Bay Harbour: November 14, 2017

Wednesday November 15 2017
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
BAY HARBOUR
PAGE 11
Our People
Eugenie Sage
Green voice in Government
Eugenie Sage is one of four Green Party MPs to
hold ministerial portfolios in the new Government.​
Bridget Rutherford spoke to her about politics
and living in Diamond Harbour
So you’re the new minister
of conservation, minister of
land information and associate
minister for the environment.
How does that feel?
I’m really delighted and
humbled to have all three. The
election campaign and aftermath
had been quite noisy – there was
a lot we found out at the same
time as the rest of New Zealand
when the Rt. Hon Deputy Prime
Minister Winston Peters announced
it. Then, 10min later,
we had a party teleconference to
actually agree to go into Government.
I was very pleasantly
surprised. Being involved in
negotiations, I was incredibly
proud of the way the Green Party
organised to have that massive
teleconference with delegates to
make the decision we’d be part
of the new Government. There
were a lot of discussions considering
it is historic; it’s the first
time the Greens have been in
Parliament in our 21 years. It was
an intensive effort by all three
parties to examine each other’s
policies, look at where common
ground was, and prioritise.
Did you expect Mr Peters to
make the decision he did?
No, I didn’t know which way it
would go.
What will your new
ministerial positions consist of?
We’ve got a biodiversity crisis
in New Zealand. About 3000
species are at risk of extinction.
We need to do much better in
protecting native plants and
animals and the places they live
so these species can thrive. We’ve
got an international responsibility
to do that because so many
are only here in New Zealand.
Our natural landscapes, wildlife
and special places around
Aotearoa are vitally important
to tourism – they are what bring
tourists here and market our
product overseas. The Green
Party campaigned for a change
of Government to make that
‘100% Pure’ image real – to give
it some integrity. We’ve got a real
responsibility to deliver on that
promise.
Does that bring pressure?
Yes, but it is exciting, though,
because voters have given us a
mandate.
What’s your favourite
animal?
The bellbird I hear at home
because of their call, the kea
and the robust grasshopper in
the Mackenzie Basin. It’s grey
so it’s difficult to see. We’ve got
an amazing insect fauna in New
Zealand that people tend to
overlook. I like the longfin eel
because they’ve got an incredible
life story. They can live to
80-years-old. They live in Te
Waihora/Lake Ellesmere then
they migrate and swim offshore
to Tonga where they spawn and
die. Then the glass eels drift back
through the current and come
back to New Zealand. It is an
astonishing life cycle. We’ve got
a responsibility to protect them,
and that’s another of the priorities,
particularly making sure the
Treaty of Waitangi is properly
implemented through the management
of things like forestry,
fisheries and waterways.
What do you like to do in
your spare time?
I like walking, I do a bit of
mountain biking on back roads,
and even just going from home
in Diamond Harbour around to
Lyttelton, then catching the ferry
back across. I like going up onto
the Port Hills. I used to do a lot
of tramping, which I haven’t had
much time for recently. I love the
high country in the South Island
like the upper Rakaia, Ashburton
Lakes, Arthur’s Pass and Mt
White. They are extraordinary
AT HOME: Eugenie Sage on the Balmacaan Saddle in Hakatere/
Ashburton Lakes. ​
spaces – that’s what makes my
heart sing. For many, it’s walking
along the beach looking out to
sea. Making sure all kids get the
opportunity to grow up with
nature, that’s what inspired me. I
grew up in Auckland, with three
siblings, and we used to play a lot
in the outdoors.
I think back to summer holidays
at Rotorua Lakes and we
were able to go off early and play
and wouldn’t come back until
dinner at night. For families that
can afford it, there’s still that opportunity.
But there are kids who
haven’t been to the beach in New
Zealand, and that’s a tragedy.
What brought you to
Christchurch?
Family commitments – my
partner Richard was down here.
I also studied at Canterbury
University and in Auckland.
When did you first get into
politics?
I was involved in student
politics at university. I edited
Craccum, the student magazine,
at the University of Auckland. I
got into environmental protesting;
I protested against the first
McDonald’s in New Zealand on
Queen St. I did some work for
the precursor to the Department
of Conservation on the West
Coast.
I was exposed to the destruction
of native forest for logging
– these magnificent rimu forests
near Hokitika. I was just in
tears wandering through these
areas, seeing nature’s cathedral
being utterly trashed. I worked
for Forest and Bird between the
mid-1990s through to 2010 at the
time of the Timberlands beech
logging scheme. A Labour Government
stopped the scheme and
transferred the land to DOC and
it has been invaluable since. It
just showed the power of public
mobilisation to protect our rain
forest.
What are you most proud of?
That and the work for Forest
and Bird using the Resource
Management Act to have
stronger controls on indigenous
vegetation clearance and the
work on tenure reviews.
What were you doing before
you got into politics?
I did a law and history degree
at Auckland, and then studied
journalism at Canterbury University.
The law degree has been
really useful in not being scared
of legislation.
What do you think of Prime
Minister Jacinda Ardern?
Jacinda Ardern will be an outstanding
prime minister through
her leadership skills, analytical
skills and her empathy. It’s totally
genuine.
Why did you move to
Diamond Harbour?
When I stood for Environment
Canterbury, I said I would
move in if elected. In 2010, as it
was coming up to elections, the
former Minister for the Environment
Nick Smith and Local
Government Minister Rodney
Hide decided to axe 14 elected
councillors and installed commissioners.
The only time I have
felt welcome in ECan since then
was when the people occupied
the building in September. That’s
a priority, restoring democracy.
What do you like about living
there?
It’s on the base of Mt Herbert,
and being in the harbour you’re
basically looking across to dramatic
cliffs. It’s our volcanic heritage.
And it’s the people in the
community, they support each
other. It’s the same in Lyttelton.
Do you have any pets?
I used to have two cats, but
that was about 10 years ago. Living
in a place with bellbirds and
kereru, I appreciate seeing and
hearing them.
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