5 August 2002

Marian Hobbs Welcomes Sustainable Development Report

Environment Minister Marian Hobbs has welcomed the release of a report on sustainable development by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.

The report, 'Creating Our Future: Sustainable Development for New Zealand’, was extremely timely and an important contribution to discussion with the World Summit on Sustainable Development being held in Johannesburg at the end of the month, Marian Hobbs said.

"The government will examine this report in detail and assess its implications before responding formally to the Commissioner," Marian Hobbs said. "The importance of sustainable development to the country cannot be underestimated. I am delighted the Commissioner agrees that, after little work during the 1990s, much progress has been made during this government's first term.

"I welcome the Commissioner's recommendations and will examine them closely. There may be, however, alternative ways of achieving the goals set out in Creating the Future and I want to discuss these with a wide audience.

"The government agrees that we need to be ambitious and, following the World Summit, will prepare clearly stated objectives through the Sustainable Development Strategy. The strategy will provide an underpinning and coherence to our work and will have implications for all government departments."

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