Category: MIL-Submissions

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Miners celebrate support for economic growth – Straterra

Source: Straterra Inc

Miners are celebrating the Government’s support for growing mining’s contribution to the economy with the release of a minerals strategy and critical minerals list today, says Straterra chief executive Josie Vidal.
“The Government is listening, so this is a good day – not just for miners, but also all the businesses that make mining possible, including those producing mining equipment, technology, and services,” Vidal says. “They provide jobs and contribute to the economy. We have been asking for some years for buy-in from the Government to support mining growth that benefits workers in New Zealand, and their communities.
“It is great to see facts, evidence, and science being used in decision making to further develop mining. Let’s be clear, that is not at the expense of the environment and there won’t be a mine on every corner.
“The strategy has been developed through consultation and it is important it has a clear vision. We need this to put a marker in the ground for global markets indicating that we can be part of the minerals supply chain. Minerals are needed for energy, technology, medicine, transport, infrastructure, communications, and food production.
“Identifying critical minerals helps with this. New Zealand has its own unique path and that includes acknowledgement that some of what is already mined here is critical to our economy. So, the list released today rightly includes gold and metallurgical coal.
“While thermal coal not on the list, it does not mean it is not critical, and the strategy acknowledges the role thermal coal plays in keeping the lights on and businesses running. Coal is critical to national energy security and users of coal energy face a supply risk if domestic miners are forced to exit the market before affordable alternative fuel sources are readily available.
“Productivity is at the heart of the strategy and mining is one of the most productive sectors in New Zealand, which translates into high wages.
“The strategy recognises the value of responsible mining and New Zealand can be proud our strict employment and health and safety laws and stringent environmental regulations that back that.
“What has been missing is an enabling business environment. The Fast-track Approvals Act is a game changer and there is interest in it from law makers around the globe.
“We also need investment and with that, basics such as banking and insurance. While on the investment front there is plenty of interest in New Zealand mining, is disappointing to see debanking of coal mining in New Zealand due to arbitrary moral judgements. If banks start making ‘moral’ judgements, where does that end? I fail to see how banks can refuse to do business with legal and legitimate business entities.
“We must not go backwards now on political whims. The foundations are starting to form to enable the mining sector to double the value of exports and contribute to economic growth, jobs, and regional development and to do what benefits New Zealanders.”
Straterra is the industry association representing New Zealand’s minerals and mining sector.
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Fire Safety – Fire restrictions eased in parts of Mid-South Canterbury

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Fire and Emergency New Zealand has revoked the restrictions on lighting outdoor fires in the lower-lying areas of Mid-South Canterbury from 8am on Friday 31 January.
Mid-South Canterbury District Manager Rob Hands says that as fire danger has eased in these areas after recent rainfall, they are now back in an open fire season until further notice.
In a restricted fire season, people need a permit from Fire and Emergency to light an outdoor fire.
In an open season, permits are not needed, but people are asked to take reasonable precautions when lighting fires.
“As well as the rain we’ve now had, the outlook for the next few weeks is cooler and damper, which means there’s less chance of a wildfire starting and spreading through vegetation,” Rob Hands says.
The areas in Mid-South Canterbury which have moved to an open fire season include Cattle Creek, Waihaorunga, Waimate Coastal, Waimate, Timaru Coastal, Albury, Cannington, Clayton, Geraldine Plains, Mt Somers, Ashburton Plains, and Ashburton Coastal.
The Mackenzie Basin and high country – including Rangitata and Rakaia Gorges, and Ashburton Lakes – remain in a restricted fire season, as those areas continue to be affected by hot, dry conditions.
Rob Hands says people should not become careless with fires, just because the season has changed.
“While rain has reduced the fire risk in the low-lying areas, people must take care to prevent unwanted fires getting started,” he says.
“Even if you are in an open season, you should go to www.checkitsalright.nz to see if it’s safe to have an outdoor fire at your location.”
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First Responders – Tiwai Peninsula vegetation fire update #2

