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Zero Carbon Act for NZ, Environment watchdog’s report a valuable contribution

Source: Green Party

Headline: Zero Carbon Act for NZ, Environment watchdog’s report a valuable contribution

Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER
Acting Minister for Climate Change

7 March 2018

MEDIA STATEMENT

“The new Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s first report dealing with New Zealand’s proposed Zero Carbon Act provides a valuable contribution to the national conversation on this issue,” says the Acting Minister for Climate Change, Julie Anne Genter.

“Commissioner Simon Upton’s report, “A Zero Carbon Act for New Zealand”, lays out the sort of things we, as a nation will need to address in setting targets and having a durable way of managing our transition to a low emissions sustainable economy while providing certainty for businesses and investors.

“Mr Upton’s report also offers interesting areas for consideration based on his observations of the United Kingdom’s approach to establishing a Climate Commission and setting carbon budgets.

“At the same time, Mr Upton acknowledges New Zealand has very different emissions profiles to the UK and very different challenges,” Ms Genter says.

“Climate change is affecting us all now, but we have a huge opportunity to build a cleaner economy and ensure security for ourselves and for future generations of New Zealanders.

“Like the new Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, we, as the Green Party support partner of the Labour-led coalition Government agree that there needs to be thorough debate to reach a durable structure for New Zealand’s Zero Carbon Act.

“The Zero Carbon Act is about setting up the big picture framework that will drive practical, common sense actions to reduce our climate pollution.”

 

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Intro

“The new Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s first report dealing with New Zealand’s proposed Zero Carbon Act provides a valuable contribution to the national conversation on this issue,” says the Acting Minister for Climate Change, Julie Anne Genter.

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Name release – Invercargill fatal

Source: New Zealand Police –

Headline: Name release – Invercargill fatal


Location:

Southern

Police can now release the name of the man killed in a crash on Bay Road, West Plains, Invercargill around 8:30pm on March 4.

He was 31-year-old Logan Lambert Bruce Heywood of Invercargill.

Police extend our sympathies to his family and friends.

The investigation into the crash is continuing.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

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Name release – Te Anau fatal

Source: New Zealand Police –

Headline: Name release – Te Anau fatal


Location:

Southern

Police can now release the name of the man killed in a crash on SH94, Milford Highway, Te Anau around 12:42am on March 1. 

He was 35-year-old David William Gray of Te Anau.

Police extend our sympathies to his family and friends.

The investigation into the crash is continuing.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

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How can NZ agritech feed the world even more?

Source: MakeLemonade.nz

Headline: How can NZ agritech feed the world even more?

Tauranga – How New Zealand can meet the challenge of feeding some of the predicted global population of 10 billion by 2050, will be a major focus at a Techweek event in Tauranga in May. World-leading meat, dairy and horticultural industries have established New Zealand’s reputation as a producer of food. But NZTech chief executive Graeme…

The post How can NZ agritech feed the world even more? appeared first on Make Lemonade NZ.

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Zero Carbon Act for NZ, Environment watchdog’s valuable contribution

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: Zero Carbon Act for NZ, Environment watchdog’s valuable contribution

Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER
Acting Minister for Climate Change

7 March 2018

  MEDIA STATEMENT

Zero Carbon Act for NZ, Environment watchdog’s report a valuable contribution
“The new Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s first report dealing with New Zealand’s proposed Zero Carbon Act provides a valuable contribution to the national conversation on this issue,” says the Acting Minister for Climate Change, Julie Anne Genter.
“Commissioner Simon Upton’s report, “A Zero Carbon Act for New Zealand”, lays out the sort of things we, as a nation will need to address in setting targets and having a durable way of managing our transition to a low emissions sustainable economy while providing certainty for businesses and investors.
“Mr Upton’s report also offers interesting areas for consideration based on his observations of the United Kingdom’s approach to establishing a Climate Commission and setting carbon budgets.
“At the same time, Mr Upton acknowledges New Zealand has very different emissions profiles to the UK and very different challenges,” Ms Genter says.
“Climate change is affecting us all now, but we have a huge opportunity to build a cleaner economy and ensure security for ourselves and for future generations of New Zealanders.
“Like the new Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, we, as the Green Party support partner of the Labour-led coalition Government agree that there needs to be thorough debate to reach a durable structure for New Zealand’s Zero Carbon Act.
“The Zero Carbon Act is about setting up the big picture framework that will drive practical, common sense actions to reduce our climate pollution.”
 

