Udder Madness Chez John
Following yesterday’s lockdown of corporate dairy expansion in the central North Island , Greenpeace continues on its mission to have New Zealand’s biggest climate crime solved….
As the sun rose over sleepy Helensville, we unfurled a truckload of Ready-Lawn around the outside of National Party leader John Key’s electorate office. Then came some pine trees, some two-dimensional cows and a smattering of stumps. Finally a billboard went up saying: “Would John solve this climate crime?”
VIDEO
The cutting down of tens of thousands of hectares of forests to make way for mega-farms is scandalous given the current climate crisis, but it’s happening in New Zealand like we’ve never seen before. And we want to know what the National Party leader would do about it should he get into power. So we carried out this faux land conversion on his doorstep.
National have consistently failed to meet the mark over climate change and rates poorly on the issue when compared to almost every other political party. We’re calling on John Key to front up to the issue of deforestation for intensive dairy farming.
We think New Zealanders deserve to know where John Key’s commitment to tackling climate change is and how he and his party would deal with agriculture’s growing emissions.
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It is high time that all of our political leaders stepped forward and said what REAL action that they are going to take to stop climate change if voted into office on the 8th of November. My vote will surely go to the party that is willing to stand up and be counted on!
Come on John, what do you have to say to us?
Simple, if they won’t release a clear and comprehensive climate change policy, then DON’T VOTE FOR THEM.
Climate change will be the number 1 issue for me when voting this time. I think that most of the political parties here in NZ have an abysmal track record on the issue, including some which have spent a lot of time waffling about what they plan to do. In the meantime, NZ’s GHG emissions have continued to spiral upwards.
I challenge our politicians to provide meaningful leadership on the issue.
im a dairy farmer and i donate to green peace. that forest looked pretty hilly to me, i wouldnt farm on it. i honestly dont think thay will covert that into intense dairy farming and may reasons are that the price of milksolids will fall over th e next few years. price of N is on the rise with it doubling over the past few years and will continue to do so with the shortning of supply and the crdit crisis the banks wont lend with knowing the uncertinty of the price of milk. i tell you now to convert land into dairy costs moer then what the land is worth(myabe not but its not the easiest thing to do). if this person or people have money to do so thay are btter of going overseas and intense dairy in brazil or china or .
ewww john key gross !!
sorry about my spelling and so on, feel free to correct it.
Simon Richards
was gonna write some more but im tired and have to milk the cows. its not the cows fault.
hear hear Simon. cows are heroes and the intensive dairy farmers should be treating them with more respect.
For once I do not agree with Greenpeace. The forests that were hacked down were exotic pine forests. Get rid of the bastards. They are green ecological deserts that sustain very little native NZ wildlife. The only advantagess of pine forests over cattle ranches are less greenhouse emmisions and cleaner run-off, but they afford little economic gain in the current financial climate. I suggest a compromise between cattle or sheep ranching and native replanting. NZ’s fake clean green image is a blur of exotic grasses, radiata pines, possums and pockets of native flora. We do not have enough corridors of native vegetation to interlink the habitats of our declining variety of remaining native fauna. We need to get even greener.
Editor
I note that you protested at John Keys house about the conversion of forests to dairy farms.
These conversions have occurred during the last 9 years of a Labour and Greens govt. Not a National Govt.
Perhaps Greenpeace could set up a true green party to promote and implement green policies. Greenpeace at least has integrity
Great piece on the news about this … I had no idea it was such a problem!
Good on you guys - let’s see some more of this kind of action at the source.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Video/Nightline/tabid/368/articleID/77721/cat/52/Default.aspx#video
I appreciate your sentiment Greenpeace but I too have mixed feelings about introduced pine species. They poison the soil with turpenes, send out rogues far and wide, and cover our city with a thick layer of yellow dust every year. You will understand why I find it hard to develop protective feelings towards them.
Here in Gisborne one conservation-minded American has purchased the iconic Young Nick’s Head Station, pest-fenced it and replanted it with native tree species. That is something I can get emotional about. I believe the answer to our conservation problems lies in relationship-building. Bludgeoning figureheads with “blunt instruments” may be entertaining but I doubt if it brings lasting change to people’s consciousness.
top notch
Funnily enough the first I heard of this protest was through a regular forestry email newsletter. I read with interest the comments above and unfortunately frown at some of the misconceptions. Firstly, I will admit to being employed in forestry and raised in dairy farming with my family evenly split in both industries. I am also only 15 minutes from the protest site and have lived here all my 45 years.
