Tuesday, 30 November 2004

Ministry records excellent attendance at Talk Environment roadshow

More than 1, 300 people attended the Talk Environment roadshow meetings held in New Zealand over the last couple of weeks.

“This is an increase of over 30 per cent on numbers of people who attended the roadshow last year,“ Barry Carbon, Environment Ministry Chief Executive said.

“We are pleased with the excellent turnout and feedback received at the Talk Environment roadshow. People repeatedly told us that they valued the opportunity to meet with us and that they want us to continue with this type of information sharing.

“The roadshow also provided the opportunity for us to interact with people and listen to their ideas and suggestions about caring for the environment.

“The next steps for the Ministry are to look at incorporating the feedback into developing policy that meet with environmental, social and economic needs,” Barry Carbon said.

The Talk Environment roadshow is a comprehensive community engagement programme undertaken by the Ministry. The roadshow ran from Monday 15 to 26 November 2004 and visited 15 locations throughout New Zealand, with meetings through Whangarei in the north island to Invercargill in the south.

Top environmental issues discussed at the meeting included the review of the RMA, New Zealand waste strategy and flood management. Other interest areas included biodiversity, the Water Programme of Action, the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act and compliance issues.

ENDS

© Scoop Media