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Archive for the ‘environment’ Category

Ten ideas for the Government

Posted by on June 26th, 2012

Yesterday the Government released a list of ten “ambitious targets”, and despite ballooning debt, declining exports and slow job growth, there were no new ideas.

In question time today, Bill English confirmed they have no targets for making superannuation affordable, no targets for wage growth, no targets to grow the economy and no targets to reduce overseas debt.

It is just the latest laundry list of vague ideas with no meaningful milestones or policies to achieve real outcomes. It is simply a stunt designed to take the attention off the unpopular asset sales plan and the Government’s botched attempt to increase class sizes.

This list exposes National for once again tinkering around the edges instead of making the tough decisions needed to create a long-term, prosperous future for New Zealand.

While the Government is wishing for rainbows at the end of every street, it has little credibility when it is not dealing with the big issues we are facing as a country.

Here is an example of 10 key issues that National is not addressing:

·         Job creation

·         Economic growth

·         Reducing overseas debt

·         Securing superannuation for the future

·         Reforming our tax system

·         Investing in research and development

·         Supporting our exporters

·         Cleaning up the environment

·         Being tougher on foreign ownership of our land

·         Giving Kiwis a reason to stay in New Zealand

Those are just my first ideas at some “ambitious targets” the Government isn’t trying to address. I’m sure the erudite readers of this blog will have plenty of ideas of their own, please leave them in the comments. I’d love to hear them!

Filed under: debt, economy, environment, growth, Investment, jobs, Research & Development, Tax
17 Comments

Shoot First, Ask Questions Later

Posted by on March 5th, 2012

Tariana Turia has accused Fonterra of dumping milk into the Manawatu River.

I was concerned when I read her press release so I contacted Fonterra to see what was going on. The odd thing is, the idea of calling Fonterra hadn’t occurred to Tariana. Nor does it seem she had spoken to Horizons Regional Council. In fact, as best as I can tell, she hadn’t done a thing to substantiate her claims before she issued her press release.

This is totally irresponsible from a Government Minister.

No doubt it took Nick Smith by surprise. Tariana’s accusation is completely at odds with the positive announcement over the weekend of funding for the river clean up project and the Government’s intention to work closely with local government and industry.

As a representative of the Manawatu region, she should be trying to be positive about her region’s reputation.

If the claims are true, Fonterra absolutely should be held to account. But where are the facts and why on earth was her first action to issue a press release?

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Filed under: environment
8 Comments

Simon says step up John

Posted by on November 9th, 2011

Link here to OIAs to John Key and Steven Joyce asking about correspondence from and to the member for Tauranga. Vital pars below.

Copies of all email correspondence received by you, your staff or officials working in your ministerial office from Simon Bridges where Mr Bridges expressed concerns about your response to the Rena disaster, how it was being managed or calling on you to step in or otherwise involve yourself.

Copies of all email replies from you or your office to Mr Bridges regarding his concerns, including any expressing a view that the Prime Minister needed to be kept out of such correspondence in order to keep him clean or out of the matter.

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Filed under: environment, national
21 Comments

Auckland Rail Link Poster

Posted by on November 1st, 2011

Auckland Rail Link

Unfortunately we have run out of these great posters already. Considering a reprint but in the interim you can go to here to download or even donate to help print some more.

Filed under: Auckland, environment, Rail, transport
19 Comments

Foreign Affairs = more than trade

Posted by on October 21st, 2011

You could be forgiven for thinking that our only interest in other countries under this government, is how much money we can make out of them.

Yesterday, at an NZIIA seminar at Victoria University, I released our Foreign Affairs policy. MurrayMcCully had given the opening speech and every country or region he mentioned was couched in terms of our Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with them, an emerging FTA with them, the desirability of an FTA or other bilateral economic agreement with them and how well we were doing because of them.

Don’t get me wrong – I am a great supporter of FTAs as long as we don’t concede our sovereignty and they can be negotiated in a more open way which engages the non-government sector as well. But for Labour, Foreign Affairs is also about peace, security, conflict resolution, disarmament, multilateralism, human rights, climate change, environmental protection and restoration, disaster relief, good governance and democratic representation, and most importantly, people to people exchanges and relationships.

