Auckland's plan offers the Beehive no quick fixes
Auckland’s Unitary Plan will not solve the Government’s Auckland housing problems before the next election
For a start, the plan has yet to be approved...
Why Aucklanders will need to get used to living in apartments
The Auckland Council will unveil its 2000 page Unitary Plan today and with it will go the hopes of the Government for some restoration...
Privatising conservation
The Government move to set up a crown-owned company to control predators is further evidence of the way the Key Government is subtly bringing...
Ministry expels ship for breaching "voluntary" standard.
What appears to be a raised level of environmental protection by the Ministry of Primary Industries has caught the shipping industry unawares and seen...
There goes the neighbourhood
Environment Commissioner Jan Wright's long-running quest to get Finance Minister Bill English to set up a working group on rising sea levels appears to...
How Bridges won the road toll fight
No one in the Beehive will admit it but yesterday’s report on the future of Auckland transport marks a major change in Government thinking.
As...
Government looks to Chinese solution for Auckland housing shortage
Housing Minister Nick Smith is looking at a proposal that would see Chinese property developers fund their own infrastructure in Auckland.
The Prime Minister floated...
Bridges: The market can lower power prices – and save the planet
Energy Minister Simon ridges yesterday demonstrate why he’s something of a Golden Boy in the Key Cabinet.
In front of Parliament’s Commerce Select Committee for...
What Nick Smith does't seem to know about Auckland housing
The Auckland Council is directly challenging the Government’s explanation for the city’s housing crisis.
The Government’s mantra --- emphasised in last week’s National Policy Standard...
Smith's new housing policy flops
Because it has not delivered any answers on urban infrastructure, the National Policy Statement on urban development looks to have died on delivery.
The statement...
Dripfeeding water reform
The Government appears to be inching towards a trading system to allocate water rights.
The first hints of this came from Economic Development Minister Steven...
Bennett gets serious about climate change
Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett is proposing to refer questions about the economics of climate change to the Productivity Commission.
Facing criticism from the Environment...
Parliamentary Commissioner gives Government hurry up
The Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett wasn’t commenting last night on a major critique of the way the Government is managing climate change issues.
Ms...
Fighting for the right to be a busybody
Wellington’s Waterfront Watch is precisely the sort of organisation that many critics of the Resource Management Act believe should have its wings clipped.
The organisation...
Minister admits sea level problem
A Government Minister has finally admitted that New Zealand faces a direct economic threat from rising sea levels.
Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett told Parliament...
