blog | Page 22 | The Morgan Foundation

Should irrigation be banned?

Geoff SimmonsMarch 13, 2016Environment

The Tourism Export Council today has called for a five-year ban on new irrigation schemes following the dairy downturn. Should irrigation be banned? We don’t think so, but neither should irrigation be propped up by government funding. Each project should … Read More

How to Fix the Hauraki Gulf

Geoff SimmonsMarch 10, 2016Environment

You can’t please everyone. But in the case of the marine protection consultation (on which submissions close today), it seems the Government can’t please anyone. That is because the proposals they are putting forward won’t actually solve the problems we … Read More

Landcorp, the Milk Price and Born Again Environmentalism

Gareth MorganMarch 10, 2016Environment

On Monday we heard that Landcorp will not be proceeding with all of the planned conversions of forestry to dairy farms in the central North Island. On Tuesday we learned that the predicted milk payout has dropped to the lowest … Read More

Do Oil, Gas and Mining Gazump Marine Protection?

Geoff SimmonsMarch 8, 2016Environment

The Government’s consultation on protecting our ocean has taken place in the shadow of the oil, gas and mining industry. A number of Government proposals on marine protection point to the undue influence of this industry, and have turned the … Read More

Resource Management Act Reform – death by a thousand cuts

Geoff SimmonsMarch 6, 2016Environment

The first months of 2016 have seen a deluge of environmental proposals from the Government, some good some bad. But the Resource Management Act (RMA) is the granddaddy of all environmental legislation. In 2013 National and ACT tried to kill … Read More

Remembering Dr Ranginui Walker

Susan GuthrieMarch 6, 2016Treaty

The video collection TalkTreaty.org.nz had humble origins. After reading everything we could about the Treaty of Waitangi, Gareth and I wanted to test our ideas by asking people many, very personal, questions – what do they identify with, have they … Read More

A letter to Annette

Gareth MorganMarch 6, 2016Health

On Tuesday we spoke out against Andrew Little’s politicking over Pharmac’s decision to not fund (at the moment) one of the new generation of cancer drugs called Keytruda. To his credit the Greens health spokesperson Kevin Hague was the voice … Read More

How Should A Progressive Vote in the Flag Referendum?

Geoff SimmonsMarch 6, 2016Treaty

Any progressive is on the horns of a dilemma in this upcoming referendum. In one corner, we have the current flag, a despoiled British naval ensign, and a symbol of a bygone imperialist era. In the other corner, we have … Read More

Pharmac and the Crazies: John Key admits mistake, Andrew Little looks to repeat it

Gareth MorganMarch 6, 2016Health

During the recent TPP furore, Labour made much of the threat to Pharmac from American drug multinationals. And now, just weeks after signing the TPP, the greatest threat to our independent drug buyer comes from Labour itself. Today a petition … Read More

ACT Party Environmental Policy – Right Idea, With Some Tweaks

Geoff SimmonsFebruary 28, 2016Environment

Over the weekend David Seymour released a flagship ACT environmental policy – to sell Landcorp in order to build predator free sanctuaries. His ultimate aim is to ‘bring back the birdsong’ – restore the dawn chorus to what Cook intended. … Read More