Displaying 1 - 24 of 51 results.

Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced Government funding of $115,000 towards a project to improve regional council understanding of soil loss into water ways.

“Regional councils need better information to help them manage soil erosion and sediment build-up in our water ways. Most regions have monitoring programmes and collect data, but these have usually been developed in isolation,” Ms Adams says.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced government funding of $190,000 for the West Coast Regional Council to trial two computer software tools which support good decision-making on water use.

“The West Coast Regional Council will trial the software tools using the Grey River catchment as a case study,” Ms Adams says.

“The applications illustrate the likely consequences of different options for water use and limits on a variety of important aspects of water management.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Environment Minister Amy Adams has announced funding of $100,000 for a collaborative approach to fresh water modelling in the Wellington region.

The money was awarded to Greater Wellington Regional Council from the Government’s Community Environment Fund.

“There are so many different models available, each with its own strengths or shortcomings. This project will get all the modellers together to determine which is the most appropriate to use in specific circumstances or under specific conditions,” Ms Adams says.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

The Government will provide $150,000 to support the set-up of an e-planning system to enable efficient water allocation in Marlborough, Environment Minister Amy Adams announced today.

The funding was awarded to the Marlborough District Council from the Government’s Community Environment Fund.

“The e-planning tool will allow water users like farmers, viticulturists, horticulturists and industry to identify water demand for their property based on soil type, climate conditions and crop type,” Ms Adams says.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced funding of $135,000 towards a project run by Waikato Regional Council to better understand and overcome the barriers farmers face in reducing contaminants running off their land into water ways.

“Achieving water quality limits and targets for fresh water in many areas depends on farmers changing management practices,” Ms Adams says.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Environment Minister Amy Adams has announced funding of $125,000 to support an Otago Regional Council study to measure nitrogen leaching in the iconic Lakes catchments of Hawea, Wanaka and Wakatipu.

“The study will improve the prediction of nitrogen leaching from sheep and beef farms, which is not as well understood as dairy farming,” Ms Adams says.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced government funding of $65,000 towards a Gisborne District Council project to identify spawning sites for native fish species in the region.

The money was awarded to the council from the Government’s Community Environment Fund.

“There are a number of different native freshwater fish species in the Gisborne region and the survival of some of these is threatened,” Ms Adams says.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced funding of $80,000 for a Hawke’s Bay Regional Council project to develop clear criteria for assessing and identifying outstanding water bodies.

An outstanding water body is one that is exceptional in some way. It may be in relation to one particular feature or it may have a number of outstanding features, such as recreational, ecological or landscape features.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced funding of $468,000 for a facility in Napier which turns construction, demolition and industrial waste into compost.

The funding has been awarded to BioRich from the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund.

“This money will help BioRich expand its facility to accept waste streams such as bark, wool dust, paper towels, plasterboard and tannery waste,” Ms Adams says.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced a new initiative which identifies and ranks priority sites for clean-up under the Government’s contaminated sites remediation programme.

Ms Adams also announced immediate funding of nearly $2.5 million to remediate two of the contaminated sites identified as a priority.

Identification and management of contaminated sites are the responsibility of local and regional councils, and remediation is generally at the cost of the landowner.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Environment Minister Amy Adams has announced funding of $4 million to Wellington manufacturer Flight Plastics to build a recycling facility that will turn plastic waste into food-safe packaging.

The money was awarded to Flight Plastics from the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund.

About 17,000 tonnes of polyethylene terephthalate plastic (PET) plastics are consumed in New Zealand each year. This type of plastic is commonly used to make soft drink bottles, and fruit and vegetable punnets.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Environment Minister Amy Adams has announced funding of $150,000 to support the expansion of a community-based recycling operation in Porirua.

The money was awarded to Mana Recovery Trust from the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund.

Mana Recovery Trust will significantly expand its current operations through the construction of a purpose-built facility to sort and recycle packaging waste from businesses across the lower North Island.

Waste materials targeted by the scheme include paper, plastic, cardboard and glass.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced funding of $120,000 for a project run by Tasman District Council to control erosion and sediment going into waterways.

