We Have a Human Right to Water, and to Democracy
National is rolling out comprehensive water corporatisation, across New Zealand. For those who don’t live in Auckland, Wellington, or other centres with commercialised […]
Environment
water
Vale David Parker MP
David Parker’s Deputy Leader ‘s speech in 2014 at the Wellington Labour Party Conference was the best I ever heard from a Labour Leader. Vision matched values in intensity and scope. Parliament now loses one of its very best.
Tui: National Party’s Local Water Done Well – A more expensive 3 Waters with potential for privatisation
Simeon Brown is working on National’s New 3 Waters called “Local Water Done Well.” But is it just a more expensive version with a privatisation catch?
March for Nature
Be there, bring your whanau, bring friends. Make it noisy and passionate and make it count.
Get ready for your water to be privatised
The National Government’s repeal of the Three Waters Legislation and its pursuit of “new forms of infrastructure funding and financing” suggests that privatisation of water is on the drawing board.
National wants to hide huge potential rates rises caused by canning of Three Waters
Someone should tell the Taxpayer’s Union. Some Local Councils are planning to put rates up by double digit figures. And the Government is planning on exempting them from discussing this with ratepayers.
Peak NZ Liberal
As National dismantles with speed some of the institutional reforms made by the last Labour Government the concern is that we may have witnessed the peak in progressive influence.
About that Speech from the Throne
The new Government blows the dog-whistle like the pied piper.
Just One Term
There is every reason to believe National will be chucked out in 2026.
National is no nation builder
Nation building projects always take multiple terms, and the risk of Labour losing puts at risk some of the largest and most important we’ve seen in generations.
Three Waters becomes Affordable Water
Three Waters mark two has been announced. And Kieran McAnulty has given a text book example of clarity in political speak when making the announcement.
Greens: Three waters rebrand insufficient
Today the Government adopted a long held Green Party position to increase the number of water entities to ensure a closer connection with communities they serve. However, despite the rebrand, significant concerns remain.
Labour’s new water infrastructure policy
We’ve listened to the feedback from Local Government and today we’re announcing our new regionally-led plan to guarantee New Zealanders affordable water, for generations to come. – Labour
National’s three waters policy
National has announced its alternative to the Three Waters Policy with the standout feature being greater central control of asset management and investment plans than offered by Three Waters and even greater loss of local control.
The great reset
Chris Hipkins has announced the great policy reset and there are no surprises.
Labour and National and Industry Intervention
Minister Mahuta’s water reforms are by some measure the most consequential industry intervention of this Labour government, and likely to be the most successful in over a decade.
Co-Governance is Orthodox Policy for both National and Labour
National, the party which enacted legislation that gave Waikato command over the allocation of the Waikato River, iwi command over the Taupo catchment and full Maori control over the massive Uruwera water catchment, has not traditionally been opposed to co governance.
National’s relentless negativity
National’s recent press releases show that its approach to politics will be relentlessly negative, with no idea of what it will do as an alternative or how it will fund changes.
Was This The Change We Needed?
Crises that profoundly test a small developed state like New Zealand have required huge growth in state strength and policy power. But was it the change we needed?
Rage and the Woke
The past couple of years has seen a significant increase in far right activity and rapidly increasing racism.
Greenpeace: New research finds dairy industry making Canterbury water “undrinkable”
“There isn’t enough water falling from the sky or pouring down Canterbury’s rivers to actually dilute the nitrate contamination produced by thousands of tonnes of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and over a million dairy cows across the plains,” – Mike Joy
Water and Money
If the 3 Waters reforms can survive its attacks and be implemented, a consequence will be that we are going to have a most enormous nationwide economic argument about the price of water and who pays for it all.
3 Waters Reform Must Happen
If you’re out there in ZB land and believe that water management should be democratically elected, you won’t find respite here. Local Government has done a terrible job dealing with water and change is urgently needed.
None of this is remotely sustainable
The story of New Zealand’s most polluted lake is the same story running through all of New Zealand society. We treat nature as an after thought that we can fix when things go wrong, even when we can’t. What if we told a different story?
Good Again
COVID has reminded us how good New Zealand is, and we should remember how we were reminded.
Water Rights War Brewing
Minister Parker is firing an 18 inch gun round that he’s ready to take on all with his call-in of the Otago water rights plan change.
No Right Turn: Give the Rangitata back
If we want to protect our environment and ourselves, we need to scale this back. And the easiest way to do that is give the river back: remove or massively scale back those consents, and let the rivers flow.
A Few Good Green Wins
There is always plenty of bad news when it comes to nature in New Zealand, but this year has had an accumulation of good.
Labour’s Hefty Carrot-And-Stick For Water
New Zealand’s local and regional councils have been given until August 31 2020 to sign up to a ginormous fund that would help them improve their water, wastewater, and stormwater systems. The implications for them doing this are significant and could see the end of Council control of the supply of water.
If National wins the hope for clean water and swimmable rivers will be gone by lunchtime
National has promised that if it gains power rules designed to improve water quality in our streams and rivers will be “gone by lunchtime.
Our damaged rivers and streams
A new report out from the Ministry for the Environment and Statistics NZ showing that New Zealand’s fresh water system is getting worse, all over the place, but particularly in the South Island.
Pure clear water
It’s probably time to notice why Jones’ Provincial Growth Fund had to step in and provide several million of funding to patch up the water supply emergency in Northland.
Common-wealth Government
Advantage is testing an idea out. What will a common accountability framework for the government look like?
The NZIER Report on dairying and fresh water
“New Zealand does not face stark choices between having a dairy sector versus having clean waterways. Experience shows that, by focusing on profits, not production, farms can increase their economic returns and reduce their impact on the environment.”
No Right Turn: Ending dairy in Canterbury
Idiot/Savant at No Right Turn writes: “Environment Canterbury has finally proposed nitrogen limits to stop dairy farmers from poisoning Christchurch’s water supply”
What if there were only 34 31 more whitebait harvests left?
If we want to prevent the extinction of whitebait it’s time to stop buying and selling it.