Without a viable and secure planet, all the global supply chains you can think of count for nothing.

Our independent foreign policy is a source of great pride for us. It has been most enhanced in our history by great Labour Prime Ministers: Peter Fraser, Norman Kirk, David Lange and Helen Clark. We will build on that tradition.

We will bring human rights and a commitment to multilateral international decision-making back to the fore again. They have been languishing on the back burner under the National government.

Have a look at the policy – comments are welcomed.

Oh – and for those who wonder why there is no mention of Afghanistan – that is simply because our position on that is well known, has been well reported and has been the same since late 2005. In case you have missed it (!) : Labour would not have sent the fourth rotation of SAS troops back to Afghanistan. The SAS should no longer be deployed there. A Labour government will bring them home. We will progressively withdraw our Provincial Reconstruction Team as well, in an exit strategy worked out in consultation with other forces with whom we are working in Bamyan. The fight can only be won in Afghanistan if the government there wins the hearts and minds of the people. That hasn’t happened. Time to come home.

Filed under: climate change, democracy, disarmament, environment, Foreign Affairs, human rights, international, overseas aid, trade, war
5 Comments

brilliant 30 second answer for a slow john

Posted by on October 17th, 2011

Well done John Pagani.

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Filed under: environment, humour, national
22 Comments

Why was maritime nz still looking for bloody pumps this weekend ?

Posted by on October 17th, 2011
  • Has DPMC been tasked with coordinating the Government’s response to the MV Rena disaster to ensure that all government agencies involved are focusing their efforts on delivering the most effective response; if so, what were the dates and times of each of the meetings held for these purposes and which departments were involved?
  • When did he first become aware that it was likely that the owners of the MV Rena were unlikely to have enough insurance cover to reimburse all of the costs that taxpayers will incur as a result of the MV Rena disaster?
  • What concerns, if any, have officials raised with him about potential difficulties that may limit his Government’s ability to recover costs for the MV Rena disaster due to the ship’s Liberian registration?
  • On what date did his officials first become aware that it was likely that the MV Rena would break up on the Astrolabe Reef?
  • On what date was he first told that it was likely that the MV Rena would break up on the Astrolabe Reef?
  • Has he sought advice from his Minister of Transport about the concerns raised in the Thompson Clarke Shipping “Review of New Zealand’s Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response Capability” report which showed that the Oil Pollution Levy was bringing in $1m less annually than was being spent by the Oil Spill Response team; if so, what advice did he receive about the actions the Minister was taking to rectify the funding deficit?
  • Has he sought advice from his Minister of Transport about concerns raised in the Thompson Clarke Shipping “Review of New Zealand’s Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response Capability” report that the understanding officials from several Ministries and Departments had about their role in responding to an oil spill differed in some cases from those stated in Maritime NZ’s 2006 Strategy?
  • Has he read reports showing that “the view of MPRS [Marine Pollution Response Services] staff is that a greater level of NRT [National Response Team] training is required, particularly at the management level, including incident management team level,” if so, has he sought advice from his Minister of Transport about what steps were taken before the MV Rena disaster to address these concerns?
  • Has he asked his Minister of Transport why offers of assistance from New Zealand company, Lancer Industries Ltd, to provide oil recovery barges that could have been used to off load oil from the MV Rena during the calm days immediately following its collision with the Astrolabe Reef were refused; if so, what did he learn?
  • Was he aware when he defended the Government’s slow response to the MV Rena disaster by saying, “”But this is a very difficult and complex situation and there are a limited number of people around the world that you ultimately have to mobilise to New Zealand to ensure that you can ultimately start a recovery operation,” that Maritime NZ’s website advised that “Maritime New Zealand maintains a response capability of sufficient size to counter an oil spill of 3,500 tonnes… If the scale of an incident is beyond the nation’s domestic capability, arrangements are in place to secure overseas assistance”?
  • Did he believe it was necessary to wait until the “limited number of people around the world that you ultimately have to mobilise to New Zealand to ensure that you can ultimately start a recovery operation” were mobilised, because he had been informed that key personnel within Maritime NZ’s oil spill response operations were vacant at the time that MV Rena collided with the Astrolabe Reef?
  • Have any of the overseas people who have come to New Zealand to assist with the MV Rena disaster previously worked for Maritime NZ; if so when did they leave their positions at Maritime NZ?
  • Did Maritime NZ have a policy of not replacing people who left the agency during the time its management and funding were under review; if so, were any positions that were responsible for assisting with oil spills vacant at the time of the MV Rena collided with the Astrolabe Reef; if so, what were those positions and how long were they vacant?
  • Has Maritime NZ delayed the purchase of any equipment or supplies needed to respond to an oil spill due to the budget uncertainty resulting from the Government’s efficiency reviews of the agency; if so, what equipment or supplies were not purchased?
  • Does he stand by his comment that his government’s agencies are able to pump 50 tonnes of oil from the vessel per hour?
  • Was his agency spending time this last weekend looking for pumps and if so why did it take so bloody long?
  • Does he know that decent pumps are available in the construction industry all over NZ?

