RAAF F18's patrol over NZ
| GREEN SCORE | NEW ZEALAND FOREIGN AFFAIRS |
| Effort | A |
| Results | A- |
Australia ranks outside the top 10 nations for environmental sensitivity: Sweden ranks top of that list, followed by New Zealand. What is needed are simple, big-picture gestures from the <Australian> Government, particularly when it comes to the environment and indigenous issues, that will play well both locally and internationally. The success of New Zealand’s tourism strategy is often quoted as something to which Australia should aspire, and it’s worth noting in the current climate that our near neighbour carries little of the environmental baggage Australia has, despite being even further away from most places. But New Zealand has reaped the benefits of making big environmental gestures decades ago.
Tim Riches, FutureBrand Australia.
Of course, the biggest gesture Riches is referring to is Nuclear Free New Zealand.You may ask is nuclear disarmament an environmental issue? I think so. After all, a nuclear winter would make global warming look like a picnic On the Beach.
Kiwis have become very modest about their Nuclear Free achievement. It’s no mean feat for a tiny country to stand up to the greatest power on the planet. But tall poppy syndrome must be resisted. We have almost unique status in putting nuclear disarmament right up there on our list of national priorities – a generation ahead of many. It’s real evidence that we are working for, and taking risks for our clean and green badge through global leadership.
Many local authorities worldwide have declared themselves “nuclear-free”. However, this label is largely symbolic, since most local authorities would be powerless to stop the construction of a nuclear plant if one was planned for the area. In the case of New Zealand its status as a nuclear-free zone is not symbolic but enshrined in the nation’s legislation. New Zealand was the first Western-allied nation to legislate towards a nuclear free zone, effectively renouncing the nuclear deterrent… New Zealand’s three decade anti-nuclear campaign is the only successful movement of its type in the world which resulted in the nation’s nuclear-free zone status being enshrined in legislation.
Wikipedia
A generation since the Rainbow Warrior bombing, as Obama starts to dream of the possibility of nuclear disarmament, New Zealand remains staunchly nuclear free. Through various Governments lead by either Labour or National, it continually polls as an issue that Kiwis are non-negotiable on. We do have a legitimate claim to being a clean and green leader. It is not only something that we have inherited by good luck. We would do well to shout more about our early-adopter role in a potentially nuclear weapons-free world. Perhaps the time is now right for others to listen.
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Tags: 100% Pure New Zealand, ANZUS, clean & green, clean & green NZ, Clean and Green, clean and green New Zealand, clean and green NZ, David Lange, disarmament, foreign affairs, guadalcanal, Kaitiakitanga, nuclear free new zealand, nuclear free pacific, Rainbow Warrior
[...] that it is a country’s behaviour that is most important in building its brand. We have noted Futurebrand Australia’s Tim Riches’ praise for significant historical environmental gestures mad… which have given us a reputational jump on our Tasman neighbour in the minds of global green [...]
[...] number of Government agencies would need to be involved. Trade and Tourism New Zealand, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ministry of Economic Development, and Ministry for Environment for starters. Probably a [...]