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Fire and Emergency New Zealand crews are back on Tiwai Peninsula in Invercargill today, where the large vegetation fire has not grown further overnight.
The fire grew to 1,200 hectares yesterday in hot, windy conditions but was contained by the end of the day.
Incident Controller Hamish Angus says there will be 35 firefighters on site today, with support from five helicopters, the Department of Conservation and local forestry companies.
“Our focus today is on knocking out those remaining hotspots,” he says.
“We’re expecting winds to pick up over the next few days, so we want to make sure there’s nothing left here that could get the fire under way again.
“It’s too early to say what caused the fire, but we will have fire investigators here today looking into that.”
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Latest climate target as useful as a screen door on a submarine – Greenpeace

Source: Greenpeace

Greenpeace has slammed the Luxon Government for failing to protect future generations after releasing New Zealand’s latest climate target of a 1-5% additional reduction in emissions by 2035, saying it’s “about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.”
Greenpeace spokesperson Amanda Larsson says, “This target is an absolute joke, yet the climate crisis is no laughing matter.”
“Against the backdrop of Luxon’s war on nature, not only is this target too weak to protect our kids and grandkids from a disastrous future but there is no plan to achieve even the targets we already have.”
Under the Paris Agreement on climate change, nations are required to submit a so-called nationally determined contribution (NDC) every four years. Each NDC must represent an increase in ambition on the last, which was submitted in 2021.
“Every parent and grandparent wants to pass on a safe and stable world to our kids. That requires brave and visionary leadership, both of which Luxon is lacking,” says Larsson.
“Luxon’s vision for New Zealand seems to be a landscape ripped open by coal mines, a coastline dotted with oil rigs and fields crammed with cows, knee deep in mud and effluent.”
The Luxon Government controversially overturned the 2018 ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, despite advice from MFAT that this is likely to breach our recent free trade agreements with the EU and UK. Coal mines are included in the list for fast-tracking, overriding community will and environmental laws. Luxon has also exempted New Zealand’s most polluting industry – dairying – from paying for its emissions through the Emissions Trading Scheme.
“Our country is doing worse on climate change than it was ten years ago,” says Larsson. “This is what happens when you let polluters write the policy.”
“The increasingly rampant wildfires, floods and cyclones we’re witnessing around us are a sign that our planet is sick. If governments won’t stand up to polluters to protect our kids and grandkids, as Luxon has shown he will not, then people will use the courts, protest and other means to save their children from climate disaster,” says Larsson.
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Government signs NZ up to a decade’s more pine planting – Federated Farmers

Source: Federated Farmers

The Government’s announcement today of a 2035 climate target of a 51-55% emissions reduction has signed New Zealand up for a decade more of planting pine on productive land, Federated Farmers meat and wool chair Toby Williams says.
 “In the past, New Zealand has signed up to Paris Agreement targets that are achievable only by either paying billions of dollars for international units or planting large areas of New Zealand in carbon forestry.
“The 2030 target of a 50% reduction in all greenhouse gas emissions in just the next five years is already completely beyond reach.
“Even by 2035, as half of New Zealand’s emissions are from agriculture, a target of 51-55% is still not feasible.
 “All the target does is commit us to 10 more years of planting pines, because that’s the only way for our country to achieve such a steep reduction.” 
Williams says New Zealand’s options for achieving the climate targets are simple. 
“We can’t reduce our emissions to the extent required without trade-offs that would see New Zealand worse off.
“Treasury has estimated that the 2030 target, if we were to meet it, would cost up to $24 billion. The Prime Minister, when interviewed on Q+A with Jack Tame late last year, couldn’t commit to hitting the target, as he said it was very challenging.
“So, our only other options are to send billions of dollars overseas to buy offshore credits, or plant pine trees, destroying our iconic and world-famous landscapes.” 
Last year, the Climate Commission suggested keeping an all-gases target and at least a 50% reduction, which would mean another 850,000 hectares of land converted to forestry.
“To paint a clear picture: that’s an area five times the size of our country’s treasured Molesworth Station,” Williams says. 
“That would be devastating, forever changing the face of New Zealand.
“There is a very real risk that we could become the great pine plantation of the South Pacific – hardly something to be proud of.”
Williams says the Government needs to be setting climate targets that are realistic and achievable. 
“Mr Luxon is right now facing an unachievable target for 2030 left to him by the previous Government. 
“Signing up to an even more ambitious target for 2035 has simply created the same headache for a future Prime Minister.”
Parliament agreed in 2019 to set ‘split-gas’ targets for greenhouse gas reductions domestically. This means short-lived methane is treated differently to long-lived carbon dioxide. 
Taking this split-gas approach to our international targets would see New Zealand in a position to set more achievable targets.
“Federated Farmers wrote to Climate Change Minister Simon Watts in October last year asking for a meeting to discuss a split-gas approach to an emissions target, but we didn’t get a reply,” Williams says. 
“That’s extremely disappointing. It seems he doesn’t even want to hear our concerns for rural New Zealand, let alone understand them. It’s wilful blindness.
“We really need the Government to start setting achievable targets that don’t require huge levels of forestry, and we need the Government to use the most up-to-date science on the warming impact of methane.” 
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Auckland News – Developers Urged to Act Swiftly as Auckland Council Plans Major Development Fee Increases

