Opening up the Conservation estate a great idea!

DoC in its Statement of Intent 2012-17 is showing signs of pragmatism in a tightened economic environment. Its priority is to: "Increase business opportunities on public conservation land, and revenue generation opportunities that are consistent with conservation values."

UnitedFuture welcomes this move which falls squarely in line with its policy that :"The Department of Conservation should be responsive to the interests of all stakeholders when administering the conservation estate – including outdoor recreation groups, environmental organisations, the business sector, and individual New Zealanders in general."

This is a real opportunity to get hunters, fishermen and other outdoors lovers into a dialogue with DoC over this period to see how the vast conservation estate can start to be more accessible and utilised by as many New Zealanders who wish to be in the outdoors for their recreation.

Peter Dunne welcomes PCE's rivers report

UnitedFuture Leader Peter Dunne has welcomed the report Hydroelectricity or Wild Rivers released today by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright.

 

“I congratulate the Commissioner for this report. The issue of hydroelectricity versus the preservation of our wild rivers is an extremely important one,” Mr Dunne said.

 

“It is important that people realise that decisions giving the go-ahead to large-scale hydro-electricity schemes are permanent and irreversible.

 

“Today’s report highlights the inadequacy of the present consenting process and offers a suite of changes that will set the bar higher and give more consideration to the value of wild and scenic rivers,” he said.

 

“I am glad that the Dr Wright has taken on the long-accepted myth that big-scale hydroelectricity is renewable. Hydro dams may not involve greenhouse gas emissions but the permanent transformation of a river and its surrounding landscape should definitely not be considered a renewable process.

 

“Our wild rivers are a finite resource.

 

“It is my hope that this report along with the recent Mokihinui decision will see large-scale hydro projects become a thing of the past,” Mr Dunne said.

 

Read the full report at http://www.pce.parliament.nz/assets/Uploads/Wild-Rivers-web.pdf

 

 

Ends  

Dunne pleased with Mokihinui back-down

United Future Leader Peter Dunne has welcomed Meridian’s decision not to proceed with a proposed hydro-electricity development on the Mokihinui River.

“Meridian’s back-down today is a great result,” said Mr Dunne, who was one of the original signatories to Forest and Bird’s e-card in opposition to the dam.

"I applaud the efforts of Forest and Bird, the Federated Mountain Clubs, Whitewater NZ and others who have put a lot of effort into opposing this project.

“Damming ‘wild’ rivers such as the Mokihinui is unnecessary and environmentally irresponsible.”

“Hydro generation has traditionally been thought of as renewable; however the reality is that it is not. Our rivers are a finite resource.”

“The water itself maybe renewable but a dam dramatically changes the character of the river and surrounding landscape forever.”

“The negative environmental and recreational impacts of the proposed dam and its artificial lake would have far outweighed the benefits of the electricity generated.”

“It is my hope that large-scale hydro projects are a thing of the past, we cannot just keep damming our remaining wild rivers; they are far more valuable as they are than they could ever be as electricity generators.”

“Let’s make the Mokihinui the last time we have this debate, and commit ourselves to protecting our remaining wild and scenic rivers before it is too late,” said Mr Dunne.

ENDS

89 Dead Kiwi - 1080 Clearly Not Working

Tuesday, 4 October 2011, 2:09 pm Press Release: Clyde Graf

89 Dead Kiwi - 1080 Clearly Not Working

Clyde Graf - UnitedFuture candidate

It has been revealed through an OIA request that tagged kiwi have been dying in large numbers in one of our most heavily 1080 treated forests.

Aerial 1080 drops first began in the Tongariro Forest in 1976 and have been followed with subsequent drops in parts of the forest in 1988, 1989, 1991, and over much of the forest in 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, and 2006. Another drop was carried out last week covering around 15,000 hectares.

It would be reasonable to assume, after so much 1080 poison has been spread across the forest, there could be no sign of a ferret or stoat for miles - surely?

Not so. In the last 5 years, revealed through the DoC OIA request, 89 tagged kiwi, of all ages, have died in the Tongariro forest. Keeping in mind that the tagged kiwi only represent a fraction of the wild population, the actual numbers, from a population perspective, may be enormous.

