Conservation

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Countdown: 36 days to go

Written By: - Date published: 3:36 pm, May 16th, 2012 - 11 comments

There are 72 days to the Olympics, which is what many people are counting down to – but the planet will be much more interested in the Rio+20 conference in 36 days.  This is the chance for world leaders to put global society on a sustainable path.

Frack Free NZ

Written By: - Date published: 4:30 pm, April 13th, 2012 - 33 comments

Christchurch has declared itself a fracking free zone. Symbolic gesture? Perhaps – but this was how Nuclear Free New Zealand got started…

Speak out for the last 55 Maui’s dolphins

Written By: - Date published: 1:19 pm, March 19th, 2012 - 30 comments

With just a few clicks of your mouse you can help send a message to the government in support of helping the world’s rarest dolphin – our own Maui’s dolphins.

The courage of their convictions

Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, February 26th, 2012 - 68 comments

While most of us talk about “saving the world” some people act.

34 hours to help Australians save their oceans

Written By: - Date published: 1:59 pm, February 23rd, 2012 - 12 comments

In 48 hours, Australia could save one million square kms of ocean forever — setting up the largest marine reserve in the world and preserving thousands of delicate species. But they will need an global outcry to beat out commercial fishing and mining companies hoping to destroy the plan.

100% Stupid

Written By: - Date published: 7:28 am, December 8th, 2011 - 51 comments

Is the John Key Party actively trying to trash New Zealand’s fragile “100% Pure” brand?

“Conservation” Minister

Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, December 3rd, 2011 - 103 comments

Quite apart from the broken promise, isn’t it the job of a “Conservation” Minister to, you know, conserve?  Instead of leading the mining charge?

Pure politics

Written By: - Date published: 11:37 am, October 15th, 2011 - 42 comments

3News reports that: Key dismisses Goff’s oil drilling moratorium as ‘pure politics’.  He’s right.  But not in the way he thinks.

Fools rush in

Written By: - Date published: 1:55 pm, October 14th, 2011 - 55 comments

Labour has announced it will put a moratorium on deepsea oil drilling until it’s proven safe. Good. Basic precautionary principle. Clearly necessary given the piss-poor handling of a relatively small spill. Besides, there’s no rush to dig this stuff up. It’s not going anywhere and we can only extract it once. Will only become more valuable over time.

Over-promise, under-deliver: whaling

Written By: - Date published: 11:16 am, October 6th, 2011 - 5 comments

Remember when Key had a super-duper secret plan to end whaling? Turned out the ‘plan’ was to restore commercial whaling as long as they promised to stop some time (the draft ‘phase-out’ plan didn’t actually have any reductions in it). Well, over-promise, under-deliver Key’s made no progress and whaling is resuming.

NRT – A permanent dictatorship in Canterbury?

Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, September 15th, 2011 - 13 comments

NRT continues to provide excellent coverage on the governance of Canterbury.

End slavery in NZ, create 2,500 Kiwi jobs

Written By: - Date published: 2:53 pm, August 7th, 2011 - 25 comments

Next week, a report will reveal the abuse of 2,500 foreign workers used as virtual slaves on ships employed by kiwi fishing quota holders in our waters. By rights, we should have a world renowned fishing fleet. Instead, we let our potential go to waste and employ foreign slaveowners and human traffickers to do the work instead.

Salt in the wound

Written By: - Date published: 12:25 pm, June 30th, 2011 - 81 comments

Two years ago, this government sparked the biggest protests in a generation when it tried to open up the most precious parts of our conservation estate to mining. The policy got canned but the agenda has continued below the surface. Now, 100 DoC staff have been sacked while the MED unit for oil drilling and mining will nearly double its staff.

Mining II: The Empire Strikes Back

Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, June 11th, 2011 - 52 comments

A little over a year ago the biggest single protest march in this country since 1938 put the final nail in the coffin of the Nats’ amateur hour plans to mine our most precious conservation land.  Or so we thought…

Heroes: José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo

Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, May 29th, 2011 - 8 comments

José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo are heroes.  Like Chico Mendes before them, they have paid for their activism with their lives.

James Hansen and other talks

Written By: - Date published: 3:04 pm, May 16th, 2011 - 47 comments

James Hansen was among the first to raise the alarm about climate change, and is sometimes called “the father of climate change science” for his trouble. He’s currently in New Zealand, and had an excellent interview last Saturday with Kim Hill on RNZ.  Click through for a schedule of his public lectures, and also two “Dark Ecologies” talks.

100% Clueless

Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, May 13th, 2011 - 86 comments

When confronted with the scientific evidence on the hollowness of our “100% Pure” slogan John Key, as usual, tried to attack the credibility of the source.  Key said “He’s one academic and, like lawyers, I could provide you others who would give a counter view”.   Now the source (Dr Mike Joy) has called the PM on his clueless claim.