I would have loved to ask these questions in parliament but it isn’t sitting this week.

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Filed under: environment
12 Comments

Boock hits spinning Key for six

Posted by on October 13th, 2011

Richard Boock has a wonderful ability to make us think and laugh at the same time. His latest piece is a classic


Disaster Tourism? I know, fair enough; it does sound quite bad. But we’ve got to look at the positives. John Key reckons the maritime emergency off Tauranga would be much worse if Labour were in power. He’d had that on good authority, apparently. Someone told him that, if there were to be a change of government, the next oil slick would be far more widespread, the crude more toxic and the weather more extreme. Kiwis would probably die.

Even so, Tourism NZ’s “100% Pure” campaign is in tatters. A Twitter pal was suggesting some new slogans the other day. “Come to New Zealand – Wash a Penguin”, was a favourite. “New Zealand – Where Endangered Species Become Extinct”, also polled well. I could see her point, too. It worked in Chernobyl, after all. Tourism there is (almost) bringing the place back to life. What genius; being able to rape the countryside and profit from it as well. Talk about a win-win.

Say what you like about Key’s National-led government but its ability to see the cost of everything and the value of nothing remains undiminished. “There’s Always A Silver Lining” should be on its coat of arms. Four days of inaction while the Rena’s oil was salvageable. Declining offers of expert assistance. Using dodgy and possibly more toxic chemicals than the crude oil as a dispersant. Treating the locals like idiots. Haven’t we heard all this before?

Ah well, we can’t say they haven’t been consistent. When it comes to the importance of the environment, the Nats have always placed it well down their list of priorities. Unless it can be flogged off, that is. Hence the Prime Minister on breakfast TV yesterday desperately claiming that the Rena disaster wouldn’t highlight concerns over his government’s deep sea oil exploration programme. Don’t know about you, but I think he may have jumped the gun there a bit.

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Filed under: environment, national, trade
19 Comments

Fyfe on clean, green … and joining the ETS

Posted by on September 17th, 2011

Rob Fyfe, Air NZ’s CEO, gave a fascinating interview with Katheryn Ryan yesterday. He’s a member of Pure Advantage – the group that was set up a few months ago with people like Stephen Tindall, Phillip Mills and others to enhance our clean, green image and make money out of it. He is considering Air NZ voluntarily entering the ETS at 2013 despite a recent report recommending we delay until 2015.

What does he say?
He was affected by a British journalist saying to him she’d love to come to NZ but couldn’t bring herself to go as it was like going “to a Greenpeace rally in a hummer”.
“We need to show leadership [on clean, green issues] rather than align ourselves with every other country.”
“We as a country … have to make a decision”.
“Air NZ has reduced its fuel burn by 13%. “70% of international visitors coming to NZ do care and would prefer to fly on airline that is making an impact.”
“People come to NZ because we are clean and green, not for the shopping. So brand and perception has enormous value.
“We take our environment for granted … as a nation we think in short term-ism. People see the cost and not the long term value.
“Political cycles make for short term thinking, therefore business needs to take a lead.

