Bluegreens

2009

This year’s Forum was held on Saturday 3 October at Wairakei Resort, Taupo. The Forum was opened at 9.30am with morning tea followed by a keynote address at 10.00am by Hon Dr Nick Smith who spoke on the Party’s environmental policies.

The forum was focused around four chaired panel topics: Technologies to make a difference for Climate Change, Growing the Green Economy, A New Start for Fresh Water and Co-management: Threat or opportunity for the environment? Ministers, MPs, business people, Tāngata Whenua and Non-Governmental Organisations were all apart of the various panels with participation from the floor encouraged.

Four Ministers spoke at the forum, the Hon Dr Nick Smith - Minister for the Environment and Climate Change Issues, Hon Chris Finlayson - Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Hon Dr Wayne Mapp - Minister of Research, Science and Technology and Hon Kate Wilkinson Associate Minister of Conservation. Bluegreen Caucus members were also in attendance along with a number of other National Party MPs.

Our international guest speaker this year was Greg Barker MP, Shadow Minister for Climate Change & Environment, UK Conservatives.

2008

The Forum this year was held on Saturday 6th September on Waiheke Island.
You can click here for a John Key speech outlining National's environment polices and click here for the policy statement and a backgrounder (PDF).

As featured on YouTube, conference-related video statements from Hon Dr Nick Smith and Hon Greg Hunt (the Australian Shadow Minister for Climate Change), as well as John Key's speech to the conference (augmented by a slideshow featuring Waiheke Island).

Click here to visit a Flickr-based gallery from the 2008 Forum

2007

The Bluegreens Forum took place on the weekend of October 6th-7th 2007 and was a great success, with over 80 delegates. The Forum was hosted at the Distinction Te Anau Hotel and Villas in the magnificent Te Anau.

A gallery of candid photos taken during the Forum sessions and the Forum fieldtrip can be browsed below. Please also find a selection of presentations from the Forum below.

Download presentations:

• Brian Cox - Solar & Climate Change.ppt (4MB)
• Eric Roy- Outdoor Recreation.ppt (327KB)
• Fraser Clark - climate change.pdf (3MB)
• Nicky Wagner - TOURISM IMPACTS.ppt (1MB)
• Guy Salmon - Nordic research lessons for NZ.ppt (16 MB)
• Paul Norris- Tourism.ppt (19MB)
• Rachel Montejo - Energy Mad.ppt (1MB)
• Shane Ardern - Biosecurity.ppt (352KB)
• Steve Canny - Tourism and Transport.ppt (50MB)

Click here to visit a Flickr-based gallery from the 2007 Forum

2006

The weekend of October 6-8, 2006, saw the launch of the National Party discussion paper on environment policy, a key topic of discussion at the Forum on October 7-8. The Forum was hosted at the Out of Styx Cafe in the magnificent Maungatautari Ecological Reserve, 40 minutes drive from Hamilton.

For the discussion document itself -- A Bluegreen Vision for New Zealand -- click here (880KB PDF)

A gallery of candid photos taken during the Forum is here. We also hope you'll take advantage of our short video-blogging clips, below, currently hosted on the NZ Nats YouTube website -- where you can share them with friends.

Hon Dr Nick Smith talks briefly about the National Party environment policy discussion document.. (1:04)

Peter Neilson, chief executive of the NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development. At the Bluegreens Forum (7 October) he shared some of his insights about National's new environment policy discussion paper, calling it "the most impressive document that's been released on the environment in the last 10 years." (29 seconds)

Former Green Party MP Ian Ewen-Street recently made the move to National -- and to the leaderhip cadre of the Bluegreens. Here he shares some thoughts about the importance of National's new environment policy discussion paper. (27 seconds)