So John Banks has been found guilty of electoral fraud, of knowingly filing a false electoral return to hide large donations. Yet despite apparently breaking our laws, he will continue to make them, in likelihood remaining in Parliament until it rises in July for the election runup. The response by John Key and the National Government escalates a worrying trend of blatant disregard for democratic integrity. And this don’t care attitude is having a direct impact on our land and oceans, and our right to stand up for them.

Banks’ career as the sole representative of the Act party has been chequered with accusations of cronyism and corruption, from the ‘teapot tapes’ meeting with Key prior to the 2011 election, to his deciding vote on Skycity deals after receiving large donations from them. Read more >

K...

As the IPPC report predicts dire consequences for New Zealand, our politicians talk only about ‘adaptation’ to Climate Change while carving up NZ for more fossil fuel exploration and maintaining an 'all of the above' approach to energy that even Simon Bridges thinks is just good rhetoric.

On Monday the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - a whole bunch of extremely smart scientists - released their highly anticipated report on climate change impacts. The increased focus on issues for humans, not just the environment, and the havoc a changing climate looks set to wreak, is rightly setting off alarm bells across the globe.

"Nobody on this planet is going to be untouched by the impacts of climate change," IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri said, and Professor Neil Adger of Exeter ...

On Thursday, our Minister for Energy, Simon Bridges, attended the National Energy Research Institute (NERI) organised Energy Conference in Wellington, in order to launch his Smart Grid Forum initiative. It would be great if this signalled a change of heart, a shift away from the aggressive fossil fuel policy that has recently seen him travel the globe attempting to seduce mining and drilling companies to come here.

Unfortunately we were treated to the usual serving of hot air, about a “mixed and balanced approach” (ie pursuing fossil fuels whilst talking about renewables in order to look good). But the remarkable thing was, Bridges admitted that his words were hollow, acknowledging in the q & a session that “all of the above” was "good rhetoric, and that's why I use it."

S. Bridges at NERI - 'Obama's "all of the above" is rhetoric, but its good rhetoric and thats why I use it' Read more >

— Jimmy Green (@stuffdoer) March 19, 2014

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