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Hi Friend,
I'm Rhys, the Investigations Coordinator at the
Taxpayers' Union. We have just uncovered an example of wasteful
spending that demonstrates just how bloated, out-of-touch, and
insidious Wellington has become. 😡
We've discovered that, in the last two years
alone, the Ministry for the Environment has funnelled
$3.8 million of taxpayer money to eco-activist
groups.
What that means is while voters elected
a Government to be more 'pro growth', officials are secretly funding
(with your money!) lobby groups whose purpose is to fight the
elected government's policies in the courts.
In fact, we've discovered that the groups
include Forest & Bird and even the
Environmental Defence Society (EDS).
You couldn't make this up. At the same time,
Forest & Bird were literally
in Court judicially reviewing the Minister for the Environment against
the consenting of coal mines, the Ministry for the Environment is
shoving to the organisation your taxpayer money to undermine the
Minister!
The Ministry’s tentacles have spread too
far 🐙
This news raises the very obvious question: why
do we have a Ministry for the Environment and what does it
do?
It doesn’t restore wetlands, plant trees, or
protect native species – that work is done by the Department of
Conservation (DOC) and local councils.
The Ministry for the Environment is by every
definition a true 'bureaucracy'. It's a bloated back office policy
shop staffed by activists who would work for Greenpeace but
for the incredible pay packets the MfE offers (the
average staff remuneration last year was $153,000, while the average
"leadership" salary is $337,237!).
Is this why you pay your taxes?
👀
It's one thing to have an agency to produce
environmental red-tape, it's another to have it use your money to fund
activists whose purpose is to undermine the democratically elected
Government’s policies.
Take the Environmental Defence Society (EDS).
They pocketed $343,883 of taxpayer money while actively fighting the
RMA reforms. Their CEO, Gary Taylor, made their agenda
clear:
👉 “2024 was a
dark year indeed. A panoply of legislative changes weakened many
existing environmental protections and introduced new fast-track
provisions that will enable bad projects to get
approved.”
👉 “The reforms
planned for 2025 are far more extensive and worrying.”
👉“Development
interests have so far had their way with this Government. The way
Federated Farmers, miners and others have opportunistically wrestled
their agendas into law is disconcerting.”
Then there's Forest & Bird - who at the same
time as being funded by taxpayers, are paying activists to write
opinion pieces for the NZ Herald that label the Government's
policies as a "war on nature".
It seems apt to be writing this
during Conservation Week, with its theme of “Take action for
conservation”. Forest & Bird is standing up and fighting back
against these reforms. You can take action by letting your MP and the
Prime Minister know that you don’t back their war on nature.
[...]
Right now, his Government’s
policies constitute a war on nature, and by extension, a war on who we
are. I’m pretty sure nobody voted for that.
How has this happened?
🤑
We say, that funding eco-activist
groups does not serve the public, nor taxpayers.
The new Minister for the Environment,
Penny Simmonds told us last week that she's now overruled
officials and put an end to the taxpayer funding of these
particular activist groups.
Good. From our perspective, the funding isn't just
anti-democratic, it forces taxpayers to fund groups they do not
necessarily agree with.
But, let's be honest , the issue isn't
just the finding – it's what it represents: a Ministry for the
Environment that is totally out of control.
In 2017/18, the Ministry for the Environment had
360 full-time staff. By last year that number had swelled to
939!
Even after some minor cuts, it remains bloated,
with an army of policy advisors writing reports, pushing agendas, and
– as we've discovered – funnelling taxpayer cash to
activists.
This little trim is what the media means
when they cry about 'massive cuts'... Judge for
yourself:
If we don’t cut the Ministry back to its 2017
size, it will only keep finding new ways to waste money.
Budget 2025 - what better place to find
savings? 👍
Friend, over the next month or so,
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will be making decisions about baseline
spending in this year's Budget.
So rather than just expose and complain
about a wasteful government agency, let's do something about
it!
We've created an email tool for you to
email the Minister of Finance to ask her to cut back this wasteful
activist, government agency to pre-COVID levels.
Take a moment to
ask Nicola Willis to slash MfE back to its original size before
another cent is wasted on activist lobbying.
If we don’t cut the Ministry back pre-COVID size,
it will only keep finding new ways to waste, sorry, spend
your money.
Remember, this agency doesn't do a thing
on the front line. It's the agency that leads to things like
the 'Te Mana o te Wai' nonsense – that requires councils to
promote the 'mana' and 'spiritual health' of New Zealand's water.
🤦
What better case for an agency to
downsize?
Friend, in politics, the squeaky wheel gets the
oil. Bureaucracies like the MfE survive by remaining hidden and
unaccountable. That's why I need a minute of your time.
Please
take a moment to tell Nicola Willis to walk the talk and cut this
wasteful activist spending.
Thank you for your support.
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Rhys
Hurley
Investigations Coordinator
New
Zealand Taxpayers’ Union
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