In other words, clean and green is very good for business. Pity other businesses and farmers don’t feel the same as Fyfe does and that he has so little faith in government.

Filed under: economy, environment, Green Jobs
8 Comments

Smart Transport- Day Two

Posted by on August 20th, 2011

Posting from day two of the Labour/ Green co-hosted Smart Transport event in Wellington. Focus today is on groups working regionally or nationally on specific campaign issues.

Couple of stand out issues. Almost everyone has noted the difficulty they have had engaging with Steven Joyce on issues. Anyone who has observed his response to any suggestion of alternatives to roading projects will not be surprised by that. But secondly, so much of what is being discussed here is about providing people with genuine choice when the government is instead focused on entrenching the use of cars, and ignoring that it is becoming less and less affordable (not to mention the environmental, urban design, and quality of life issues.) Case in point- the CBD rail link!

And a final word to one group in particular- Rob George from the campaign for better transport in Hamilton is who driving a huge campaign for Waikato trains. Hard slog, but you wouldn’t find a more passionate campaigner. Now he just needs some political will behind him…..

Filed under: Auckland, environment, Rail, roads, transport, Uncategorized
13 Comments

Mining lignite doesn’t make the cut

Posted by on July 22nd, 2011

New Zealand has extensive lignite deposits in Southland and Otago. Some think that we should be using this “mineral wealth” for economic good. For example, Solid Energy, a state owned enterprise, want to mine Lignite in Southland. They’ve proposed converting the former Mataura mine site into a $25 million briquetting plant. This would make about 90,000 tonnes of briquettes a year from 150,000 tonnes of lignite.

I’m opposed to this proposal because, from an environmental perspective, it just doesn’t make sense. Dr Jan Wright, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is correct, when she observes that “the plans to increase lignite use are extremely concerning as they would produce huge quantities of carbon dioxide which contributes to climate change”.

We won’t be arbitrarily prohibiting such mining operations simply because we don’t happen to like them. We will apply an appropriately calibrated Emissions Trading Scheme to them. Under any such scheme, its highly unlikely that the Southland proposal by Solid Energy would make the cut.

Lignite mining and conversion would only be likely to be viable under a properly calibrated ETS if forests of new trees were planted to off-set the increased emissions, and currently experimental carbon capture and storage technology were deployed commercially.

Unfortunately, we have a government that believes that the environment should be sacrificed for economic growth. John Key is on the record as saying, “At the moment companies like Solid Energy are growth companies and we want them to expand in areas like lignite conversion”. What he needs to realise is that for New Zealand, economic and environmental well-being are intertwined, not two separate, competing considerations.

Filed under: environment, ets
33 Comments

Treasury wants us to be happy too

Posted by on May 27th, 2011

In his last public speech before he steps down, Treasury Secretary John Whitehead announced a new direction for Treasury to accompany a report released on Wednesday entitled “Working Towards Higher Living Standards for New Zealanders”.

In the report, Treasury published the results of 18 months of research on a living standards framework with standards beyond economic growth – such as contentedness, the value of unpaid work and leisure time. Apparently, this is in response to criticism that Treasury does’t pay enough attention to whether higher incomes are the ultimate objective or a way of increasing happiness.

The happiness indicator idea was begun in Bhutan, but has been taken up by other countries, such as the UK and France. Australia has also developed a well-being framework. Grant Robertson and I have blogged on this earlier.

Now our Treasury wants in :

“Treasury’s understanding of the term living standards goes beyond the narrow material definition – often proxied by GDP – to incorporate a broad range of material and non-material factors such as trust, education, health and environmental quality.  In taking a broad approach to understanding living standards, Treasury is in line with other economic institutions internationally.

The Framework recognises the following five elements:

  1. there is a broad range of material and non-material determinants of living standards (beyond income and GDP);
  2. freedoms, rights and capabilities are important for living standards;
  3. the distribution of living standards across different groups in society is an ethical concern for the public, and a political one for governments.
  4. the sustainability of living standards over time is central to ensuring that improvements in living standards are permanent, with dynamic analysis of policy needed to weigh up short and long-term costs and benefits;
  5. measuring living standards directly using self-assessed subjective measures of wellbeing provides a useful cross-check of what is important to individuals.

