Wed, 26 May 2004

Auckland zero waste call needs Government support

Green MP Mike Ward says his party's efforts to put teeth into New Zealand's waste strategy have received a major boost from a council committee recommendation that Auckland implement a zero waste strategy.

The Auckland City Council's works committee has decided to adopt a 'long-term' zero waste philosophy, while acknowledging that it requires more Government money and action to be fully realised.

"With most of the country's local authorities now firmly signed up to zero waste it is time for the Government to lift its level of commitment," said Mr Ward, the Green Party's Waste-free Spokesperson.

"Landfill bans on a range of resources from green waste to plastics and demolition materials; extended producer responsibility levies for the recovery of resources in their products and packaging; a dedicated waste authority - all these measures would provide both the support and the funding that local government desperately needs to do the job properly."

"While there may be different opinions over the details of what should go into waste-free legislation, virtually all local authorities agree that without appropriate law and budget support, waste minimisation is unlikely to fully succeed and a sustainable future will be highly unlikely.

Mr Ward last month completed a cycle tour of the South Island looking at local body waste initiatives and recently launched a campaign to get support for reusable nappies initiatives.

ENDS

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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>>