Greens release environment policy

The Green Party today released an environment policy aimed at putting the country's industry, environment and economy on a sustainable basis.

It interlocks with other policies because they all impact on the environment and there are no surprises -- keeping genetic engineering out of it is a cornerstone.

Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said the policy was based on the acknowledgement that humans could not survive if they continued to degrade the environment.

"We eat, breathe and drink from our environment and the health of human beings is inextricably linked to the health of the planet," she said.

The policy set the Greens apart from all other parties in terms of commitment to the environment and would go a long way towards "greening" a future Labour-led government.

Other main points of the policy:

Biosecurity:

* develop a faster response mechanism to incursions when they are discovered;

* continue to extend public education and biosecurity awareness programmes;

* the cost of responding to incursions to be recovered from importers.

Farming:

* review effectiveness of regional councils in protecting fresh water quality;

* develop a pesticide reduction strategy with clear and early targets;

* encourage organic growing through assistance and mortgage support.

Fisheries:

* require environmental assessment process for new fishing technologies;

* set close to zero by-catch limits for threatened species such as albatrosses, petrels, sea lions and be prepared to close fisheries if limits are exceeded;

* insist Ministry of Fisheries adopt an ecosystem approach rather than a species approach in setting quota.

Climate change:

* cap thermal generation capacity at current levels, allow more efficient stations to be built as replacements for existing stations;

* regain public control of the rail track;

* impose a carbon tax of $10 a tonne of CO2 as part of an ecological tax reform.

Air quality:

* set emission standards for all classes of vehicles, introduce mandatory testing;

* develop air quality standards;

* vehicle fuel must meet strict standards;

Waste and toxic materials:

* set target for a waste-free New Zealand by 2020;

* impose levies on tonnes of waste sent to landfills;

* impose levies on hazardous substances.

Protected habitats:

* increase establishment of mainland islands with intensive pest control;

* establish new marine reserves with goal of protecting 20 per cent of coastal waters.

The Greens will announce a stand alone policy on ecological tax reform on July 11.

- NZPA

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