Address at the Environmental Defence Society Conference 2023: Pivot Point

On 23 March, the Commissioner gave an address at the Environmental Defence Society Conference 2023: Pivot Point at Grand Millenium Auckland.

The speech focused on the need for foundational investment in environmental monitoring and research. For effective parliamentary accountability, Members of Parliament need access to information, and clarity and transparency about: 

• why the Government is prioritising certain environmental issues (and not other ones)
• what environmental outcomes the Government is aiming for
• what the Government plans to do to achieve them, and how much it spends as part of that response.

The Commissioner outlined the amounts various Government agencies are expending on the environment in the current financial year, and posits that, if everyone agrees on big broad environmental outcomes, then governments should be explicit on how they’re going to advance them.

Read the Commissioners address at the Environmental Defence Society Conference 2023: Pivot Point