Brent Barrett's Home Planet: Budget takes tiny environmental steps

Manawatū needs big solar farms near the coast. Photo / Supplied

Opinion:

As you do, I caught up online with a dear childhood friend a few weeks back.

It was so good. Swapping memories and a few old jokes, we both reckoned some things stay the same forever.

And then, boom, a whole heap of change happens. A proper sea change. One by one the Manawatū's city, district and regional councils guaranteed Māori representation at the highest level.

Finally, councils are finally giving greater effect to rights guaranteed in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Here in Papaioea Palmerston North, that's only 150 years into the journey. Better late than never?

Amazing how after years of gridlock, one simple change creates massive opportunities.

Everyone wins by including a te ao Māori view in council decisions. As I understand it, their world view is particularly strong around healthy nature for healthy people. All driven by a close cultural relationship with nature. And it goes way back, the indigenous first stories are of Earth Mother and Sky Father. We are nature. Nature is us.

It's something we've always known at one level. Our bodies are mostly water, topped up with carbon, nitrogen and a few other elements. At a very literal level, we are nature.

This change sweeping through local councils is a great reminder that the system is ours to change as we see fit. And that just when it seems like things will always stay the same, change can happen almost overnight.

A bit like last year. The Covid crisis made us change things, fast. Some things that were impossible, suddenly not a problem. And things we took for granted like visiting friends, not so much. It all changed overnight. And it worked. We avoided a public health and economic catastrophe by working together, following good advice, and looking after what mattered most.

If only our elected leaders in Wellington could learn from their success.

With the climate crisis upon us, we had every right to expect Budget 2021 to live up to the Prime Minister's nuclear-free moment rhetoric. Especially as our Finance Minister enjoys the rare opportunity offered by a single-party government.

Granted, there is some climate response in the Budget, but rather weak and at the margins. And terribly light on real projects. Locally, we need a fast, frequent passenger rail link to Wellington, big solar farms near the coast, a clean energy innovation centre at Massey, and proper public transport.

For New Zealand, we need a commitment to lifting the price on carbon emissions until emissions start to fall, and to put the brakes on suburban sprawl across our best land. All up, that would be a real start on tackling the climate crisis.

Unfortunately, Budget 2021 delivered exactly none of that. Instead we see a few minor plays in transport, energy and investment. Tiny steps when we and every region in New Zealand needs big, bold strides.

So once again it's on us, we the people, to keep pressing for a solution. Reflecting on the most recent 150 years of the Māori journey in Manawatū, change takes a lot of time and effort to create. And then suddenly, it happens.

With the climate and ecological crisis, time is not on our side. We need now to create the political environment where this government makes Budget 2022 a world-leading response to the climate crisis.

Eco tip: If like me you're frustrated by fewer plastics being recycled, switch to a plastic-free grocer, and cultivate a reusable containers habit for takeaways and other food shopping.

• Brent Barrett is an environmental advocate, city councillor and scientist. The views expressed here are his own.