Now, to dispel one myth about pine forests. They have a diverse native species list with some protected native species managed by dedicated individuals. I know having worked for Carter Holt Harvey Forests (now Hancocks) the millions of dollars that are spent on conservation. It is not only a moral decision it is also an economic one with the company achieving FSC certification prior to being sold to Hancocks. If they are not certified then they cannot sell their produce. I know it is hard to convince people that have not worked in forestry and are used to only seeing areas of cutover.
It breaks the heart of foresters to see their trees being turned into dairy farms but economically, for some of that land this is the best use. Conversely there is farming land that should be in trees. I agree with the dairy farmers earlier comment. yes some of this land is hungry and hard to farm.
What both the farming and forest industry want is the ability to decide on appropriate use. If it is flat and fertile then farm it. If it is hilly and hungry or near high risk environmental areas then plant forests. Currently neither party will let a hectare of forest be cleared and replaced by new planting in a rougher area as compensation. If a realistic agreement can be gained on this approach then the conversion may continue but you will also see marginal land turned into forest as a balance. This is one thing both industries agree on but even united are not making any headway.
Hey Chris
The last 3 govts have been:
1999-2002: Labour/Alliance with Greens support for confidence and supply (C&S)
2002-2005: Labour / UNITED FUTURE / NZ FIRST with Greens voting against C&S
2005-2008: Labour / UNITED FUTURE / NZ FIRST with Greens abstaining on C&S
So it’s pretty obvious why the Labour led govt’s have done squat all on fixing this problem. Make sure when you vote that NZ FIRST and Winston Peters do not hold the country to ransom again. And same goes for UF, aka the man with the ego.
A party vote for the Greens will put some spine into Labour. 6 MPs is not enough so make sure they get 10% of the vote and make sure whoever leads the next govt quits talking and actually does something.
Cheers
David
Yer get ride of the pines,put it to deare and put sedament ponds in and put mimis and natives around them and the boundres and pokits of steper cuntre also they look orsom
Voting for either national or labour is the same as picking the lesser of 2 evils, and little will change with either in power. I see no time in the near or distant future where either party will incorporate an effective strategy against climate crime, simply due to the fact that there is more money in large corporations and little in helping our environment. These large parties do nothing that will ever help us, they only care about themselves.
I’m not old enough to vote yet, but next elections I am sure I’m not voting for National.
I think this was a great way to get the point across. I live in a place with a lot of intence dairy farms, and I am very against it all. Firstly they stink, but also because of the environmental damage they’re causing, and so many of the farms are cruel to the cows (not putting any trees in their paddocks, so they can sit down in the shade [if they’re sitting, they aren’t eating, if they aren’t eating, they’re not making milk]) D-:
The election of National and Act and removal of the greens from govt. has given me such pleasure that today I purchased another new Ford V8. We now have two and will take great pleasure in driving them as much as possible. Mind you, my power boat uses much more gas and I buy it at a subsidised price, I am told.
The cost of petrol for me is irrelevant. In fact I have no idea what it currently costs.
I could not care less about so called global warming and look forward to many years of frustrating your best efforts.
My children are similarly wealthy and share my views. You people are wasting your time and money in attempting to influence climate change and the efforts by world govts. will have no effect.
John, congratulations on all your chattels! It is on days like today i look out the window and think “oh would that i had a power boat”. Just wondering if in all your unfettered spending there is perhaps a direct debit to Greenpeace? You’ll understand that for our efforts to be “best” in order for you to frustrate them, we welcome support from all quarters.
Something tells me John is trolling.
If not, then that Forest Gump saying springs to mind… stupid is as stupid does.
Reminds me of that Mike Judge movie. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/
John, sticking your head in the sand (or is it an exhaust pipe i this case) over climate change has got nothing to do with how wealthy you are (”My children are similarly wealthy and share my views”). There are plenty of people who are wealthy (and yes probably wealthier than you believe it or not) who understand the threat of climate change very clearly. So please stop associating money with lack of brains. Thanks.
John, how did a petrol-head like you ended up on a Greenpeace site, are you struggling to find your way on the internet? You could have even more money if you wouldn’t buy things twice. My advice: buy yourself another speedboat for christmas and blow yourself up. Don’t forget to take your offspring before they start breeding and invite your mate Rodney Hyde too. That would be a great day for the environment.
In regards to the pine forest - Greenpeace should focus on the re-use of the land rather than protecting these pine-trees. Get rid of the pines and replant native trees please!! Growing native forest would absorb just as much (or even more) carbon and pine forests are green deserts - like much of New Zealand.