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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.

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.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Amy Adams has today announced more than 100 licences for AM and FM radio broadcasting will be auctioned later this year.

All licences will be auctioned as commercial licences with tenure up to 2031.

A number of the current commercial licences had been allocated temporarily and will expire in September, before the auction takes place.  Transitional arrangements for these licence holders will be advised shortly.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Amy Adams today announced the auction of the 700 MHz band of radio spectrum has now been completed, with specific frequencies assigned to successful bidders Telecom, Vodafone and 2degrees.

The assignment auction was the final phase of the auction, held to determine the exact positions (frequencies) that each bidder will acquire in the 700 MHz band. 

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.

Good morning.  It is my pleasure to welcome you all to the launch of Connect Smart Week.

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the contribution made by our sponsors and partners.

By supporting Connect Smart you play a key role in ensuring that New Zealanders the length and breadth of the country are empowered to make themselves and their businesses more secure online.

In addition, we have about 50 partners for the Connect Smart campaign, including government agencies, businesses and non-government organisations or industry bodies. 

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.

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.

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.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Amy Adams says 4G mobile technology is a step closer following the Commerce Commerce’s decision to grant Telecom clearance to acquire 2x20 MHz in the 700 MHz band.

“Network operators can get on with building their 4G networks and providing consumers with world-class technology,” Ms Adams says.

The 700 MHz band will be used for 4G-LTE networks, capable of mobile broadband data speeds up to ten times faster than current 3G networks.

Environment Minister Amy Adams today announced the appointment of a new Environmental Protection Authority Board member and confirmed the reappointment of the Chair and one other member.

“I am pleased to announce that Kura Denness has been appointed as a member of the Environmental Protection Authority Board for a three-year term,” Ms Adams says.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Amy Adams has today announced the two sets of options that will be used for assigning the 700 MHz radio spectrum band between the successful bidders in the Government’s recent auction.

One set of options for assigning which positions (frequencies) within the 700 MHz band each bidder will acquire will be used if the Commerce Commission decides in favour of Telecom’s purchase of 2x20 MHz of the spectrum.

Environment Minister Amy Adams today released a discussion document on possible options to improve the way some waste products are managed in New Zealand, especially those which can cause harm to the environment.

The Government is considering whether it should intervene to improve the management of four product waste streams – electrical and electronic equipment, tyres, agrichemicals and farm plastics, and refrigerants and other synthetic greenhouse gases.

The Government is investing an additional $3.2 million in 2014/15 to support the implementation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) legislation, Environment Minister Amy Adams says.

The funding, which includes $2 million of reprioritised funding, will help the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to fully develop and carry out its new functions and responsibilities in the EEZ.

The $3.2 million is intended to be one-off funding while the EPA establishes its new functions in the EEZ. On-going operations under the EEZ legislation are funded on a cost recovery basis.

A new report shows overall air quality in New Zealand is the best it has been since comprehensive records began in 2006, Environment Minister Amy Adams and Statistics Minister Nicky Wagner say.

The 2014 Air Domain Report was released today by the Environment Ministry and Statistics New Zealand.

The report finds overall air quality in New Zealand is improving, with lower levels of PM10, reduced vehicle emissions and lower health impacts from PM10, Ms Adams says.

The key findings are:

Budget 2014 will make available $20 million over four years for environmental initiatives and to help the management of New Zealand’s natural environment, Environment Minister Amy Adams says.

The Government has a package of reforms aimed at strengthening the Resource Management Act (RMA), and improving water quality and the way fresh water is managed.

Whangarei has today become the first city in New Zealand to be fully-fibred under the Government’s Ultra-Fast Broadband initiative, Communications and Information Technology Minister Amy Adams has announced.

Ms Adams today joined Prime Minister John Key at Manaia View School in Whangarei - the place where the UFB initiative first kicked off in December 2010 - to celebrate the completion of the project.

The Government will reallocate $24 million to a new project that encourages land owners in the Lake Rotorua catchment to switch to low nitrogen land uses or find other ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen polluting the lake water, Environment Minister Amy Adams has announced.

“The Rotorua community has asked us to shift existing funding commitments to a land use management and change project, as part of the Rotorua Te Arawa lakes water quality improvements programme,” Ms Adams says.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Amy Adams today leaves for Estonia for the Freedom Online Coalition conference in Estonia, and meetings in London.

The conference is a cross-regional grouping of 22 governments, including Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, committed to protecting free expression on the Internet.

New Zealand is on track to phase out bulk imports of ozone-depleting hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) by the end of this year, Environment Minister Amy Adams says.

“HCFCs are the last controlled ozone-depleting substance for New Zealand to phase out under the Montreal Protocol, and New Zealand is well ahead of the 2030 international deadline to phase out imports,” Ms Adams says.

All twelve rural schools in remote locations around Gisborne and Wairoa now have faster broadband, as a result of the Government’s broadband initiatives, Communications and Information Technology Minister Amy Adams announced today.

Local communications company Gisborne Net has successfully completed the installation of point-to-point wireless broadband for the 12 schools, under a contract signed with the Government last year.

Environment Minister Amy Adams has welcomed a new report on cleaning-up the Manawatu River, saying it shows that progress can be made even on the most difficult environmental problems when communities work together.

“It is still early days as far as the time frames for cleaning up polluted water ways are concerned, but I am pleased to see the Manawatu Leaders Accord reporting overall improving trends in nutrient levels and levels of bacteria in the Manawatu River,” Ms Adams says.

As the TV Takeback programme comes to an end, the Government has been advised that one of the recyclers involved in the initiative is unlikely to be able to meet its contractual obligations.

“RCN E-Waste Ltd has indicated to me it is likely to default on its obligation to process all the televisions it has collected during the programme,” Ms Adams says.

Good morning it’s great to be with you in Queenstown today. I would like to acknowledge: