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on the coast of Kaikoura, imnofox spoke to a large crowd about the importance of protecting our oceans and our ocean wildlife
“Thank you, thank you, thank you all for coming, for taking the time out of your day to come to this speech on what is a sad but important issue that needs facing. Here in Kaikoura, we know the importance of the ocean. It’s a great source of kaimoana, has provided great tourism opportunities, as we see with Whale Watch, boosting the economy of Kaikoura- which is a great initiative by Ngāti Kuri, by the way-, and is simply beautiful to look at, as a beautiful habitat for so many creatures.”
“By 2050, we’re projected to have more plastic in the ocean than there are fish in the ocean. And that’s their home, not ours. About 5 to 13 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the ocean every year. I read about a thin and starved Sperm whale, stranded on the coast of Spain, that had ingests 8.1kgs of plastic, and that causes the whale’s death. It’s not just whales, but fish, turtles, seals, and dolphins too. It’s estimated that 99% of seabirds will have ingested plastic. We need to do better to protect our oceans.”
“New Zealand’s waste output is continually getting worse. The amount of waste going to landfill in 2009 was 2.5 million tonnes, and that rose to 3.2 million tonnes in 2015. Plastics are the second largest bloc of waste going into landfill, after organic waste. It’s well overdue that we start reducing our waste, because it’s clear as day that the amount of waste we produce is totally unsustainable. The National Party and New Zealand First have totally failed to do anything to counter this massive problem, and it’s time we do something about it.”
“My goal is to introduce a nationwide network of refund programmes for plastic, glass bottles, and aluminium cans. This kind of scheme will double recycling rates, create 2,400 jobs, generate revenue for community groups, and save councils up to $40 million a year. A 10c deposit will be added to the sale of any such container, and then would be refunded at collection points. In South Australia, programmes similar to this have made it the cleanest state in Australia. It’s a win win for the economy, and for the environment.”
“It’s great to see that the National Party have finally jumped on board with long-standing Green policy by proposing a 50c plastic bag tax. The trouble with National is, it’s just an excuse for more revenue to fund New Zealand First’s lolly scrambles. We saw them keep the carbon tax, but slash all the investment in carbon sinks and sustainability investments it was supposed to cover. We saw them keep the nitrate pollution levy, but abolish the investment in cleaning up our rivers as the levy intended. No doubt, we’ll see the money raised from their plastic bag tax routed straight into their general taxation pool. We recognise that if you’re gonna pay a levy, you’d at least like to know where it’s going. In government, the Greens will place a 50c levy on all plastic bags, with 35c going directly to environmental clean-ups, and 15c going directly towards research and development of alternatives to plastic. Based on the UK’s experiences, that’s $84 million a year for clean-ups and $36 million towards research and development into plastic alternatives.” “But plastic bags are only a small part of the battle, and it takes more than simple plastic bag levies to counter the amount of soft plastic packaging used on a huge range of products. And so much of this is practically responsible. We need a Minister for the Environment who is ready to take action, not keep a seat warm like successive National Environment Ministers have opted to do. In government, Greens will declare plastic packaging, cutlery, plates, and cups as ‘priority products’ under the Waste Minimisation Act, requiring mandatory product stewardship of these products. This means producers will take responsibility for the waste associated with their products, throughout the life of their products, and build those prices into the initial purchase price. With alternatives such as bamboo becoming so readily available, even as toothbrushes, there’s no excuse to keep using such an unsustainable product in an over-polluted world.”
“These are the necessary steps to start cleaning up our planet. The scourge of plastic waste and overconsumption is killing our planet, and the other creatures that call it home. Only by electing a Green government do you get a government committed to rapidly and substantially reducing our waste output- something previous National government’s have been oddly afraid to do. We must have respect for our planet and the resources it provides us with. We must respect our forests and the animals that live in the air, the forests, or the oceans. It’s the right thing to do, so I implore you to vote Green.”
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