The Land and Water Forum is to be congratulated for a comprehensive third report that has the buy-in of most interested parties and provides a strong path forward for the management of freshwater in New Zealand, says Labour’s Environment spokesperson Grant Robertson. “The Land and Water Forum’s collaborative process takes into account the views of 58 interest groups and yet …

The Land and Water Forum (LWF) today published its third and final report on how freshwater management in New Zealand can be improved. The forum proposes a collaborative approach at both national and catchment levels to set and implement objectives for waterways, prescribe limits for takes and discharges where these are required, and to find fair, efficient and accountable ways …

Defence Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman is departing for Perth today to hold talks with the Australian Defence Minister, Stephen Smith on the outskirts of the Ausmin conference. It will be their first formal talks since they signed the Australia-New Zealand Defence Relationship Review at Melbourne in January this year. “We have an excellent defence relationship with Australia and this meeting …

The Government is supporting a $26 million initiative that seeks to boost aquaculture by domesticating the New Zealand Greenshell Mussel. SPATnz is a venture led by Sanford which has received a commitment of up to $13 million from the Government’s Primary Growth Partnership Fund for a seven-year project. Formal contracts have just been signed, following development of a business plan. The …

IBM has announced Christchurch has won an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant – one of 31 cities globally for 2013. The grant provides Christchurch with access to some of IBM’s top experts to analyse and provide recommendations to drive economic development and sustained growth for the city. Launched in 2011, the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge is a three-year, 100-city, US$50-million competitive grant program …

Breakfast Video  Straight from the Whitehouse – Obama faces the press on fiscal cliff, Petraeus and more

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Trade Minister Tim Groser will meet with his Australian counterpart at the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Forum tomorrow in Canberra. “On both sides of the Tasman there is a high level of political commitment to strengthening and deepening our relationship, and this meeting will be important in helping us progress the single economic market agenda.” Groser says ministers will …

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is in Perth for a summit to deepen defence links between Australia and the United States. The annual summit is the first since President Barack Obama visited Australia a year ago and upset  China by announcing that up to 2500 US Marines would rotate through a joint military training hub in the northern …