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UPDATE: Homicide investigation – Flaxmere

Source: New Zealand Police –

Headline: UPDATE: Homicide investigation – Flaxmere


Location:

Eastern

Police have completed the scene examination at Flaxmere where a man was found late on Sunday 4 March near the Flax Bar and Eatery.

A post mortem has been completed and Police can now confirm that the deceased was 40-year-old Kelly Alex Donner from Opotiki.

Items of interest located will now be forensically examined to establish their relevance to the investigation.

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National welcomes discussion on climate change policy

Source: National Party – Headline: National welcomes discussion on climate change policy

The National Party welcomes a report from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE) outlining recommendations on how New Zealand can transition to a low carbon economy, Climate Change spokesperson Todd Muller says.

“National is up for the conversation about the steps we can take as a country to transition to a lower carbon economy. We all want to ensure that our natural environment can be enjoyed by our children and their children but it must be done carefully so as not to shock established sectors.

“There are a number of very substantive proposals in the report, which we will discuss as a Caucus, but it’s good that the PCE has acknowledged a Climate Change Commission would need to take into account New Zealand’s particular and specific circumstances.

“We believe it is possible to drive environmental improvements while continuing economic growth, but we need to make sure we get the balance right.

“The Government has signalled it will seek Opposition feedback in drafting climate change legislation and we look forward to that,” Mr Muller says.

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ACT Leader Pays Tribute to Old Foe

Source: ACT Party

Headline: ACT Leader Pays Tribute to Old Foe




ACT Leader David Seymour has today acknowledged Steven Joyce’s contribution to New Zealand politics.

“If Steven Joyce didn’t exist, we’d have to invent a new arch-enemy. Who else could sell Jim Anderton-esque corporate welfare and Soviet-style ‘economic development’ as business-friendly in a cool shade of blue?

“Thankfully, we will not have to invent a successor to Mr Joyce. When it comes to producing political heirs, Mr Joyce has been nearly as prolific as his namesake across the ditch.

“New corporate welfare czars and ‘economic developers’ are lining up to fill his place. Whether it be Simon “We Did It First” Bridges, Shane “Billion Trees” Jones, or David “Economic Development” Parker, Mr Joyce’s legacy will live on.

“By some estimates, National spent $13 billion on corporate welfare during its time in office. The new Government’s Provincial Growth Fund has simply given these handouts a new name.

“In all seriousness though, ACT wishes Mr Joyce well on his life outside politics”, says Mr Seymour.

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New mobile coverage for Haast

Source: New Zealand Government

Headline: New mobile coverage for Haast

Haast Township will have mobile phone coverage by the end of May and sections of State Highway 6 will have cell service by the end of the year.
Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister Clare Curran has announced the accelerated, initial solutions to the area’s connectivity crisis during a visit today.
“This government has heard the community’s concerns about public safety issues caused by no mobile service and over summer we’ve seen the impact a lack of mobile connectivity can have in an isolated community which has a lot of tourism,” Ms Curran says.
“By the end of May a 3G cell tower will be built and operational covering the township and State Highway 6 north and east of Haast for around three kilometres. Residents and visitors will be able to txt and make phone calls on three mobile networks – Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees.
“There’ll also be mobile coverage on sections of SH6 between Fox Glacier and Lake Hawea by the end of this year.  Between six and eight small roadside mobile sites will be placed on NZTA land, rest areas and on private land where available, along that section of highway.
“These sites will provide ‘islands’ of highway coverage for mobile voice calling and txt messaging. These initial solutions for the township and SH6 is aimed at improving safety and co-ordination and don’t include broadband coverage. The permanent solution for Haast and the West Coast will be based on 4G mobile technology with good broadband speeds and be in place before the end of 2022.
“Planning and rolling out mobile cellular towers across remote parts of New Zealand is challenging, partly because of how difficult it is to find suitable sites for the towers. The locations need to have coverage, power and connections back to the core telecommunications network.
“We have to be flexible and put real emphasis on the views and concerns of local communities and that’s what’s happened in this case. We are focusing on the areas of greatest need first – the West Coast is in this category, and Haast and the surrounding area in particular suffers at the moment from a near-complete dearth of connectivity. This is clearly causing problems not least in terms of safety with so many tourists coming through the area.
“If other regions organise themselves and bring part of a community solution to the table, such as land for the cell towers, then I will listen to their cases. But I would note that there are extenuating circumstances in the Haast case. The Haast mobile black spot is one of the longest in the country and includes one of the New Zealand’s most precarious state highways,” Ms Curran says.
The likely order in which rural communities around New Zealand will receive greater mobile coverage under the Mobile Black Spot Fund will be released soon.
“We won’t be able to give exact dates for the work but I want to clear up any misunderstanding that everyone will have to wait until 2022 for this,” Ms Curran said.
 

