Government ministers to join discussions over Greater Christchurch's future
From reporter Steven Walton:
What will Greater Christchurch look like when one million people live here? Where will the big roads be, where will all the housing be built?
These are the questions that fall to a committee of Canterbury mayors, Ngāi Tahu, and transport authorities. Now it is set to be bolstered, with Housing Minister Megan Woods and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta getting a seat at the table.
The Government is teaming up with local authorities to plan what Greater Christchurch, the area covering Waimakariri, Christchurch City, and Selwyn, will look like in 30 years time.
Called Whakawhanake Kāinga (Urban Growth Partnership) Committee, it will be tasked with determining how the region can grow sustainably – ensuring that as the population increases, carbon emissions and house prices head the other way.
The first meeting will be on May 13. Continue reading here.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
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