Amy Adams13 NOVEMBER,
2012 - Twelve regional environment centres
are to receive more than $1.4 million from
the Government to provide practical ways
of caring for the environment, including
courses on composting and growing vegetables,
educating school children and community
planting days.
Environment Minister
Amy Adams says environment centres play
an important role in promoting environmental
action in communities.
“The Government recognises
the important contribution that these centres
make in New Zealand. This funding will help
them manage the environmental challenges
faced by their regions, and help people
to become more aware of environmental issues.”
Examples of successful
programmes developed by environment centres
include the Sustainable Living Programme
run by Hive Taranaki, which teaches participants
how to create healthier homes, save water,
grow vegetables and make smarter shopping
choices.
The environment centre
on the North Shore in Auckland, the Kaipatiki
Project, grows about 20,000 new native plants
each year, and about 600 volunteers contribute
more than 7000 hours to carry out urban
restoration work.
The environment centre
in Nelson runs a waste education service
programme that delivers education to schools
and early education centres on reducing,
reusing and recycling waste. The programme
includes school audits, worm farming and
workshops about reducing lunch box waste.
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Water measuring to allow
more efficient management
Amy Adams9 NOVEMBER,
2012 - Environment Minister Amy Adams has
welcomed the effective start of new regulations
that require for the first time significant
water takes to be metered, as part of a
wider programme to improve fresh water management.
From tomorrow, all significant
water takes (more than 20 litres per second)
need to be metered. Smaller water takes
down to five litres per second will gradually
be covered by the regulations so that by
2016, about 98 per cent of consented water
will be measured.
“It is time to get serious
about how we use water in this country.
It is a replenishable resource but a finite
resource at a given time and place,” Ms
Adams says.
“We cannot manage what we do not measure.
There is a major gap in our knowledge and
it affects our ability to make good decisions
and to effectively manage water.
“Studies suggest that
water supports economic activity worth up
to $28 billion per year in New Zealand,
and only a small improvement in efficiency
makes an investment in improved information
worthwhile. It has been estimated that a
five per cent gain in efficiency would achieve
a $100 million benefit for the country.”
Consent holders will
be able to use information on how much water
they are using to identify costly inefficiencies
in their systems, such as poorly-performing
pumps, intakes and wells.
“This information is
likely to enable savings in terms of water
used, and energy costs, and may help avoid
costly issues down the track by allowing
problems to be identified and addressed
before any serious difficulties with system
performance occur.” The regulations will
be monitored and enforced by regional councils.
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Ministers welcome final
fresh water report
David Carter, Amy Adams15
NOVEMBER, 2012 - Primary Industries Minister
David Carter and Environment Minister Amy
Adams welcomed the release today of the
third and final report of the Land and Water
Forum (LAWF).
“This report presented
to the Government marks the culmination
of three years’ hard work by LAWF and we
thank the members for tackling the tough
issues of New Zealand’s fresh water management,”
say Mr Carter and Ms Adams.
“LAWF’s work provides
a solid foundation from which to progress
the Government’s strategic direction for
water management, with the support of a
broad range of stakeholders,” says Mr Carter.
The Forum’s key recommendations
identify how water can be better allocated
for high-value use, focus on what councils
and communities need to actively manage
water quality and call for clearer accountabilities
for resource managers and users.
The Ministers say they
applaud the wide buy-in on fresh water management
from such diverse interests, despite a split
on some of the recommendations.
“New Zealanders are
concerned about a decline in water quality
seen in many areas. This creates risks to
our biodiversity, our economy, iwi interests
and recreation,” says Ms Adams.
“LAWF identifies the
need for better collaboration, and consideration
of the full range of values we hold and
what it means to deliver on those values
when making decisions around fresh water.”
Mr Carter and Ms Adams
say they will carefully consider the report’s
recommendations.
“This work will feed
into further progress in the fresh water
reform programme, from which we’ve already
seen the National Policy Statement for Freshwater
Management, the Fresh Start for Freshwater
Clean-Up Fund and the Irrigation Acceleration
Fund,” the Ministers say.
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Government welcomes
report on fracking
Phil Heatley, Amy Adams27
NOVEMBER, 2012 - Energy and Resources Minister
Phil Heatley and Environment Minister Amy
Adams have welcomed the Parliamentary Commissioner
for the Environment’s interim report on
her investigation into hydraulic fracturing
(fracking).
The interim report finds
that the environmental risks associated
with fracking can be effectively managed,
providing that the best operational practices
are implemented and enforced through regulation.
“We acknowledge the
Commissioner’s interim view that the evidence
she has considered to date suggests a nationwide
moratorium on fracking is not justified,”
said Mr Heatley and Ms Adams.
The Commissioner’s findings
are in two parts. The first relates to aspects
of oil and gas production. They are:
choose the well site
carefully
design and construct wells to prevent leaks
prevent spills and leaks on the surface
store and dispose of waste with care.
She has also made three interim findings
about government oversight and regulation,
that:
regulatory oversight
is complex and fragmented
regulation may be too light-handed
a social licence to operate is yet to be
earned.
“We agree that it is important to have strong
and consistent regulation of fracking and
to improve regulation and monitoring where
necessary,” the Ministers said.
“This Government has
already implemented a number of measures,
including consulting on proposed changes
to the Health and Safety in Employment (Petroleum
Exploration and Extraction) Regulations
1999, which will allow New Zealand to keep
pace with international best practice,”
Mr Heatley said.
“I have instructed the
Ministry for the Environment to consider
and produce clear guidelines on the respective
roles of central and local government in
relation to the control of fracking,” Ms
Adams said.
“It is important that
New Zealanders are confident in how the
practice of fracking is managed. The interim
report provides a valuable contribution
to the understanding of fracking in New
Zealand,” the Ministers said.
The Ministry of Business,
Innovation and Employment will prepare a
full response to the Parliamentary Commissioner
for the Environment’s interim report to
inform the Commissioner’s final report,
due in mid-2013.