Our dirty water

Written By: - Date published: 11:54 am, May 11th, 2011 - 26 comments

John Key didn’t much like being confronted with the facts on our dirty water.  He tried to pretend that everything is just fine, when it isn’t.  No surprise to find this attitude mimicked in National’s policy on water.  They are trying to pretend that they’re doing something when they aren’t.

Eaarth

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, April 26th, 2011 - 46 comments

I recently finished “Eaarth” by Bill McKibben (of 350.org), a book about the effect of climate change on the planet and how we should be preparing for the future.  Comprehensively researched and brutally honest, Eaarth is a smack in the emotional solar plexus.  Everyone should read it.

NZ takes one more step toward complete biodiversity loss

Written By: - Date published: 9:55 am, February 1st, 2011 - 13 comments

In a poor attempt to make it look like NACT are actually doing something about New Zealand’s incredibly high rate of bio-diversity loss , and warnings that our forests will soon be silent Nick Smith has introduced a National Policy Statement on Biodiversity whilst NACT also announces further cuts in conservation funding .

Ministers put public land in private hands

Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, January 24th, 2011 - 28 comments

You’ll remember the disgraceful Schmuck scandal when Minister John Carter had clauses inserted into legislation specifically to legalise Doug Schmuck’s annexation of a public reserve. John Key took no action. Now, Kate Wilkinson and David Carter got in on the act – forcing DoC to sign over more public land for private use.

More privatisation by stealth

Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, January 16th, 2011 - 29 comments

Since it came to office, National has cut the Conservation budget in real terms by 2% and the cuts are going to get deeper. Now, we learn that DoC is looking at contracting out camping areas on the conservation estate to be run for a profit. Coincidence? I think not. It’s privatisation by stealth.

A failure of leadership over Pike River

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, January 15th, 2011 - 115 comments

Like smiling and waving, frowning and looking sombre, is easy. But satisfying the expectations you create can be hard. This is where Key consistently fails. He has failed again over Pike River. The sudden and inadequately explained end to the recovery operation is bad enough. Lying about the promises he made is gravely insulting.

A Stupid Business

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, December 9th, 2010 - 9 comments

The Commissioner for the Environment’s “Lignite and Climate Change: The High Cost of Low Grade Coal” has been released today. Its release had been postponed because of concerns that it would become entangled with reports concerning the Pike River Mine disaster.

Got a spare Earth?

Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, October 19th, 2010 - 34 comments

Does anyone have a spare Earth?  Or two — or three?  If so, could you please speak up, because humanity is going two need two Earth’s worth of resources by 2030.

Fonterra – killing Orangutans.

Written By: - Date published: 3:48 pm, October 6th, 2010 - 45 comments

There has been an interesting ad from Greenpeace running around the site today. It is obviously intended to go viral before the lawyers from Fonterra get it into court… I think I might help out a bit… So should you – dump it onto the social media.

Mining backdown – Nats split?

Written By: - Date published: 2:28 pm, July 20th, 2010 - 48 comments

Well done Kiwis! A rousing show of solidarity and strength has forced the Nats to back down from their plans to mine Schedule 4 land. We have preserved some of the most precious places in our country for future generations. This is a straight craven backdown driven by Key’s relentless need to remain Mr Popular. But whatever the reason – its the right result!

Brownlee backdown predicted on mining

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, July 20th, 2010 - 23 comments

Predictions abound that the Government are today to announce a backdown on plans to mine Schedule 4 land..

Fat little lapdog

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, July 13th, 2010 - 123 comments

New Zealand hero Pete Bethune isn’t one for mincing his words – now that he’s free to speak them. He’s described the New Zealand Government as a “fat little lapdog” to Japan, eager to roll over and submit to the bullying of any power, no matter how unprincipled its actions, just as long as there’s a promise […]

NZ hero gets suspended sentence

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, July 8th, 2010 - 72 comments

Pete Bethune has had his sentence for bogus charges laid by Japanese whaling interests suspended. My warm congratulations to Pete and his family. They’ve suffered a lot of distress over the past few months as Japanese extremists called for Bethune’s execution – all because he dared to hold Japanese whalers to account for illegally killing […]

Brownlee makes Nats more enemies

Written By: - Date published: 12:16 pm, June 30th, 2010 - 18 comments

Every night before they go to sleep, good little Labour and Green spin doctors pray for another headline involving Gerry Brownlee. The guy has an amazing tin ear for public opinion. He’s had 50,000 people march against his mining plans and, now, he’s made a Treaty breach over the one area of foreshore and seabed that was settled. Gerry, you’re a godsend.

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