Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says Pukeahu National War Memorial Park’s overall win at this year’s New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architecture annual awards is a fitting accolade for this special place of remembrance.
The War Memorial Park won the George Malcolm Award – the supreme category – and also took out the Parks’ prize.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says successful breeding results for several of our most vulnerable native birds come as a result of using 1080 to kill predators.
“New results from a five-year study of South Island kākā nesting at Lake Paringa in South Westland show 30 times as many kākā chicks were produced and survived in the area after 1080 treatment to control stoats and possums compared to the area where no 1080 was used,” Ms Barry says.
Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says applications for the third round of the Regional Culture and Heritage Fund (RCHF) are now open.
“The Fund was established to ensure people in regional areas have greater access to a range of enjoyable cultural experiences in quality venues. I’m committed to as many communities as possible having access to this multi-million dollar fund,” Ms Barry says.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has announced the temporary closure from today of the track leading to Tāne Mahuta, to install a footwear cleaning station as extra protection against kauri dieback for New Zealand’s largest kauri.
“Kauri dieback is the single biggest threat kauri have ever faced. It slowly starves a tree to death, infecting the roots and destroying tissues that carry water and nutrients,” Ms Barry says.
Nominations for the 27th annual Green Ribbon Awards are now open, giving New Zealanders the chance to honour our environmental leaders, Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry say.
“These prestigious awards recognise outstanding contributions by individuals, communities and organisations to protect and enhance the environment. Previous years have showcased an impressive array of initiatives making a difference to our natural assets and wildlife,” Dr Smith says.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry congratulates the Department of Conservation (DOC) on its 30th birthday and three decades of protecting our natural heritage.
“DOC can be rightly proud of its many achievements and successes with vulnerable species since April 1 1987. The recovery of the kakapo from the brink of extinction is one example. Numbers have gone from 50 birds in the early 1990s to now beyond 150, including a record breeding season this past year,” Ms Barry says.
Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says New Zealand’s First World War stories have been brought to life through a series of short animated videos, with the first released today.
“The videos highlight the different perspectives and experiences of New Zealanders during the war - from willing participants and conscientious objectors, to the destruction seen on the Western Front, to the longing for home and loved ones,” Ms Barry says.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry congratulates DOC’s Takahē Recovery Programme, Ngāi Tahu and Fulton Hogan, who are celebrating the best ever breeding season for the critically endangered takahē.
“For the third year running chicks have been produced in record numbers, both in the wild and predator-controlled sanctuaries. 50 takahē juveniles were produced this year across the captive breeding population and a further 16 birds by the wild population in the Murchison Mountains,” Ms Barry says.
Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says two industrial buildings will receive the first funding from a new grant specifically for earthquake strengthening privately-owned heritage buildings.
“The National Tobacco Company Building in Napier and the former Union Steamship Company store in Dunedin will receive grants from the new Heritage EQUIP fund,” Ms Barry says.
The Heritage Earthquake Upgrade Incentive Programme (EQUIP) and Retrofit Funds can be applied for at any time, with an expert panel assessing applications three times a year.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says DOC is on the brink of eradicating the invasive weed Spartina in the Marlborough Sounds and Golden Bay.
“Spartina, one of the Dirty Dozen weeds targeted in the War on Weeds 2017, clogs waterways. It’s a prime example of an introduced plant brought in to reclaim land for grazing that has run rampant and is badly affecting waterways,” Ms Barry says.
“It’s changed the natural flows of rivers and tidal channels and impacted shellfish, fish and wading birds.”
Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says the ties between New Zealand and Turkey were strengthened further today with the unveiling of the Turkish Memorial at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says Dunedin has accelerated its commitment to the Government’s Predator Free 2050 vision with 19 organisations signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today.
Prime Minister Bill English and Ms Barry joined signatories to the MOU at the Orokonui Sanctuary today to celebrate the Predator Free Dunedin initiative.
The Minister for Seniors Maggie Barry says changes to Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA) forms will make them easier to understand and use.
“Knowing you can chose people you trust and who understand what you want, who will make important personal and financial decisions for you if you can’t, gives you peace of mind,” Ms Barry says.
“It should be set up when you are fit and healthy – mentally and physically.”
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed a new predator-free initiative signed today which includes trapping in and around hundreds of holiday parks.
The partnership between the Predator Free NZ Trust and the Holiday Parks Association of New Zealand (HAPNZ) will help in the battle to make New Zealand predator-free by 2050.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry today praised a new eradication campaign, ‘Wasp Wipeout’, which is removing pest wasps from the Nelson-Tasman region this summer.
The Department of Conservation, Fairfax Media and the Tasman Environment Trust launched the campaign in December, and Ms Barry visited the Nelson Lakes area today to bait a trap and see first-hand how effective the ‘Wasp Wipeout’ has been.
Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says New Zealand’s darkest day during World War 1 will be remembered as part of WW100’s 2017 programme.
“This year attention turns from Gallipoli to the Western Front. The Battle of Messines in June and the devastating Battle of Passchendaele in October will both be commemorated here and overseas, in ceremonies which will be open to all with no ballot or restrictions on numbers” Ms Barry says.
Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges and Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry today announced funding will be made available for tourism infrastructure and cultural events as part of the Tairawhiti Economic Action Plan.
The Action Plan was launched at an event in Gisborne today and articulates the region’s economic development opportunities for the next five years, including a focus on tourism. Key areas for development include:
The Government has released its conservation and environment science priorities for the next 20 years in a new Roadmap, Conservation and lead Minister Maggie Barry and Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today at the annual Bluegreens Forum.
“We need to be certain that we have the best research and evidence available to help us protect and save our threatened bird and plant life and for all New Zealand to achieve important Government targets such as Predator Free 2050,” Ms Barry says.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry is leading a delegation to the subantarctic islands today to experience and observe first-hand the vital conservation and research work being carried out there.
“The Auckland Islands are the largest of our subantarctic islands. They have unique and valuable ecosystems which support a range of species found nowhere else in the world,” Ms Barry says.
Boards of Inquiry have been appointed to decide on two significant Auckland roading projects in a move which will get a decision by the end of the year, Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry announced today.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has thanked DOC staff and volunteers helping to re-float pilot whales after a mass stranding at Farewell spit overnight.
“More than 400 pilot whales stranded overnight in one of the largest recorded mass strandings in New Zealand history. Sadly it has been confirmed most have died. DOC staff and volunteers re-floated about 100 on this morning’s high tide but unfortunately 50 of them have since re-stranded,” Ms Barry says.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed the successful passing of the Wildlife (Powers) Amendment Bill’s third reading in Parliament this evening.
The bill modernises and strengthens DOC rangers' existing powers to protect native wildlife from poaching and smuggling.
“This legislation is an important part of upgrading DOC’s ability to prevent and prosecute crimes against vulnerable native species such as geckoes and skinks,” Ms Barry says.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed plans by the Kiwis for Kiwi Trust to boost the number of kiwi chicks captured in the wild for later release in to predator free habitats.
“Through Operation Nest Egg the Trust will use kiwi crèches or kōhanga kiwi sites to raise chicks to 1 kilogram in weight so they are big enough to fend for themselves in the wild,” Ms Barry says.
Four ambitious conservation projects in Canterbury have received $137,000 in support from the DOC Community Fund, Conservation Ministers Maggie Barry and Nicky Wagner have announced.
The projects range from wilding conifer control to protecting and promoting indigenous vegetation, the Ministers say.
“Each of the groups is playing an important role in eliminating weeds and restoring biodiversity in the Canterbury region,” Ms Barry says.
