Environment
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Speed Up the Clean-Up
51 signaturesMany of these spills are from what councils call “engineered overflow points” – in other words – they are designed to dump raw sewage into waterways and into our harbour when the system can’t cope. This is not limited to periods of heavy rain - many overflows occur after just a light shower and far more frequently than we might think.
The Labour Government pushed through an expensive, racially divisive and inefficient Three Waters reform, which is so complicated they recently announced it will be delayed from 2024 until 2026. The delays mean that very little will be done to clean up our beaches and harbour under Labour.
According to a recent council survey, more than two-thirds of us rate clean waterways and beaches as our most important “must-have”. The black flags of Safeswim show where investments are a “must-have”.
ACT proposes a practical Water Infrastructure Plan to speed up the clean-up.
Return $1.2 billion each year to local councils, a half-share of the GST collected by the Government on all new builds.
Delivering urgently needed major projects through Public-Private Partnerships between councils and developers, attracting investment from financial entities such as KiwiSaver funds, ACC, and iwi.
Establish long term 30-year Central Government-Local Government Partnership agreements to plan water infrastructure upgrades tailored to specific regions.
ACT’s plan would allow communities to retain control of water assets, and speed up the clean-up.
Sign the petition to support ACTs practical Water Infrastructure Plan.
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Labour’s forges ahead with Henry VII power grab bill
“The Severe Weather Emergency Response Bill is an example of governance at its worst. Immensely powerful legislation being passed with minimal scrutiny, and a Government that ignores valid constitutional concerns,” says ACT’s Environment and Infrastructure spokesperson Simon Court.
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Labour can’t use crisis to inflate its powers
“ACT cannot support the Government’s Severe Weather Emergency Response Bill through first reading. In its current form it is Henry VIII legislation that gives Ministers enormous powers unrelated to cyclone recovery,” says ACT’s Environment and Infrastructure spokesperson Simon Court.
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Infrastructure Commission report says cut the red tape
“The Infrastructure Commission has today released a damning report explicitly stating that the Government will fail to meet its emissions reductions targets if it does not radically reform the consenting process, which not only causes massive delays but drowns infrastructure projects in unnecessary costs,”
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Cyclone legislation doesn’t do enough
“The Severe Weather Legislation being rushed through Parliament today is better than nothing, but disappointing for all the things it doesn’t do,” says ACT’s Environment spokesperson Simon Court.
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Farmers fobbed off, relax the RMA
“The Government has fobbed off farmers by not relaxing the RMA in cyclone-affected areas, they must act now so farmers and growers can recover from Cyclone Gabrielle minus the red tape and bureaucracy,” says ACT’s Environment spokesperson Simon Court.
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Environment Ministry – do as we say, not as we do
“Bureaucrats from the Environment Ministry told a Parliamentary Select Committee that moving people from cars to public transport is a top priority, then admitted that it spent a million dollars on taxis and flights and only $250 on public transport for its own staff,” says ACT’s Environment spokesperson Simon Court.
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Campbell deservedly gone, two days later
“David Parker can always be relied upon to make the right choice. Once every other choice has already been exhausted,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
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Parker must explain why EPA standards are different from health
“David Parker needs to front up on whether Rob Campbell’s inappropriate conduct means he will be removed as Chair of the Environmental Protection Authority as well,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
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David Seymour visits Hawke's Bay
“I had a sad but useful visit to Hawke’s Bay today, seeing the situation from the air and ground, and hearing from local Government, businesses, and families affected by Gabrielle’s floods,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
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