More concerning is what's killing the birds. The assumed cause of death, in most cases ... is predation by ferret. We are told by DoC kiwi can defend themselves from mustelid attacks, once they reach 1.5kg in weight. Yet, many of these birds are adults.

When discussing the use of 1080, the DoC use sentences like "overwhelmingly successful", "very effective", "rapid knockdown" to justify their poisoning campaigns.
"It's the best tool we have for managing pests, and keeping predators at bay." At least that's what we're lead to believe by The Department of Conservation, the PCE, and Forest and Bird.

But what's really killing the birds? Surely not predators, going by what we're told about the effectiveness of 1080 at eliminating them. If it is predators, it would also be reasonable to say that the use of 1080 poison clearly isn't working. Surprisingly, given so much poison has been dropped across the forest, not a single kiwi from the 89 deaths has been tested for 1080 poison residues.

DoC say that the time-frames for the poison drops don't line up with the likelihood that 1080 could be a cause of death. Given the amount of poison dropped in the forest over the last 35 years, all endemic species found dead within the poisoned boundaries should be tested for poison residues, simply to eliminate toxins as a cause of death. Surely?

More concerning is the fact that in the last 15 years, with tens of millions of hectares of habitat being poisoned, only 5 kiwi across all of New Zealand have been tested for 1080 poison residues. It should be noted that kiwi are known to eat 1080 cereal bait, and 1080 residues have been detected in kiwi droppings.

On top of the 7 poisoned kea three weeks ago, the 3 poisoned kaka earlier in the year, the loss of 11 kiwi at Mt Bruce, 21 ruru in the Waitutu, the poisoned fernbirds, robins, tomtits and others, it is becoming more clear that the experiments with 1080 poison across our forests, aren't working.

After 35 years of poisoning campaigns, and desperately trying, there still isn't a single, credible scientific research paper that demonstrates a net population benefit to any native species through the use of aerially applied 1080 poison. Not one! And yet the drops continue.

Responsible, ground control methods do work. 50,000 hectares of the northern Te Urewera National Park is managed by DoC, trappers and volunteers. No aerial 1080 poison is used. We need to encourage, and replicate these methods, and eliminate the future use of aerially applied poisons.

The Election is less than two months away. If you'd like to see an end to 1080 poison, and more responsible, sensible methods of pest control implemented, please consider giving your party vote to UnitedFuture - the only party in government to make the banning of 1080, policy.

ENDS.

Economic progress not green light for water pollution

“It saddens me that in the name of ‘economic progress’ we are prepared to let our rivers and lakes be so badly degraded,” said UnitedFuture environment and outdoors spokesman, Doug Stevens, in reaction to Fish and Game’s report on the state of our rivers and lakes.

 “What right have we to spoil these resources and compromise our environmental future for our children,” said Mr Stevens.

 “The Cawthron Institute’s determination that the condition of our waterways will ‘continue to decline for several more years and possibly much longer’ is another alarming wake-up call about the deteriorating state of our environment.”

 “It is time we said as a nation that no one group has ownership of our environment, no one group can despoil what are national treasures, and no one group can claim the right to ruin recently pristine environments primarily for their own economic benefit.”

 “We must start the process of reversing these trends and attitudes immediately. To state that it is OK to wait 30 years is a disgrace, we can do much better.”

 “We often state that we are slipping way behind other countries in the economic wealth stakes. Yet how many Kiwis would trade our way of life for one in Singapore or other so called wealthy countries?” 

 “Maybe we can buy a bigger television cheaper in Hong Kong, maybe we can earn higher wages in the Middle East, but would we be able to enjoy the other things in life that make New Zealand a great place to live and raise a family?”

 “New Zealand has an environment and an outdoor way of life that is admired the world over yet we take it for granted and pay little more than lip-service to it in government policy.”

 “Our wealth as a country is not just about how much money we all earn, it is also the right to live in a clean, healthy environment with the ability to get out there and enjoy the recreational pursuits it offers.”

 “It is time for Nick Smith and National to look after the interests of all New Zealanders, not just those who work in a milking shed,” said Mr Stevens.