It’s an interesting report and well worth a read. I hope it demonstrates a shift in thinking away from the relentless pursuit of growth for the benefit of a few and that things like closing the inequality gaps actually is one of the best ways of ensuring the happiness (and security) of a nation.

I will watch carefully to see if the new framework applies to the advice from Treasury for the government’s planned asset sales, for example, where the government is already seeking advisers to work on the sell down, despite them saying the electorate will get to vote on it.

I will watch with interest to see whether the NACTs take any notice and how this framework is applied in a whole raft of Treasury advice.

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Filed under: economy, environment, inequality, international
18 Comments

Hardtalk – why Key should do homework

Posted by on May 14th, 2011

It is not often I feel I have to apologise on behalf of New Zealanders for a PM who appears to be getting even lazier than he used to be.

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Filed under: environment
35 Comments

A Brash reminder- gone by lunchtime

Posted by on May 2nd, 2011

Brash on Nuclear Warships

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Filed under: act party, coalition management, environment, Foreign Affairs, Health and Safety, national
22 Comments

Tell the Government: Don’t Cut Our Future!

Posted by on April 27th, 2011

Flyer

t Cut Our Future

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Filed under: ACC, act party, Arts and Culture, asset sales, broadcasting, Budget, business, Child Support, children, Civil Defence, conservation, Consumer Affairs, Cost of Living, debt, disabilities, economy, education, environment, family, finance, food, Green Jobs, health, Health and Safety, housing, inequality, jobs, justice, law and order, low pay, minimum wage, politics, public services, science, senior citizens, Skills, social development, superannuation, TVNZ 7, Victims' rights, Working for Families, youth
21 Comments

Create your own ‘nice to have’ poster

Posted by on April 7th, 2011

“This is not a time we can afford to indulge in “nice-to-haves”, even though sections of the population feel the loss of those services.” Bill English, 29 March 2011

This quote is from a speech that Bill English gave to public service professionals.

Show Bill and John what would be “nice to have” by going to here to create your own poster, email and share it with friends and family.

Here’s mine:

Nice to have

Filed under: economy, education, environment, family, MMP, national, perks, police, science, social development, Social media, work life balance, workforce, Working for Families, youth
27 Comments

Let’s stay nuclear free

Posted by on March 13th, 2011

From the “other” Red Alert:-

A March 12 explosion at the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Japan, appears to have caused a reactor meltdown.

The key piece of technology in a nuclear reactor is the control rods. Nuclear fuel generates neutrons; controlling the flow and production rate of these neutrons is what generates heat, and from the heat, electricity. Control rods absorb neutrons — the rods slide in and out of the fuel mass to regulate neutron emission, and with it, heat and electricity generation.

A meltdown occurs when the control rods fail to contain the neutron emission and the heat levels inside the reactor thus rise to a point that the fuel itself melts, generally temperatures in excess of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, causing uncontrolled radiation-
(more…)

Filed under: Energy, environment
37 Comments

Reducing emissions just a “fad”

Posted by on February 16th, 2011

Oh dear, Finance Minister Bill English rather gave the game away on Morning Report this morning when quizzed about the buying the Beamers  Pressed by Geoff Robinson about buying BMWs over say, Aus-assembled Fords or Holdens, Mr English said:”I think it shows that being driven by a fad, which at the time was to have lower carbon emissions….turned out more expensive than they expected” http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport

A fad? Little wonder Colin James wrote last month that Change Minister Nick Smith is not getting the traction he needs in Cabinet to put the environment at least alongside the economy in priorities. “ Most ministers think: the environment or the economy. Smith, though abundantly intelligent and energetic, is not one of the inner cabinet core, where economic growth is king.” http://www.colinjames.co.nz/Dominion/Dominion_2011/Dominion_11Jan24.htm

Bill English’s slip today is another illustration of that.  What he and the inner Cabinet don’t  get is that pushing economic growth at the expense of the environment puts at risk our very economic base. We trade on our ‘clean, green’ reputation – continuing to treat that like a fad exposes us to our trade competitors.