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Mural search finds missing E Mervyn Taylor work

Source: Massey University – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Mural search finds missing E Mervyn Taylor work

How the mural looked on display in the Wairoa Centennial Library before its disappearance and eventual rediscovery by a project team led by Massey University PhD candidate Bronwyn Holloway-Smith (below).

One of several missing murals made by renowned New Zealand artist, craftsman and designer, E Mervyn Taylor, has been found.

The search for 12 murals crafted between 1956 and 1964 was launched three years ago by Massey University PhD candidate Bronwyn Holloway-Smith who has edited a book honouring the work of Taylor, who studied at Wellington Polytechnic – a forerunner institution to Massey’s College of Creative Arts.

Ms Holloway-Smith, who is director of the E Mervyn Taylor Mural Search and Recovery Project, says the discovery was the “most exciting and dramatic” within the whole search project, and “we were thrilled to find it safe and sound after all this time”.

Days away from the book going to print the Project team received a phone call to say the mural by E. Mervyn Taylor commissioned for the Wairoa Centennial Library had been found at an undisclosed location.

The discovery was made in time for a photo of the work to be included in the book WANTED The Search For The Modernist Murals of E. Mervyn Taylor, which is launched today at City Gallery, Wellington as part of the opening programme for the exhibition:  This is New Zealand. It will be widely available through bookstores from 12 March or through the Massey Press website.

A generous supporter of the project team had offered to fund a reward of $5000 for the first person who provided information leading to the rediscovery of the mural.

It was through searching for online information on E Mervyn Taylor that the party noticed the publicity surrounding the search and immediately came forward. They have declined the reward money.

“The family who have the mural in their possession wish to remain anonymous, and as part of the conditions around a reward the project offered for its discovery [including its place of discovery], we need to honour this request,” Ms Holloway-Smith says.

Taylor, best known for his woodcuts, created the mural and other public works of art at the end of his career and in the vanguard of the New Zealand modernist movement. He worked with a number of materials including tiles, carved wood panels, sandblasted glass windows and paint to create these distinctive works in a truly original New Zealand language.

The Wairoa Centennial Library mural, painted in 1961, depicts a scene featuring Māori tangata whenua and colonial settlers in the Wairoa landscape. It was last seen during a library renovation in 2001 when it was successfully removed and stored. Library staff recollected a female family member visiting Wairoa and requesting the return of the work – but the artist’s family turned out to be unaware of this request.

“On discovery we can report that the painting covers nine large panels each just over a metre square and, while faded and with minor deterioration around the edges, it is in good shape,” Ms Holloway-Smith says.

“During the search process we have also discovered drawings that Taylor did for this Wairoa work, images of which are also included in the book.

The project team also made other discoveries over the past 12 months including revisiting the former Taita Soil Bureau to discover with the help of the conservators from Te Papa, that the mural paint was still beneath the layers of paint within the foyer.

Studying for her PhD at Massey University, and with the support of its Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Claire Robinson, the search led by Ms Holloway Smith and resulting book became a special project to mark the 130th anniversary of the founding of Massey’s College of Creative Arts.

The search was inspired by the earlier discovery in 2015 of one of Taylor’s few surviving murals, Te Ika-a-Māui, the story of Maui fishing up the North Island, stored in cardboard boxes in a disused cable station.

Ms Holloway-Smith made that discovery while researching the history of the Southern Cross Cable.

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