In the 2019 local election, I campaigned on a platform of Waikato Regional Council (WRC) taking strong action to tackle the climate crisis. Substantial progress has been made by WRC but more ambitious action is still required. Here is what I have helped achieve as Deputy Chair of the Climate Action Committee: –
Read More »Tag: Resource Management Act
1-in-20 Chance of 2m of Sea Level Rise
Today I gave a presentation to Thames Coromandel District Council about the latest research on sea level rise from the world’s ice sheet experts. These experts say there is a 1 in 20 chance of 2 m of sea level rise by 2100. This is double the figure used in Government guidance for councils in New Zealand of 1m.Read More »
Waihi Gold Mining is “Inherently Unsustainable” – Minister
At Last, a Government Minister Tells the Truth About Gold Mining
Oceana Gold (New Zealand) Ltd has been refused consent under the Overseas Investment Act to buy land to expand its Waihi gold mines. Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage says expansion of gold mining at Waihi is inherently unsustainable, poses potentially large environmental and economic risks should tailings reservoirs fail, will increase climate-damaging emissions, and will provide only moderate employment benefits.Read More »
Thames Retirement Village is on a Coastal Hazard Site
Thames-Coromandel District Council Registers a Coastal Inundation Hazard Notation on the Richmond Villas Title
Radio New Zealand has reported how in December 2018, TCDC quietly registered a hazard notation on the title of the Richmond Villas retirement village complex. This notation confirms that the site is subject to a natural hazard of coastal inundation (flooding), “because the land is considered to be subject to Inundation, being potential; flooding, overland flow, storm surge, tidal effects, and ponding”Read More »
Paying Lip Service to Coastal Hazards
In a familiar yet disturbing trend, yet another major Coromandel coastal subdivision consent application has been lodged with Thames Coromandel District Council which pays lip service to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise. This time, it’s an application for an additional 74 sections in the Whitianga Waterways project. The application does not include an up to date coastal hazard assessment which considers the latest Government guidance, or proper planning and legal analysis of coastal hazards for the site.
Denis Tegg - teggtalk 