“Erosion and sediment control are a problem for our water ways, but Tasman District Council has identified there is little in the way of up-to-date research or information for landowners and regional councils who need to manage erosion and sedimentation in our rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands,” Ms Adams says.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Environment Minister Amy Adams has released a review into the effectiveness of the waste disposal levy, which makes recommendations to improve fairness in the way the levy is applied and to increase the amount of information available about waste and recycling in New Zealand.

The $10 per tonne waste disposal levy was introduced in 2009 under the Waste Minimisation Act (WMA) and applies to waste landfilled at defined facilities.

The Environment Minister is required to review the levy’s effectiveness every three years.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Thank you Mark [Christie, President of Agcarm] for your introduction.

I firstly want to acknowledge the significant contribution members of Agcarm make to New Zealand.

As a farmer and a Minister, I know that the productivity of our land is critical to the wealth of our country and the ability to meet the aspirations of New Zealanders.

The products your members provide are a vital link in a supply chain that starts with our fertile land and ends with satisfied customers around the world.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee and Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced the Government has agreed to a request by the Christchurch City Council for an accelerated district plan review process.

At present, Christchurch has two district plans – the Christchurch City Plan and the Banks Peninsula District Plan. Both plans were developed in the 1990s and have been amended incrementally since then.

However, the district plans were never designed to cope with the amount of repair and rebuild necessary to recover from the earthquakes.

  • Amy Adams
  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Environment
  • Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Environment Minister Amy Adams has today moved to correct incorrect and misleading comments made about the Government’s ground-breaking national freshwater standards.

The Government yesterday announced clear, robust national standards for freshwater that will make a significant improvement to the way freshwater is managed.

This means, for the first time, New Zealand’s rivers and lakes will have minimum requirements that must be achieved so the water quality is suitable for ecosystem and human health.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

The Government has today announced clear, robust national standards for freshwater that will make a significant improvement to the way freshwater is managed.

Environment Minister Amy Adams and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy say the changes announced today are a critical milestone in the Government’s drive to improve water quality.

“Ensuring an on-going and reliable supply of healthy water is one of the most important environmental and economic issues facing New Zealand today,” Ms Adams says.

  • Nathan Guy
  • Amy Adams
  • Primary Industries
  • Environment

Environment Minister Amy Adams has reappointed two members to the Waste Advisory Board.

Sheryl Stivens and Gareth James have been reappointed to the Board for a term of three years.

“Ms Stivens and Mr James have a high level of expertise and credibility on waste issues. Reappointing them to the Board will provide stability and consistency of advice in a period when significant waste issues are being discussed, such as the possibility of mandatory product stewardship,” Ms Adams says.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

The Government has today provided an update about the review of the future governance arrangements of Environment Canterbury.

Commissioners were appointed in 2010 following a critical external review of Environment Canterbury’s performance. Last year commissioner governance was extended until 2016 to continue the progress the Commissioners have made.

  • Amy Adams
  • Paula Bennett
  • Local Government
  • Environment

Environment Minister Amy Adams has tonight announced that the Nina Valley Ecoblitz initiative is the Supreme Winner of the 2014 Green Ribbon Awards.

The winner was announced at a ceremony hosted by Ms Adams at Parliament tonight. A further 12 category winners from around New Zealand were also announced.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

New Zealand’s newest marine reserve in Akaroa Harbour was formally opened today by Conservation Minister Dr Nick Smith, and local MP and Environment Minister Amy Adams to coincide with World Oceans Day.

“World Oceans Day is about recognising the need to better protect marine life and that is what we are doing in creating the Akaroa Marine Reserve,” Dr Smith says.

  • Amy Adams
  • Nick Smith
  • Environment
  • Conservation

To mark World Environment Day, Environment Minister Amy Adams has today announced the finalists for the 2014 Green Ribbon Awards, which honour outstanding contributions to protecting New Zealand's environment.

“Over the 24 years of the Green Ribbon Awards, more than 150 environmental champions have been recognised for their initiative, commitment and dedication to tackling environmental issues,” Ms Adams says.

  • Amy Adams
  • Environment

Ministers today welcomed a report released by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment on oil and gas drilling.

Environment Minister Amy Adams and Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges say the Commissioner’s report is a useful contribution to the discussion on how best to manage the environmental effects of onshore petroleum development, including hydraulic fracturing.

  • Simon Bridges
  • Amy Adams
  • Labour
  • Environment
  • Energy and Resources