Fish & Game welcomes National Party turnaround on environment

Fish & Game is welcoming National Party leader Simon Bridges’ pledge to “reset” the party’s environmental policies, saying it is good to see him finally acknowledge the new political reality in New Zealand.

Simon Bridges made the pledge at the annual Blue Greens Conference in Canterbury during the weekend.

Mr Bridges told delegates he would be “resetting” National’s approach to environmental issues and that good environmental practice is crucial for securing our children and grandchildren’s future.

Simon Bridges said the environment isn’t an optional extra and a strong economy isn’t worthwhile if “we’ve ruined the environment”.

Fish & Game’s Chief Executive Martin Taylor says Mr Bridges’ efforts are welcome.

“The last 15 years has shown what can happen when environmental issues like declining fresh water quality are not properly addressed,” Mr Taylor says.

“The new reality is that no political party can win an election without policies that specifically and realistically address issues like water quality and climate change.

Martin Taylor says the majority of the public supports such action.

“The recent public opinion survey done for Fish & Game shows pollution of our rivers and lakes is one of the top two concerns for New Zealanders, with three quarters of those surveyed saying they are concerned about pollution of our rivers and lakes,” Mr Taylor says.