Source: WarkWorth Web

The Auckland Council is planning a considerable hike in development contributions, which are the monetary fees residential property developers pay to fund local infrastructure projects. These contributions, currently calculated over a 10-year timeframe, are proposed to be spread over 30 years, leading to significant cost increases for developers.

The average development contribution in Auckland is projected to increase from $21,000 per lot to around $50,000 per lot. In some areas, such as Tamaki, the rise is even steeper, jumping from $31,157 to $119,000 per lot. The Inner Northwest region is set to see contributions soar from $25,167 to between $89,000 and $101,000 per lot.

Troy Patchett, Director of Auckland residential development company Subdivide Simplified, expressed concern over these proposed changes. “This increase could halt housing developments. Many developers may struggle to pass these costs on to consumers, making some projects unfeasible. This could further restrict future development and worsen the housing shortage in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest and fastest-growing city,” Patchett stated.

Patchett also warned that the increased contributions could lead to fewer housing developments and place upward pressure on the value of existing properties.

He strongly advises developers to submit their council applications as soon as possible. “If you can get your applications in before March, you should only need to pay the current development contributions and avoid this increase. Don’t delay starting your development projects,” he urged.

The calculation of development contributions takes place when development applications are lodged, with this window expected to close around April.

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First Responders – Tiwai Peninsula vegetation fire update

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Fire and Emergency New Zealand crews have been working hard to contain a large vegetation fire in mixed scrub and wetland on Tiwai Peninsula in Invercargill today.
The fire has grown to 1,200 hectares across the centre of the peninsula, with an 18 kilometre perimeter, due to higher temperatures and wind speed this afternoon.
There are currently eight trucks in attendance, with ten helicopters in support.
Firefighters will work until 6pm tonight, then two crews will monitor the fire overnight. All crews will return at 7am tomorrow to continue battling the fire.
Incident Controller Hamish Angus says the fire is not an immediate threat to people, homes, the smelter, or the Tiwai Bridge.
“The Tiwai Bridge is closed to all traffic except our crews and the smelter staff, and we’re asking people to keep away from Tiwai Road so we can continue to work safely,” he says.
“We are working closely with mana whenua and the Department of Conservation, to ensure culturally and ecologically sensitive areas still threatened by the fire are prioritised for protection.”
Awarua Rūnaka Manager Gail Thompson says she is deeply saddened at the damage caused in such a short time.
“This peninsula is a precious taonga, with a history going back a long way, which is important to Ngai Tahu,” she says.
She’s happy to see the newly-established Mana Whenua Emergency Facilitator for Murihiku, Angie Hopkinson, at the site to support Fire and Emergency and the Department of Conservation with the response.
Department of Conservation’s Operation Manager for Murihiku, John McCarroll, says Awarua Peninsula has considerable environmental value, and today’s fire is a huge blow.
“Awarua has a significant number of biodiversity values and is used by a lot of wading birds for flocking and feeding, including the endangered Southern New Zealand Dotterel/Pukunui,” he says.
“As well as the loss of wildlife, we’ve also lost assets such as predator-trapping infrastructure.
“We will assess the losses once the fire is under control and we can return there safely. We may never know the full impact on biodiversity, but it is likely significant.”
The nearby Awarua wetland is also a Department of Conservation area of environmental significance, which was devastated in April 2022 when wildfire burnt through 1,330 hectares.
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Farmers welcome Kāinga Ora back-track on wool carpets – Federated Farmers

