Once upon a time, in a land not very far away, there lived a king. True story.
Read MoreGreen and peaceful land
On June 25, Greenpeace New Zealand did an action at Parliament. That afternoon I knew that, were I raising children, it would be as activists
Read MoreConservation's changing climate
With world leaders failing and New Zealand ranked in the bottom five of the world's worst emitters for climate policy response, conservation campaigners have to think differently about ways to help nature weather the coming storm
Read MoreSeabed mining: drums in the deep
The Environmental Protection Agency hearing into seabed mining for phosphate on the Chatham Rise is exposing questions about uncertainty - many big unknowns, including whether the applicant has done its job. If environment groups win this battle, what does it mean for the wider war?
Read MoreThe dollar cost: is pricing losing?
Putting a price on something ... usually, the first step to selling it off, or compensating for its loss. Pricing nature is on the agenda in Wellington this week.
Read MoreThe Environment Court, and the one percent
The court with “the potential to affect New Zealanders’ day-to-day quality of life more than any other court in the judicial system” is on the ropes. The RMLA speaks out
Read MoreNature's rights ... left far behind
New Zealanders have been asked to think about our constitution - what it is that makes us or, as one judge described it, “the mirror of a nation’s soul”
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New Zealand's story: our shared story?
Steven Joyce’s Budget 2013 announcement says that his ‘New Zealand Story’ project will be all about innovation and resourcefulness, our Maori heritage, and a ‘welcoming, friendly’ approach. I think the Emperor has no clothes, and it's about time somebody said so
Read MoreKicking the tyres from beneath New Zealand
Government's gathering pace, in a way that ought to give us all serious pause - because it rips apart more than our constitutional fabric.
Read MoreNew Zealand story: an Appeal to our better nature
Government gets bolder. Meanwhile, Forest & Bird Ambassador Sir Alan Mark launches a public appeal for a Wise Government Response to five crises confronting New Zealand
Read MoreFirst they came for the trees ...
Look deeper into RMA reforms and you might find it's more exciting than you think: an Environment Minister taking her axe to urban trees, and the latest in a series of “democracy deficits” - this time affecting Auckland
Read MoreWhere's Steven?
The launch tonight aboard the Rainbow Warrior of Greenpeace NZ’s clean economy report recalls the time New Zealand turned away from nuclear energy. Now, as then, we’re at an historical crossroads. But where is the Economic Development Minister?
Read MoreLast words on the Cat Flap
Gwynn Compton's open letter to Gareth Morgan, PR lessons to be learned from failing "quite comprehensively", and a nice response from Tom Cox
Read MoreNew Zealand story: the Rainbow's return
The symbolism of the Rainbow Warrior's return to her spiritual home.
Read MoreCat fight
On the so-called catflap, Gareth Morgan's conversation firestarter - because sometimes, "when the fail is so strong, one facepalm is not enough"
Read MoreNemesis Narcissus
What does activism mean? How do we reconcile ego and eco, in 2013? And - with apologies for existential crisis - what exactly is my job?
Read MoreGround shifting under resource management
2012 in review: text of my piece for the Resource Management Journal on the changing legal landscape, and writing loudly on the political wall
Read MoreNew Zealand: this is your life
We might have fought over it, at the time. Sometimes, we fought bitterly. At Gallipoli, we lost; but we were on the right side of history, and we found a blood-coloured poppy, like a heartbeat in the dust. Later, it would dawn on us: this is who we are, New Zealand.
Read MoreThe New Zealand story: 100% pooer!
In 2012, National Ministers’ environment choices left us 100% poorer - or pooer, in the case of our impure, faecally-contaminated rivers
Read MoreA mine of misinformation
My response to Straterra's Chris Baker, whose comments framed an earlier piece in the New Zealand Herald. In fact, 69 percent of New Zealanders agree: conservation is at the heart of what it means to be a New Zealander (DOC, 2012).
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