‘peak’ times, and then charge them up again off-peak when power could be cheaper.

Maximising the use of this kind of technology is going to require industry standards for two-way communication between consumers and the big power companies, something the current government are reluctant to impose. They argue it’s too early to regulate because we don’t know what the dominant technology will be. On the other hand, it’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation; appliance manufacturers won’t produce smart appliances until they know what the smart grid is going to look like.

To be fair to the government, they aren’t doing nothing to promote more efficient electricity use. While I have some concerns about the way it has been rushed, I do give the current government credit for the huge increase in the number of homes that are being properly insulated. Warmer, drier homes are more able to minimise unnecessary electricity use. Similarly, if they’re used effectively on timers, heat pumps can also lower power bills, so the government subsidies in this area are also welcome.

We need to change our mindset from thinking about how we can build more power stations to thinking about how we can use our existing electricity supply more efficiently and how we can encourage more localised electricity production. More on the latter shortly…

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Filed under: Cost of Living, Energy, climate change, environment, infrastructure
20 Comments

Are you a nimby, a yimfy or a banana?

Posted by Chris Hipkins on June 7th, 2010

The latest Listener has a timely article about electricity generation. In it they quote Massey’s Ralph Sims who argues there are three types of response to the electricity generation challenge, the nimbys (not in my backyard), the yimfys (yes in my front yard) and the bananas (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone). Which are you?

Over the next few weeks the electricity generation challenge is going to get quite a bit of air time in Parliament. Next Wednesday my private members’ bill will be read for a first time. It would prevent electricity generators building new generation plants that use non-renewable energy sources like gas and coal, unless they were essential for security of supply. And soon Gerry Brownlee’s Electricity Industry Bill will be reported back from select committee.

There is no doubt working out how to deliver enough electricity to meet future demand is a major challenge. The Listener quotes Institute of Professional Engineers projections that show our electricity demand will grow from 42,000 GWh in 2009 (itself a 7% growth on 2002 figures) to 55,000 GWh in 2025. That’s a lot of new power plants. Or is it?

Over the next few days I’m going to do a series of posts canvassing alternatives to building a bunch of extra gas-fired power plants. First, we can do a lot more to increase energy efficiency, including a heap of stuff that will give consumers more control over how much power they produce. Second, we can spread new generation more evenly through a lot more localised production. Third, we can promote renewable generation much more than we have in recent decades.

I firmly believe New Zealand can be a world leader in this area. We used to produce a much greater proportion of our electricity from renewable sources. In the last 25 years or so we’ve allowed the non-renewables sector to absorb most of the growth. That has to change. We can show the world what a truly sustainable approach to electricity generation (and consumption) can look like.

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Filed under: Energy, climate change, environment, infrastructure
44 Comments

Reforming Paradise

Posted by Brendon Burns on June 3rd, 2010

The chairman of the Government-supported Land and Water Forum acknowledged yesterday that the legislation axing Environment Canterbury has severely tested the Forum.

Former diplomat Alastair Bisley needed all his diplomatic skills at the Environmental Defence Society’s annual conference in Auckland  – Reform in Paradise -where he reported on progress with the Land and Water Forum.

The Forum was initiated two years ago as a way to bring diverse parties – farmers, fishers, Fonterra, iwi, irrigators an others – together to try and improve freshwater quality.

Nick Smith won Cabinet funding for it as a vehicle to progress his much-professed ambitions to improve water quality. Then he shat on it with the ECAN legislation.

Yesterday also, even one of the Creech review team admitted he had sympathy for ECAN and acknowledged the lack of national water standards from the Government. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/3769946/Govt-reviewer-admits-sympathy-for-ECan

Bisley indicated the Land and Water Forum was briefed about the abolition of Environment Canterbury’s councillors; what clearly came as a nasty surpise was handing the new ECAN commissioners powers to amend or rescind Water Conservation Orders protecting Canterbury rivers like the Rakaia and Rangitata. Five parties to the Land and Water Forum went publicly ballistic.

Alastair Bisley could only say that what tests you makes you stronger. My own question to him was how he could reconcile the Forum’s wish to improve water quality when John Key has stated publicly that he wants new water in place in Canterbury in the next year – an impossible timeframe to achieve any environmental improvements.

Alastair pointed to new water storage taking pressure off aquifers. Correct, but not a solution to increased effluent and nitrates which a new rush of water will also create and further degrade water quality.

Have to say that it was galling to watch John Key coming in earlier at the EDS conference by video link and saying no less than 5 times that the government attached great importance to getting the balance right between economic and environmental growth. Sorry but that is fundamentally contradicted by his agenda for rapid new water to provide election year lines and photo ops around ‘step change’ growth which will again come at the environment’s expense. And all of that puts our whole economic base at risk, as several speakers said yesterday.

Prof Caroline Saunders from Lincoln Unversity said she was astonished at the state of Canterbury rivers when she came here 14 years ago – from the less than pristine Newcastle-on-Tyne.  That was before the Canty dairy boom really kicked in.  Caroline affirmed our prosperity rested on marketing and delivering on our environmental sustaintainability.  Marks and Spencers sustainability head said the recent reporting in Britain questioning our ‘clean, green’ image was a ‘warning shot’ across our economic bows.  It’s almost unbelievable that this Government continues to think it can get more economic cake by flicking crumbs to environmental outcomes. More reforming Paradise than reform of it.

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Filed under: agriculture, economy, environment, local government, water
7 Comments

Key happy with 10k of cycleway from $50m budget – aimed at one job – his

Posted by Trevor Mallard on May 31st, 2010

I suppose the cycleway has had $50m worth of photo-ops for John Key.

And he has smiled and waved as our cash goes on administering not very much.

I’m the biggest fan of cycling in the Parliament. But this idea of a trail from North Cape to the Bluff was never going to work. According to Key via the Herald we’ve had 10k of new trail and a bit of tidying of existing trails.

And this is high quality expenditure while night classes are cut for the second year in a row?

Remember this was to be the unemployment breaking big idea from his (photo op full) job summit.

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Filed under: Budget, economy, environment, inequality, politics, poverty, sport
52 Comments

ECAN axing constitutionally repugnant

Posted by Brendon Burns on May 19th, 2010

Leading constitutional lawyer Philip Joseph has panned the Government’s urgent legislation which in 30 hours axed Environment Canterbury’s elected councillors and peoples rights to be heard on Water Conservation Orders.

In today’s Press he says the act breaches several principles of law, is “constitutionally repugnant”, contains “elements of subterfuge” and is a “constitutional affront”.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/3712160/Shunning-of-due-process-repugnant-says-law-academic

The insufferably arrogant Nick Smith just dismisses Joseph’s comments as predictable.

Filed under: environment, water
20 Comments

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