Recently Te Puni Kōkiri sponsored a forum to discuss climate change and the government’s programme to address it and its implications for Māori. George Ria (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) and Dick Burgess (Ministry for the Environment) met together with Māori landowners in Rotorua.

The emissions trading scheme was discussed, in particular the impact of de-forestation versus pasture and potential solutions on how to achieve a good economic and cultural balance.

There was widespread acknowledgement from attendees that climate change is an important and urgent issue, and that our actions and/or inaction will be judged by future generations.