And BTW, English also said this today on Morning Report that he didn’t think a Government “in the current recession” would chose to buy anything more than plain, vanilla cars. Is that a technical slip?

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Filed under: climate change, economy, environment
8 Comments

Preserve New Chum – Wainuiototo Beach for everyone

Posted by on January 4th, 2011

New ChumThis is the catch cry of the community campaign to save New Chum beach from development.

Imagine walking through the bush, a stand of nikau and then coming down into a beach of golden sands with pohutakawa trees right down to the sand.  A large bay with rocky headlands and rolling waves.  A beach that is completely pristine with absolutely no development at all.  No roads, no paths, no rubbish bins, toilets, ice cream sellers or anything other than the absolute natural beauty.  A beach on the Coromandel Peninsula that can only be accessed by a 30 minute walk or by water.   This beach is New Chum – Wainuiototo.

I first saw New Chum 10 years ago and I have to say it took my breath away.  I have visited many beautiful beaches but the absolute unspoiled nature of New Chum was something special.  Since that first visit I have been back many times to sit, to picnic, to walk, to swim and every time it takes my breath away.  On one occasion my partner and I ended up being the only people there at the end of the day – it was a magic feeling.  If you haven’t visited and you have the chance I would highly recommend it.  The beach lies north of Whangapoua beach on the eastern side of the Coromandel peninsula.  It is an easy 30 minute walk.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of joining over a thousand others who are fighting to stop development of New Chum.   There are so few beaches of this size and quality that remain undeveloped, especially so close to the large population centres of Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.  We want to save this beach in its untouched state for our children, our grandchildren and future generations.

A wonderful community campaign -New Chum for everyone - has worked tirelessly over the last few months to oppose the development of New Chum.   They have submitted, they have lobbied, they have built community support and got the support of Labour leader Phil Goff and Green MP Catherine Delahunty.   Yesterdat a message was sent to the Prime Minister to put pressure on him to do what is a no brainer and that is to buy New Chum from the developer to ensure it protected now and into the future. 

It seems the developer is willing to do a deal that means this could cost as little as $10 million.  This is a small price to pay for something which has enormous economic, social and environmental value.  This beach has been described as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world by Lonely Planet and National Geographic.

Yesterday at Matarangi, led by Phil Keoghan (Host of the Amazing Race) and supported by many others including Linda at The Informer newsletter, we sent a visual message made up of over a thousand people;  it said “John Key Save Me! New Chum”.  Phil Goff, Steve Chadwick, Catherine Delahunty and I (but not Sandra Goudie the local MP) all participated.   The Mayor of Thames Coromandel District Council, Glenn Leach and a number of TCDC Councillors were also actively involved.  One person I was really pleased to see was Robyn Malcolm who was recently vilified for taking a very principled stance in the whole Hobbit debacle.

The Government can make a difference by buying this wonderful asset for the people of New Zealand.  As Phil Goff says ‘National can invest $1.7 billion in protecting South Canterbury Finance Investors and pay Warner Brothers up to $95 million in handouts for filming The Hobbit in New Zealand, $10 million is such a small price for protecting such an invaluable asset as New Chum beach”. 

This is something worth supporting.  We can save New Chum. Please go to www.preservenewchum.org.nz for more information.   As the community campaign states “Whatungarongaro te tangata Toitu te whenua – people come and go but the land remains”

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Filed under: environment, protest, recreation, tourism
38 Comments

Key wants to turn Northland rail into trail

Posted by on December 20th, 2010

Later this week Kiwirail are likely to begin consultation on the closure of rail in the far north on behalf of the government.

I’ve got an opinion on this question which is not that popular with friends on both the right and left.

I think the rail link to Marsden Point should be completed. It is probably the key to a decent integrated transport system for New Zealand.

Marsden Point is the best port in the country. Deep water, natural and because it is so far north it saves sailing time for the massive ships that will be servicing NZ in the future.

The road industry hate the idea. Port of Auckland’s owner not impressed. Auckland colleagues don’t agree.

But worth talking about before the options are narrowed.

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Filed under: Energy, environment, infrastructure, Rail, transport
44 Comments

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