policy Archive

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  Population and Climate Change - by frog

  
  
  
  As greens, it seems pretty intuitive that runaway population growth is unsustainable. That argument rages in back rooms, but rarely gets much air in the media because it is such a controversial topic. read more
  September 28, 2009 10:37 am - 18 Comments
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  Climate science – another missing link is found - by frog

  
  
  
  It is the primary cry of the deniers and the false sceptics – “There is no definitive link between atmospheric carbon dioxide and global temperature.” (I leave the genuine, scientific sceptics out – those who play a constructive role in challenging the science.) Last Friday, the new edition of Nature contained an article on just [...] read more
  June 20, 2009 2:19 pm - 117 Comments
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  Why the National Party killed the pay-equity inquiries - by frog

  
  
  
  The Herald online highlighted the issue; The Government has axed two investigations aimed at improving the pay of women as it tries to save money by controlling public sector salaries. State Services Minister Tony Ryall said the investigations would “generate an additional form of remuneration pressure that is unaffordable in the current economic and fiscal [...] read more
  February 21, 2009 10:11 am - 70 Comments
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  15% organic by 2015 - by frog

  
  
  
  One of the cornerstone policy points of the recently released Green Agriculture Policy is for New Zealand to be 15% organic by 2015. This may seem ambitious to some, but with the size of the world market, New Zealand´s entire national output could be organic and it would be a small player. So fears that [...] read more
  October 26, 2008 8:57 pm - 19 Comments
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  Greens’ preference for post election talks - by frog

  
  
  
  From the Greens Press Conference this afternoon: Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons says: “However our analysis showed us that on the whole National would take New Zealand in the wrong direction, in fact, many policies headed off down a dead end street. This means that we can not form a Government with National, or support them on [...] read more
  October 20, 2008 12:28 pm - 80 Comments
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  Fishy rhetoric - by frog

  
  
  
  This week the House debated the Fisheries Act 1996 Amendment Bill (No 2). This Bill simply allows for the Minister to set Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limits under the Quota Management Scheme (QMS) with incomplete information about the state of the fish stock. The Minister has to be able to do this because only 24 [...] read more
  September 26, 2008 4:16 pm - 4 Comments
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  Nat’s forestry policy is Labour lite - by frog

  
  
  
  True to form, the National Party has released a forestry policy that leaves Labour’s policies completely unchanged, but whinges mightily about the RMA. What a yawn. The now familiar recipe goes like this; Ingredients: 1 Labour policy (ripe) 1 cup of meaningless statistics 1 National Party spokesperson 1 cup of self-righteous bile standard seasonings Implements: [...] read more
  September 24, 2008 2:25 pm - 3 Comments
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  Pike River Coal Mine gets a Gold Star from DoC - by frog

  
  
  
  Yeah, great work with the ducks and trees; now about all those carbon emissions… But the climate is not DoC’s responsibility of course, it’s just the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff for the 25% of biodiversity the IPCC estimates may go extinct by the end of the century… At least the Greens made [...] read more
  September 15, 2008 5:34 pm - No Comments
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  Green’s Conservation Policy launched - by frog

  
  
  
  Ending Conservation Week in style, Metiria Turei today launched our conservation package [2Mb PDF], designed to significantly increase New Zealand’s commitment to protecting our precious natural environment. It includes a $100 million boost for the Department of Conservation, elevating the status of the Conservation Minister in Cabinet, and doubling pest control funding. Meyt says: At [...] read more
  September 12, 2008 1:11 pm - 79 Comments
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  Children’s policy - by frog

  
  
  
  Sue Bradford has just released the Green Party’s Children’s Policy on the eve of the Every Child Counts Conference which starts tomorrow. As expected the policy signals the Greens will work to retain the amendments to s 59 of the Crimes Act.  It also has important health provisions (such as free dental care), environmental provisions [...] read more
  September 9, 2008 12:13 pm - 67 Comments
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  National’s Leaky Building Syndrome - by frog

  
  
  
  No, it’s not quite the 90′s again, where National’s slapdash deregulation caused the real leaky building syndrome, for which kiwi households, councils and businesses are still paying dearly. No, it’s not 2005 again, where National Leader Don Brash has is email archives leaked all across the political spectrum, humiliating him and revealing the not so [...] read more
  September 9, 2008 11:29 am - 11 Comments
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  The Duck hammers on the Nat’s wedge - by frog

  
  
  
  Trevor ‘The Duck’ Mallard (Honourable mind you), who is apparently awash in leaked National Party policy, has just revealed that he is also in possession of the National Party’s Conservation policy. National’s claim that their Environement policy was ‘accidentally’ left behind by an MP at Copperfields is proving difficult to believe. From Mallard’s release (not [...] read more
  September 5, 2008 3:08 pm - 7 Comments
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  Nat’s environment policy abdicates responsibility - by frog

  
  
  
  It is becoming a bit of a mantra around here, calling the National Party to task for releasing empty rhetoric and having the audacity to call it ‘policy’. When are we going to find out what the Nats really think? Probably never. The leaked draft of National’s Environment Policy, which Mallard is already beating up [...] read more
  September 5, 2008 2:39 pm - 103 Comments
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  National’s Empty Promise - by frog

  
  
  
  Yesterday’s announcement by Dr Nick Smith on how they would ‘fix’ the emissions trading scheme was just an exercise in empty rhetoric. Smith outlined a five point amendment bill that he promised National would pass within nine months of taking office. It’s just too bad that most of the items he wants have already been [...] read more
  September 5, 2008 10:36 am - 72 Comments
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  Making IT happen – Greens IT policy - by Metiria Turei

  
  
  
  I released our IT policy on Tuesday just before introducing Richard Stallman at his Dunedin talk “Copyright vs Community�?. Richard found my reference to “quote intellectual property unquote” somewhat difficult – you can read it here. It didn’t make front page news because we didn’t make ridiculous promises. Our policy is focused around access, freedom [...] read more
  August 21, 2008 11:41 am - 26 Comments
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  National’s energy policy throws consumers to the wolves - by frog

  
  
  
  The more I read it, the angrier it makes me. The National Party Energy Policy makes it crystal clear that consumers will be left entirely to the whims of the pseudo-market. With the likely destruction of the Electricity Commission and the gutting of the RMA, anyone will be able to build pretty much anything they [...] read more
  August 14, 2008 5:03 pm - 45 Comments
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  Those in the know - by frog

  
  
  
  It seems these days if you want to find out a National Party policy it’s best to skip asking the leader’s office and go straight to the backbenches.  Just don’t expect that policy to last long. read more
  July 9, 2008 1:46 pm - 9 Comments
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  Electric Cars and Behaviour Change - by frog

  
  
  
  While I fully support the government’s vision to move New Zealand to an electric vehicle fleet, at least in principle, I have often wondered what kind of behaviour changes this would require of the citizenry. I have also enquired how much more electricity generation we would need to make the switch. The off the record [...] read more
  March 18, 2008 9:16 am - 23 Comments
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  Stiglitz on Green Policy - by frog

  
  
  
  I rushed over to the Michael Fowler Centre to catch “An Hour With Joseph Stiglitz“. Being a bit late didn’t matter as apparently Rod Oram did go on a bit with his introduction. Nevertheless, listening to this Nobel Prize winning economist was a breath of fresh air for any Green supporter. His statements in support [...] read more
  March 14, 2008 9:43 pm - 13 Comments