Best by the rest...
9 Sep 2022
New Zealand has had to deal with it's fair share of pest control over the years, and the new task at hand is how to deal with the growing populations of wallabies starting to 'infest' the nation. PHOTO: The Guardian/Alan Gibson
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: A proposed 400 megawatt solar power station near Taupō will be pitched for resource consent later this month; experts urge changes in forestry and farming; and wallabies are quickly becoming an invasive species.
Massive solar farm project near Taupō about to see the light
By Matthew Martin - Stuff
Plans to build a 400MW solar power station on farmland near Taupō will be heard by an independent resource consent commissioner later this month. There are concerns about this development with loss of farmland and a claim that New Zealand would lose '3000 dairy cows and “at least $30,000,000” annually if the consent was granted'.
Eats, hops and breeds: New Zealand’s worsening wallaby plague
Eva Corlett - The Guardian
A skilled hunter can shoot 100 of the invasive marsupials in a night. But with millions of hectares infested, some fear control efforts are too late
George Monbiot: presenting alternatives to farming
Kim Hill - RNZ
The New Zealand diet is particularly bad for the planet due to the vast amount of land required to produce food for it, says environmental campaigner and author George Monbiot.
Forestry needs an urgent reset
Gary Taylor - Newsroom
Forestry has an important place in our economy, but it's time to improve the sector's environmental performance. Gary Taylor explains how.
One simple trick to get more people on trains and buses: run them more often
Suraya Sidhu Singh - The Spinoff
Enticing people onto public transport seems like a tough nut to crack – until you realise we’re not doing the one relatively inexpensive thing that’s proven to work
The Aotearoa History Show: NZ Railways
William Ray - RNZ
All aboard for a voyage into the history of New Zealand’s railways! From a standing start of little tank engines chugging along wooden rails, New Zealand built a vast rail network, made up of enough steel rail to wrap halfway around the moon.
NZ’s most walkable towns and cities ranked: see how your neighbourhood stacks up
Tom Logan - The Conversation
If you live in a city or town, you have a mental map of the places you travel to most. But how accessible are those places, and how long does it take you to get there? Most of all, could you do everything you need to do without a car?
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Labour mulls GIDI 2.0 as factory closures mount
Today 11:45am
By Pattrick Smellie | Factory closures across the country could have been prevented if the last Labour-led government’s GIDI fund to assist companies with the cost of electrification hadn't been scrapped, Labour energy spokesperson, Megan Woods, says.
Dairy farmers' lack of climate action 'even bleaker' than water inaction – Upton
Today 11:45am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Government projections for cutting agricultural emissions are being undermined by low farmer uptake, with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment warning the country is relying on “heroic” assumptions to meet its methane targets.
‘Even more bonkers now’ – energy expert on LNG terminal
Today 11:45am
By Liz Kivi | An energy consultant says the Government’s plan to back an LNG import facility is a “non-starter” in the face of rising gas prices due to the Middle East conflict.
Lawyers complain to ombudsman over Govt failure to release LNG modelling
Today 11:45am
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action has made a formal complaint to the Ombudsman over the Government’s failure to release information about its controversial decision to build a LNG import terminal.
Businesses look for ways to cut costs in response to oil shock
Today 11:45am
New Zealand’s small and medium-sized businesses are looking for ways to ease the pressure as global tensions see rising fossil fuel prices and diminishing supply, with decision-makers mulling measures including work-from-home polices and transport or logistics changes.
NZ's opportunity: low carbon, secure energy, high growth
Tue 31 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The New Zealand economy could more than double in size by 2050 by pursuing secure, affordable electricity using local renewable and low-carbon sources and allowing the Emissions Trading Scheme to work properly, says a major new report.
Fuel shock pushes buyers back toward EVs
Tue 31 Mar 2026
Surging fuel prices are pushing some New Zealand buyers back toward electric vehicles and hybrids, as households respond to the oil shock by trying to cut their exposure to petrol.
FMA to ease conditions for green bond issues
Tue 31 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Green, social and sustainability-linked bonds will face lower disclosure requirements and regulatory costs under a class exemption newly granted by the Financial Markets Authority.
Wellington planting nears one million trees
Mon 30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greater Wellington’s parks restoration programme will hit one million native trees this year, with the first dams to rewet peat wetlands in Queen Elizabeth Park now completed after a years-long effort to bring these ecosystems – and their carbon sequestering superpowers – back to life.
NZ First targets regional share of mining royalties
Mon 30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand First has proposed returning 50% of mining royalties to regional communities, saying that too much of the value from resource extraction is currently flowing to Wellington.
