M.I.A.
OPINION: The previous government spent too much during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite warnings from officials, according to a briefing released by the Treasury.
340 people are now employed working for nature as part of the Government’s COVID-19 recovery plan.
Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced the number today while visiting workers at Canterbury’s Craigieburn Range.
The site is currently home to a large-scale wilding pine control operation, deploying new contractors who have lost their previous jobs in the tourism, hospitality, recreation and hunting sectors due to the impacts of COVID-19.
“I’m delighted that 340 people have already been employed on conservation projects so far as part of the Government’s investment in job redeployment for those affected by the COVID-19 downturn,” says Sage.
“The jobs involve a range of conservation work including improving walking tracks, fencing, trapping predators to look after birds and bush, and removing wilding pines.
In March, the Ministers’ for Economic Development, Employment, Forestry and Regional Economic Development announced $100 million to provide employment opportunities for workers in the hardest hit regions.
As part of this package, the Department of Conservation (DOC) received $3.9 million for creating conversation jobs.
Further funding was announced in Budget 2020, with DOC being allocated over $500 million a $1.1 billion nature based jobs package to deliver employment opportunities for 6,000 people over the next four years.
Sage says since field work re-commenced at Alert Level 3, DOC has completed 18 projects that employed 110 people. A further 42 other conservation projects are running with 230 people.
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Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.