My house is currently supplied electricity by Meridian. As soon as I can change I will because Meridian spilled water to hike electricity prices. They got consumers to spend an extra $80 million on power unnecessarily. Clever them. The Electricity Authority has called their behaviour an “undesirable trading situation”, or “UTS”. Where shall I start …
The Zero Carbon Act (ZCA) is over a week old, but it’s still being heavily debated and analysed. After all, depending on who you listen to, it’s the most significant new law of the year, of this Government, or even of some people’s lifetime. And it deals with a giant issue – climate change. There …
A meeting with US president Donald Trump was always a fraught proposition for New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern. It was never going to deliver any clear wins, and was unlikely to do her progressive reputation any favours. And that’s the outcome – Ardern’s reputation has probably taken a hit, at least among her own …
The supposed end of the 20-year standoff between environmentalists and farmers was announced last week, with the release of the Interim Climate Change Committee’s report on “Action on agricultural emissions”. It was celebrated as an “historic consensus” between farmers and environmentalists, as the agricultural sector was agreeing to pay for part of their methane emissions. …
The Greens may have achieved their sought-after mainstream credibility, and scored some wins in government, but commentators warn this will not necessarily result in more votes. On the contrary – it might even result in a loss of enthusiasm from their own side. This can be seen in the fact that much of the praise …
It seems inevitable that New Zealand will soon officially be in a state of emergency over climate change, with a declaration likely to be passed in Parliament. Is this a good thing? The debate over moving into official emergency status has already been going on in every local government body throughout the country. A large …
Is this part of the Labour-led Government’s long-promised “nuclear-free moment”, alluded to by Jacinda Ardern when she promised radical action on climate change? The announcement this week of a proposed “feebate” which will make more environmentally-friendly cars cheaper while making the gas-guzzlers more expensive is one of the long-awaited plans for how New Zealand will …
James Shaw rates his Zero Carbon Bill as seven or eight out of ten. And former Green Party co-leader, Russel Norman – now with Greenpeace – rates it zero out of ten. Either way, it’s clear that the new legislation isn’t really the crucial planet-saving bill that many were hoping for. And it certainly doesn’t …
The Greens were going to be the principled core of the Labour-led Government, but instead are regarded by many as having been largely ineffective and submissive in power. This is leading supporters and others on the political left to ask some difficult questions about the direction the Greens are going in, and whether they will …
Is environmentalism intrinsically leftwing? Has the Green Party got a monopoly on environmental concerns? Do environmentally-concerned voters only vote for the Green Party? The answer to all of those questions is surely “no”, yet a speculative “blue-green” centrist party is seen by most as a non-starter for Parliament in 2020. It is incredibly difficult for …
Those who want the Green Party to focus primarily on the environment should be very happy with the direction the party is heading in. Over the last ten months in government – and especially during the weekend – it has become clear that the party is more about the environment than ever before and much …
The Labour-led government is looking bolder, smarter, and greener than it did a week ago. Its announcement of the ban on new gas and oil exploration in the seas around New Zealand has been viewed as a defining moment for the new government. But critics insist the policy is either intrinsically flawed, or doesn’t do …
This year will be crucial for the James Shaw and the Green Party. They are going to face serious challenges during their first ever year in government and it’s not yet clear that they will be able to navigate these successfully. The party ended 2017 in great spirits, finally joining government after 21 years in …