We’re all aware there is an important general election on 14th October. What is sometimes overlooked is that the result may lock in, or reject, the increasing centralisation of decision-making that has happened over the past few years. This could impact our region for years to come. During this electoral term, central government agencies have… Continue reading The Future Shape of Tauranga
Category: NZ government
Container Return Scheme needed more than ever
If you’ve read our thoughts about the the government’s recent ‘policy bonfire‘, you’ll see we don’t regard it as very significant to NZ’s climate goals. There are far bigger things to focus on than scrapping a hare-brained scheme to scrap polluting vehicles at a cost of between $81,000 and $126,000 per tonne of CO2 that… Continue reading Container Return Scheme needed more than ever
NZ’s Climate Emperor is Naked!
Media Release: 17 March 2023 – please click here to read NZ’s Climate Policy in the Bread & Butter Age.
What Happened to our ‘Climate Emergency’?
As we head rapidly towards the holiday season and the end of a challenging year for many people, we could just wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and head to the beach. However, since we are facing an economic downturn next year (being engineered by the Reserve Bank in order to cool… Continue reading What Happened to our ‘Climate Emergency’?
Losing Our Democracy
“SmartGrowth” is a collaboration between Tauranga City Council, Western BOP District Council, BOP Regional Council, Tangata Whenua and central government that was established in 2004 to “manage” growth in this part of the country. On 17 August 2022, in a SmartGrowth Leadership Group meeting that wasn’t even livestreamed or uploaded onto YouTube, representatives of the… Continue reading Losing Our Democracy
Our ‘3 Waters’ Submission
Please click here to read our submission.
Three Waters Reforms
It’s been a while since our last blog, and there’s no lack of topical sustainability-related issues to write about. Ranging from the impacts of climate change to the effects of fuel price inflation, NZ and the wider world are facing some big challenges. However one sustainability issue that has struck a chord with many New… Continue reading Three Waters Reforms
Who is the low carbon future for?
by Jo Wills & Glen Crowther Hydronic heating, Tesla EVs, and gourmet plant protein meals all have a role to play in New Zealand’s low carbon future, but what place will they have in the lives of an everyday low-income family? Carbon dioxide emissions from housing and transport are two of the key areas being… Continue reading Who is the low carbon future for?
Tauranga’s Lack of Carbon Emissions Targets
We’ll come back to this important topic in more detail at a later date, but this recent article (yes, paywalled) makes it clear we all need to get on the same page around the issue of CO2 targets and Tauranga City Council’s plans. Here is the key section of this Bay Times article: Robson said… Continue reading Tauranga’s Lack of Carbon Emissions Targets