Hon Dr Nick Smith MP
National Party Conservation Spokesman

27 April 2007

Govt breaks key conservation promise

Labour has broken its key conservation promise to implement a National Policy Statement under the Resource Management Act to protect our native plants and birds, says National's Conservation spokesman, Nick Smith.

"Helen Clark is trying to save her Government from extinction with its sustainability theme but has failed to deliver one of its flagship policies.

"A National Policy Statement on biodiversity has been repeatedly promised by Ministers of Conservation, Environment and Local Government over the past eight years.

"Millions of dollars have been spent on drafts and consultations. It was even deemed so important that the Prime Minister chaired the central and local government forum on the first draft of the policy statement.

"Yesterday's announcement by Conservation Minister Chris Carter on Priorities for Conservation was a clandestine attempt to hide this failure to deliver a National Policy Statement.

A National Policy Statement requires, by law, all 85 councils and the Environment Court to protect native birds and plants on private land; the Priorities for Conservation has no legal status.

"It would be like the Government promising to outlaw smacking and then replacing it with a pamphlet urging parents to discourage smacking.

"The end result of this policy failure is that our native birds and plants have no national legal protection under the Resource Management Act on the 18 million hectares of private land in New Zealand."

ENDS

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