National releases environment policy on Greens' home turf

National today went into Green Party home turf to announce its environment policy, saying it would focus on erosion, water quality and pests rather than genetic modification.

National leader Bill English said his party would sell off State farmer Landcorp and put the proceeds into environmental projects.

Accompanied by National's candidate Sandra Goudie, he launched the policy in Greens' co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons' Coromandel electorate. Recent opinion polls have put her ahead of Ms Fitzsimons, who holds the seat with a majority of 250.

Mr English said the country needed a government which targeted practical issues, not "pseudo-green" issues like genetic modification, cannabis liberalisation and opposition to free trade.

"National's top environmental priority is protecting our water, soil and native species. We cannot market New Zealand as 100 per cent pure when so many of our waterways are polluted, when so much soil is being lost to erosion and when species like our kiwi are on the road to extinction," he said.

Over 10 years, National would sell off state-owned farming company Landcorp, which owns more than 100 farms covering some 380,000 hectares, and invest the $500 million dollars in "practical projects" to improve the environment.

Some of the money would be used on Silna lands to end clear-felling and destructive logging of native forests on the Maori-owned land.

National would establish a royal commission of inquiry into freshwater resources and ecosystems to tackle the water pollution problem.

It would also introduce national environmental standards for landfills that must be met by 2010.

"We will work with councils to provide a kerbside recycling service in all towns over 5000 people."

The Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority would become the Zero Waste Authority.

Mr English said Labour had given environmental leadership to the Greens, whose "extremism" was giving environmental politics a bad name.

National's policy was immediately dumped on by Environment Minister Marian Hobbs and the Greens.

"What little policy there was, was largely a vote of confidence in the Government as it was already doing most of what National was talking about," Ms Hobbs said.

"This year's budget committed new funding of $26.5m to promote a clean, green environment and $5.9m for environmental education."

$20m had been earmarked for key Silna forest blocks.

"National is promising money it doesn't have to fund its newly discovered environmental concerns. It's even prepared to sell a significant public asset, Landcorp, irrespective of outstanding Treaty (of Waitangi) claims."

Ms Fitzsimons said in a statement National was avoiding any issue that meant industry and farmers would have to behave differently.

"They've avoided talking about biosecurity because it impacts on free trade; they've not mentioned fishing practices that kill thousands of endangered albatrosses, petrels and hectors dolphins because that would offend fishing interests; and the policy avoids mention of climate change because that would be unpopular with the energy industries."

Ms Fitzsimons also said Mr English was talking "100 per cent pure rubbish" if he thought New Zealand could remain 100 per cent pure while letting genetic engineering out of the lab.

The Green Party is launching its environmental policy on Thursday in Christchurch.

Other points of National's environment and conservation policy are:

* create nine new marine reserves in the next term of Parliament;

* review investment in pest control programmes to develop more effective means of control;

* ask the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology to develop a research strategy for a zero waste future;

* enable irrigation schemes to apply for assistance with capital costs if projects were of benefit to the environment;

* support the establishment of more mainland habitat islands where people would be able to see native wildlife;

* outlaw subsidies for landfills and incinerators so the full costs of dealing with waste were faced by those generating it.

- NZPA

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