Our Plan to Future-Proof New Zealand’s Environment

UnitedFuture is today announcing a new environmental policy package aimed at future-proofing New Zealand's environment for generations to come.

"At its core, UnitedFuture is a forward looking political party. It is committed to making New Zealand a country current as well as future generations want to live, work, enjoy and raise their families," said UnitedFuture leader, Peter Dunne.

"It is, therefore, vital that we lay the foundations today to ensure we create and conserve the best environment that we can for our children and grandchildren to enjoy.

“Our policy package outlines six key ideas that we believe New Zealand needs to take to ensure we strike the right balance between environmental guardianship and access to our unique outdoors”, Mr Dunne said.

1) Conservation Levy

The Conservation levy would be a $25 fee placed on tourist visas. All of the revenue derived from this levy would be used exclusively for maintaining and upgrading the conservation estate.

"New Zealand has an outstanding conservation estate that is enjoyed by locals and tourists every day," said Mr Dunne

"Currently, those who live here pay the full cost of maintaining our conservation estate, including our walking tracks, rivers and lakes. This policy allows the costs of maintenance and upgrades to be shared amongst all the people who make use of our conservation areas.

"The levy strikes a fair balance. We do not think tourists should be asked to pay for the costs of policy generally, but in places where the benefits are shared amongst residents, citizens and tourists, it is only fair that all users contribute to the costs."

2) Centre for Environmental Excellence

A $10 million per annum contestable fund for promoting innovation and research into our environment.

"The idea here is simple. We want tertiary education providers to encourage students to undertake environmental research in areas that can benefit New Zealand," said Mr Dunne

"The fund could be used for particular scholarships for environmental research, specific research projects, or to establish dedicated centres for environmental studies.

"We believe there is a major benefit in promoting this environmentally focussed research because the best ideas are going to come from within the institutions that educate our best and brightest.

3) Electric Vehicle Grant

A $5 million annual grant to promote electric vehicle ownership. The grant would allow up to $5000 to be claimed or up to 30% of the cost of a vehicle, whichever is smaller. It would further apply to businesses that replace company cars with electric vehicles. In addition, businesses would be able to claim funding in order to set up necessary electric vehicle infrastructure, such as charging stations.

"UnitedFuture supports the Government's targets to double the number of electric vehicles in New Zealand every year," said Mr Dunne.

"We are even more supportive of making the incentive to purchase an electric vehicle both clear and easy for families and businesses.

"With this policy, we build on the initiatives already in place and further develop a critical mass of electric vehicles in this country to help reduce dependence on our currently petrol reliant fleet.”

4) Household Microgeneration Grant

A $10 million per annum fund for homeowners to purchase micro-generation units such as solar panels. Applicants could claim up to $5000 or 80% of the cost (whichever is smaller) of the costs of installing microgeneration onto new builds and up to $3000 or 80% of the cost (whichever is smaller) for existing homes.

"The purpose of this policy is to recognise the value of transitioning our homes away from reliance on non-sustainable energy," said Dunne.

"By providing some additional support for those planning to build a home, we can help encourage them to future-proof against reliance on non-renewable energy sources.

"That way we can help those households weigh the initial capital costs of installation on their new home with the benefits that a choice to install micro-generation units has to that household, and to New Zealand's environment."

5) Comprehensive Marine Reserve Network

UnitedFuture wants to see our marine environment placed under a comprehensive scheme for marine protection. We would want to see a science-led approach provide protections, such as marine sanctuaries, to places of high ecological importance within our marine environment. We would develop new protection categories to provide for non-commercial fishing while allowing access for recreational fishing.

6) Permanent Native Forest Carbon Sinks

We want to see more opportunities for permanent forest sinks to help mitigate our carbon footprint and extend coverage of our native forests. We want government to take a leading role in encouraging owners of non-viable farming land to gift that land back to public ownership so that it can be planted with native trees and act as a permanent carbon sink.

"This policy package is about securing a better deal for future generations,” said Mr Dunne

"Our natural environment and ecosystems are outstanding and they deserve policies that will guarantee their future preservation so that we, and those who inherit it, can experience and enjoy them.

"All of these policies are achievable, sensible and are targeted at delivering results now and for future generations.

ENDS

See more details of the policy package on the UnitedFuture websitehttp://unitedfuture.org.nz/environment/

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