conservation Archive

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  Protect our critically endangered New Zealand sea lion - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  I was fortunate to see some sea lions in the wild yesterday on the Otago Peninsular as I launched our push to protect these critically endangered animals. Along with sea lion expert Dr Bruce Robertson and Sea Lion Trust Chairman Stephen Broni, I launched an online submission that people can send to the Government urging [...] read more
  December 19, 2011 5:39 pm - 7 Comments
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  A precautionary tale - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  Following is an extract from Hansard, recording an exchange I had with energy Minister Hekia Parata back in April.  The question was asked at a time when iwi, hapu, environmental groups and others were trying to persuade the government that issuing permits for deep water drilling is a bad idea. David Clendon: What is the [...] read more
  October 10, 2011 9:52 am - 9 Comments
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  Blackball Mayday Speech - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  While some others were focused on political events elsewhere in the country, I was in Blackball for the annual Mayday celebrations and for the launch of a memorial wheel for those who have lost their lives in West Coast mines in recent years, most notably the Pike River 29. Families had made tiles with the [...] read more
  May 1, 2011 11:59 am - 2 Comments
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  Restoring the Kaipara Harbour - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  I was really inspired when taking part in a hui at Puatahi Marae on Sunday, an open day for the Integrated Kaipara Harbour Management Group.  The group’s title is a mouthful, but there is nothing complicated about the vision they share, which is to restore the Kaipara, its mauri, its quality and its ecosystems back to what [...] read more
  April 18, 2011 5:58 pm - 1 Comment
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  Making origami whales to save the whales - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  Yesterday I launched a nationwide sister cities whale tour in Wellington for ordinary people to do something about whaling, rather than leaving it up to the activists and international lawyers. We set up a stall where passers-by could sign a letter to Wellington’s sister city, Sakai, and then fold it in to an origami whale. [...] read more
  January 12, 2011 4:12 pm - 4 Comments
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  Interesting answers to hard questions (for public servants!) - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  Sometimes it can be tricky being a senior public servant. The Department of Conservation senior management just fronted up to the Local Government and Environment Select Committee for the Department’s ‘financial review’. This is the Department’s accountability mechanism to Parliament for how it spent its public money in the 2009-10 year, but in practice the [...] read more
  December 9, 2010 4:41 pm - 1 Comment
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  Rafting the majestic Mokihinui - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Over 100 of us rafted and kayaked down the Mokihinui River on Sunday. The Mok is a fantastic wild West Coast river, a river full of life which makes its way through some of the last of our great lowland forest. Meridian Energy wants to dam and destroy the Mokihinui and drown the surrounding forest, [...] read more
  October 27, 2010 3:59 pm - 9 Comments
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  Conservation week – wetlands and kokako - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  There is a perceived conflict between the environment and the economy. John Key often talks about balance but the reality as we all know is somewhat different. Personally I, like many New Zealanders am happy to protect areas like the Whangamarino wetland just because there are special. Some members of our society want to take [...] read more
  September 17, 2010 3:40 pm - 5 Comments
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  Conservation week – lords of the forest - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  Tane Mahuta, lord of the forest. A tree that is truly magnificent, along with Te Matua Ngahere, father of the forest, who is our second largest Kauri. Estimated to be over 2000 years old, this means that it is possible that it lived through the large Taupo eruption of 180CE. Both trees grow in the [...] read more
  September 16, 2010 5:17 pm - 5 Comments
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  Conservation week – under the sea - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  I live on an island close to the sea. The opening lyrics of Jess Chambers memorable song Island which featured in our 2008 election campaign will ring true with many. Our coastline features heavily in our recreational opportunities. Many of us yearn for a sunny day at the beach under a deep blue sky or [...] read more
  September 15, 2010 5:14 pm - 3 Comments
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  Saving the Mokihinui River - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  Well it’s Conservation Week and my inbox is full of email from people who saw the WhitewaterNZ film “A Tale of Two Rivers” on TVNZ 6 last night. It’s being repeated three times before the end of the week and is well worth a watch. Essentially it compares the disastrous Meridian Energy plan to build [...] read more
  September 14, 2010 5:42 pm - 7 Comments
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  Let’s Celebrate Conservation Week - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  To celebrate Conservation week we are doing a short series of blog posts about conservation in New Zealand, celebrating how lucky we are. We will cover some the current conservation issues and, since this is a political blog, highlight some of our solutions. What does conservation mean? Like sustainability the meaning often changes with context, [...] read more
  September 14, 2010 1:23 pm - 1 Comment
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  Young people inspire others to believe change is possible - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  One of the events I really wanted to take part in last year was a festival called “A Day at the Beach”. It was the idea of a couple of young West Coasters, Louis Brown and Guy Ryan. Louis would walk 350km (to represent 350 ppm Carbon in the atmosphere) down the beach from Karamea [...] read more
  September 5, 2010 11:00 pm - 5 Comments
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  Reading the National Government’s playbook - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  It’s a bit of a hobby of mine – trying to infer the content of the advice they have received from Crosby-Textor from the behaviour of the Government. Of course it may not be that it’s just Crosby-Textor’s advice: some might come from Stephen Joyce himself, but you get the idea. Some of it’s obvious, [...] read more
  July 22, 2010 6:00 pm - 7 Comments
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  Deep South has strong conservation message for Government - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  I’m sure that when the Government first developed its plan to “unlock” for mining conservation areas currently protected by Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act, it anticipated that the plan would be opposed by conservationists and trendy lefties. But – the Government would have reasoned – such people don’t vote National anyway. What an [...] read more
  June 28, 2010 5:34 pm - 15 Comments
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  Sign petition to stop National developing Waitakeres - by frog

  
  
  
  As David Clendon blogged last week there has been a lot of concern in West Auckland about the  impacts the third super city bill might have on the Waitakere Ranges. First, Westies were concerned that the Bill might lead to the Waitakeres being taken away from the Auckland Council and made into a National Park. [...] read more
  February 24, 2010 1:36 pm - 5 Comments
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  Stop National stealing the Waitakeres - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  I put out a press release yesterday highlighting a well-hidden clause in the third Auckland Council Bill which aims to nationalize Waitakere Regional Park. On Page 163 of the Bill is a clause which would repeal Section 77(1) of the Local Government Act. This means that the Waitakeres would no longer belong to Auckland Regional [...] read more
  February 11, 2010 12:24 pm - 6 Comments
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  Fish industry uses net to catch hoki criticism - by frog

  
  
  
  To the surprise of conservationists, in 2001 the New Zealand hoki fishery was recognised as a sustainably managed fishery by the Marine Stewardship Council. Yet conservationists have continually raised concerns over how the fishery could possibly be sustainable when bycatch rates of NZ fur seals and seabirds are so high and the bottom trawling equipment [...] read more
  December 12, 2009 10:05 am - 9 Comments
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  Herd homes vs cubicles like home vs prison - by Jeanette Fitzsimons

  
  
  
  Have you ever felt that after a long day inside a building you just have to get out and feel the sun and breathe some air? I guess not being able to do that is one  of the punishments the prison system imposes on offenders. But even they get an hour or so out in [...] read more
  December 9, 2009 3:35 pm - 11 Comments
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  Global concern at Nats’ plan to mine national parks - by frog

  
  
  
  Scrutiny of Government plans to mine our conservation lands is deepening internationally. And it’s got people hot on Facebook too. The Sunday Star Times ran a powerful feature on the weekend called “Picture imperfect”. It looks at international concern at New Zealand’s environmental performance, including National’s plan to mine conservation land: IT’S JUST a stock-take [...] read more
  December 7, 2009 8:30 pm - 10 Comments