New Zealand: Politics
Milford Dart quiet on tunnel appeal
19 Jul 2013
There is no word yet on whether the backers of a $180 million tunnel through the Fiordland and Mt Aspiring National Parks will fight to keep the project alive.
Nothing wrong with 1080, says environment watchdog
19 Jul 2013
Time is running out for native species on mainland New Zealand, says the Parliamentary Commission for the Environment.
Business not doing job, says green analyst
12 Jul 2013
Business is still failing to address climate change and environmental sustainability despite a talkfest in the capital this week, says one of our leading environmental policy analysts.
We're woefully short on green facts, says report
5 Jul 2013
New Zealand has the information to address fewer than half the major environmental problems it faces, according to a Statistics Department analysis.
Authority gets set to talk up EEZ
5 Jul 2013
The Environmental Protection Authority says it is ready to go to work on its new consenting, monitoring and enforcement functions in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
Rudd aims to redraw carbon reduction plans
28 Jun 2013
Recycled Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is rumoured to be revisiting Australia’s carbon reduction scheme.
Obama shows up NZ, say young greens
28 Jun 2013
President Obama's announcement of a United States climate plan will test whether the National Government is still at all serious about its claimed "fast follower" approach to climate change, say some of the country’s youth leaders.
Scrap carbon price cap, OECD tells NZ
7 Jun 2013
The carbon price cap and free carbon credits for trade-exposed emitters should be scrapped, the OECD is telling New Zealand.
House hears ETS 'far left' debate
7 Jun 2013
This week’s OECD Economic Report on New Zealand sparked an exchange in Parliament over whether the Emissions Trading Scheme is a “far left” policy.
Minister defends Denniston decisions
31 May 2013
Conservation Minister Nick Smith says he deliberately approved Bathurst Resources’ mining application for the Denniston Plateau just one day before the new Crown Minerals Act came into effect.
Govt banks on low, low carbon price
24 May 2013
The Government is budgeting on a carbon price of just 24 cents a tonne for the foreseeable future.
Emissions windfall drops … by millions
17 May 2013
New Zealand’s emissions “windfall” has fallen to just $3 million because forests are being converted to dairy farms.
Free credit cash takes a cut
17 May 2013
The Government has almost halved the amount of money it sets aside to pay for free carbon credits it gives to industry.
Yes, NZ is in the carbon trading club
17 May 2013
New Zealand is contributing to the development of international carbon-trading markets, the Government says.
Govt dumps funding for RMA services
17 May 2013
The Government will cut funding of its Resource Management Act advice services, the Environmental Defence Society says.
Top scientist to look into the future
17 May 2013
Climate change commentator and the United Kingdom’s former Government chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, will give lectures at all three of Massey University’s campuses later this month.
Fresh faces join Environment Court
17 May 2013
New appointments to the Environment Court were announced this week.
Have we joined the carbon power brokers?
10 May 2013
New Zealand is apparently part of a “club” that will set international standards on carbon trading.
Worries deepen over future of ETS
26 Apr 2013
Deep uncertainty remains over the future of the Emissions Trading Scheme, according to a revealing survey of ETS participants.
New law protects EEZ, says minister
19 Apr 2013
A law which the Government says will enable the comprehensive environmental management of activities in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone will come into force in June.
Carbon returns build to June cut-off
12 Apr 2013
Nearly a third of post-1989-forest owners have filed carbon returns for last year.
Ministry studies carry-over submissions
12 Apr 2013
The Government has received 20 submissions on the issue of carry-over provisions for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.
How do YOU see the carbon market?
12 Apr 2013
Today’s the last chance to have your say in Carbon Match’s survey on the outlook for the carbon market in New Zealand.
Ratepayers foot the bill, say local authorities
5 Apr 2013
Ratepayers are being left to pick up the cost of environmental monitoring that should be paid for by the Government, says Local Government New Zealand.
EDS claims RMA information is flawed
5 Apr 2013
The Government’s discussion document on proposed changes to the Resource Management Act relies on out-of-date and incorrect information, the Environmental Defence Society says
Casualties could be trees, says board
5 Apr 2013
Changes to the Resource Management Act could cost Auckland its trees, says the Auckland Conservation Board.
