5 September 2008
Nat's enviro policy: wood, but no trees

The Green Party is calling for more detail from the National Party on their environment policy after reading the partial policy draft leaked yesterday.

"The Green Party agrees that New Zealand's environment is being badly managed by the current Government. The question is: what does National plan to do to manage it better?

"As yet, the National Party hasn't seen fit to share with New Zealand their plans for solving the key issues of climate change, water quality, conservation and protecting our ocean," Green Party Co-Leader Russel Norman says.

"When the Green Party wrote to John Key for detail on what a National Party Emissions Trading Scheme would look like, we got a meaningless response.

"The Greens challenge the assumption in National's principle that 'economic growth and environmental responsibility can and must go hand in hand'. What matters is which parts of the economy grow.

"How can continued growth in coal exports, dairy intensification, or motorways, for example, be environmentally responsible?

"The Green Party are concerned that National's focus on 'empowering stakeholders' is a smokescreen for abdicating responsibility for the environment and conservation.

"The Green Party cautiously welcomes National's support for implementing the Green's Waste Minimisation Bill when it is passed, however we are not sure how this fits with their attempts in Parliament to water it down and to block its progress.

"I note National's desire for 'low income households to change to clean heating and better insulation', and challenge them to commit to protect the $1 billion fund the Green Party secured to do just that, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make all New Zealand homes warmer, drier and healthier."

ENDS

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