Pre-Announced Green Party Budget Initiatives

The Green Party and the Government have made a number of pre-Budget announcements on Green initiatives. The complete list of Green initiatives which were announced prior to Budget day are:

- $10 million over four years for a permanent conservation awareness programme - (continuation of last year’s project);

- $100,000 to establish a set of national minimum standards for organic food production - (new project);

- $150,000 for a small growers organic development programme - (continuation of last year’s project);

- $362,000 to survey two pest freshwater fish species to determine the feasibility of eradication - (new project);

- $500,000 over two years for environmental awareness in schools - (securing roll-over funding for last year’s Green initiative);

- $150,000 this year for organic gardens in urban schools - (new project);

- $100,000 this year for community internship programme - (new project);

- $200,000 over two years for a sewerage options handbook and on-line resource to help local authorities and communities assess the best treatment option for their locality - (new project);

- $50,000 this year for funding to enable environment and conservation groups to participate in the development of the Ministry of Fisheries Environmental Management Strategy - (new project);

- A feasibility study to look at establishing a peacekeeping school in New Zealand - to be funded out of current Defence baseline expenditure, cost not quantified - (new project).

Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said the Party was very proud of these initiatives which, combined, showed a clear Green vision for New Zealand.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>