Lobbyist wants help to fight RMA changes
28 Mar 2013
The Environmental Defence Society says that changes to the Resource Management Act give radical new powers to government ministers.
Kyoto submissions about to close
22 Mar 2013
Submissions on which, if any, carbon credits should be carried over into the Kyoto Protocol’s second commitment period close in a week.
Don't blame biofuels, says minister
15 Mar 2013
The Government is denying its decision to scrap the biofuels obligation contributed to Solid Energy’s financial meltdown.
ASA mulls over 100% Pure complaint
15 Mar 2013
The Advertising Standards Association is yet to decide whether it will accept jurisdiction over a complaint about the validity of New Zealand’s 100% Pure advertising brand.
'100% Pure Kiwi lad' challenges brand claims
8 Mar 2013
The Advertising Standards Authority is being asked to rule on the validity of New Zealand’s 100% Pure marketing brand.
Govt wants to hold carry-over units
8 Mar 2013
The Government wants to be the only New Zealand holder of ERUS and CERs who can carry them over into the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.
Beehive watchdog slams RMA proposals
1 Mar 2013
The Government's proposed changes to the Resource Management Act paint the environment as the enemy of the economy, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
We're making RMA easier, says minister
1 Mar 2013
The Government has announced changes to the Resource Management Act which it says will make it easier to use, increase certainty and predictability, attract investment, reduce unnecessary duplication and cost.
Question for PM: UN is serious, are you?
22 Feb 2013
Green Party MP Kennedy Graham told Parliament this week that the United Nations Security Council is starting to consider climate change a serious risk.
Refugees? Don't ask us, says Government
1 Feb 2013
New Zealand has no policy for dealing with future climate change refugees.
Key's climate change answers anger Greens
1 Feb 2013
Prime Minister John Key was challenged in Parliament this week over why he didn’t mention climate change in his outline of Government priorities for the year.
Officials sort out Kyoto withdrawal
1 Feb 2013
Government officials are working out the implications of New Zealand’s withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol.
Government mulls over binding target
1 Feb 2013
The Government is “considering advice on Doha outcomes” as it ponders what this country’s binding emissions reduction target will be.
Groser goes green in Berlin
18 Jan 2013
Climate Change Issues Minister Tim Groser is at Berlin’s Green Week – the largest food, agriculture and horticulture festival in the world.
NZ carbon stand wrong, says Kyoto expert
14 Dec 2012
New Zealand’s political determination to maintain access to carbon at international prices is a mistake, says our most seasoned Kyoto negotiator.
Govt takes 'hard look' at green economy
14 Dec 2012
The Government has set out is plans for developing a green economy in New Zealand.
Why changing the system has dangers
7 Dec 2012
Reforming the fiscal system with moves like abolishing quarterly reporting could do more environmental damage than good, says a leading New Zealand economist.
Key defends climate change actions
7 Dec 2012
Prime Minister John Key says that he takes criticism of New Zealand’s actions on climate change with a grain of salt.
We're staunch, junior minister tells world
7 Dec 2012
New Zealand has attempted to assure the world that its carbon-reduction targets will continue beyond 2015.
RMA changes put money first, says watchdog
7 Dec 2012
Changes to the Resource Management Act put economic development ahead of environmental concerns, says the Environmental Defence Society.
NZ will end up just a slogan, Greens warn
30 Nov 2012
New Zealand is in danger of becoming little more than a marketing slogan that the world is starting to see through, Green Party climate change spokesman Kennedy Graham is warning.
Time running out for ERUs submissions
23 Nov 2012
Submissions on plans to ban some international units from the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme close next week.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
State-owned farmer drives profit growth with emissions reductions
19 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Government-owned Landcorp, trading as Pāmu, is one-third of the way to meeting its 2031 emissions reduction targets, with five years left to run to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30.3% against 2021 emissions.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
16 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned the Government that its changes to the clean car standard could turn the country into a dumping ground for high emitting cars, making future emissions budgets harder to achieve.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
