Forest & Bird releases top priorities for new government

Independent conservation organisation Forest & Bird is calling for all political parties to adopt policies to bring about an economic transformation - for the sake of New Zealand and New Zealanders.

The call comes as part of Forest & Bird’s newly released Briefing to Incoming Ministers.

“New Zealand needs to begin the transition to clean energy, and to farming and fishing methods that don’t cost the Earth,” says Forest & Bird Group Manager Campaigns and Advocacy Kevin Hackwell.

“Whether you’re talking about dairying, clean water, climate change or fisheries management, all the evidence points to how valuing nature improves this country’s economic and social outcomes,” Kevin Hackwell says.

The Briefing to Incoming Ministers gives policy advice for all political parties on Forest & Bird’s priorities for any new government and its new ministers.

“We want a truly prosperous future for New Zealand. The relentless drive for short-term economic development – which comes with mining and logging on public conservation land; weak protections for the critically endangered Maui’s dolphins, New Zealand sea lions and seabirds; and the expansion and intensification of dairying in the Waikato, Canterbury, Tararua and Southland regions – is starting to tear at the fabric of what makes this country such a great place to live.

“Not only is this country not looking after the basics – such as climate and marine protection policies - laws such as the Resource Management Act, are being actively undermined where they get in the way of short term economic goals,” Kevin Hackwell says.

The major themes of the Briefing to Incoming Ministers are:

- The social and economic benefits of protecting nature.
- The need for healthy, living landscapes, for the sake of our natural heritage, and for New Zealanders to work and play within.
- Networks of protection for rivers, oceans, and biodiversity on private land – all of which are facing major threats, and are currently under-protected.
- The core work for Forest & Bird continues to revolve around expanding protected areas and defending those areas from threats such as introduced predators, mining and logging.
The Briefing can be found here.

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