Source: Federated Farmers

Federated Farmers is welcoming today’s decision by Kāinga Ora to give wool carpet providers the chance to tender for supply of carpet and underlay in its homes.
A previous request for proposals (RFP) confined bids to synthetic carpets, not even allowing wool to compete.
“This decision is cause for celebration for all strong-wool farmers,” Federated Farmers meat and wool chair Toby Williams says.
“The change of stance by Kāinga Ora has come about because of relentless pressure from the sheep and wool sector, with Federated Farmers and Campaign for Wool leading the charge.
“Kāinga Ora’s previous tender process pulled the rug out from under the nation’s farmers and didn’t even give the sector a chance to put its best foot forward.
“Now it’s up to wool carpet providers to make sure their proposals are competitive, and highlight all the factors that make the natural product superior to synthetics.”
Wool provides better insulation and warmth, it’s moisture wicking, and it’s a natural fire retardant, Williams says.
“It’s also hypoallergenic, and better for those with asthma.”
Kāinga Ora says the new RFP is for supplying floor coverings for 2,650 new homes and 3000 renovations between now and June 2026.
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Minister must reverse all Oranga Tamariki cuts after Barnardos u-turn

Source: PSA

The PSA urges Children’s Minister Karen Chhour to reverse all the damaging cuts to community service contracts, and to Oranga Tamariki, in the wake of her u-turn today on funding Barnardos.
The backflip follows revelations that Barnardos’ youth telehealth counselling service was at risk of closing in July along with other services supporting vulnerable families. This followed funding cuts by Oranga Tamariki under the Government’s austerity drive.
“This backflip shows how rushed and reckless her original decision was to order Oranga Tamariki to cut contracts for dozens of community service providers across Aotearoa,” said Duane Leo, National Secretary for the Public Service Association for Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“The PSA calls on the Minister to urgently reverse all the cuts – reinstate the contracts that have been axed and restore the funding to existing contacts that were cut – before lasting damage is done to families.
“She must also reverse the cuts to Oranga Tamariki which has seen 419 jobs axed, nearly 10% of the workforce.
“Last year the Minister accused charities of abusing their contracts with Oranga Tamariki, claiming they had become ‘cash cows’ through the contracts – this was offensive, disrespecting the vital work they do.
“The Minister has tried to wash her hands of these cuts, calling them ‘operational matters’ for Oranga Tamariki, but now that the reality is hitting home, the Minister needs to do the right thing.
“She knows New Zealanders are increasingly alarmed by the cuts.
“The Government promised its cuts would not impact frontline services. The Minister’s u-turn over the Barnardos’ contract shows the Government slowly realising it can no longer get away with this spin.”
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First Responders – Vegetation fire along Bay of Plenty train track now contained

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Fire and Emergency New Zealand received multiple calls to a large vegetation fire burning along the railway line by Wainui South Road, Whakamarama in Western Bay of Plenty at 12.40 today.
Incident Commander Bill Pike says the fire is now contained and six fire trucks from Greerton, Omokoroa, KatiKati and Tauranga are dampening down hotspots. No evacuations were required.
“The fire is in bush and scrub and is approximately 700 metres on either side of the train track,” Bill Pike says.
“There are road closures in the immediate area, but State Highway 2 remains open.
“We ask people to stay away from the area so emergency services can carry out their job safely.”
Bill Pike says Fire and Emergency is working with Kiwirail to establish a cause for the fire.