NZ First list MP quits Parliament
New Zealand First MP Tanya Unkovich. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
New Zealand First List MP Tanya Unkovich has resigned, saying she serves New Zealanders better in the private sector.
In a statement, the Auckland-based MP said serving in the public sector had been a great honour, but she believed she could serve better in the private sector, as well as coaching and consultancy.
Before becoming an MP, Unkovich was a self-employed international life and business coach.
"It has always been my deepest desire to serve mankind, and in my work as a Member of Parliament I have been privileged to be a voice to many in the community who need it the most," Unkovich said.
"I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the New Zealand First caucus, party members, and in particular the Rt Hon Winston Peters for his strong leadership and commitment towards a greater New Zealand."
Economic development consultant David Wilson from Upper Harbour was next on the party's list.
Unkovich was a member of select committees for social services, economic development, science and innovation.
RNZ requested interviews with both Peters and Unkovich, but a spokesperson for the party said they had "no further comment at this stage".
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"Imagine going to Europe and lassooing, I don't know, 10,20,30,40 hundred million dollars worth of demand from big actors in those economies so that we can create a fire hose of money to point at New Zealand conservation interests. That's really the goal here." Greenwashing, commodifying nature? But what about criticism the credits could be another vehicle for greenwashing - companies exaggerating or misleading consumers about their green credentials? The integrity of biodiversity schemes is key, given the world's chequered experience with carbon trading. Already critics are flagging concerns around the nascent biodiversity credit industry, not just greenwashing - but scaleability, distaste at the "commodification" of nature and the risk of distracting governments from their funding obligations. Johnston said the government hopes to develop "guardrails" by following the pilot projects' experience. "Principles like transparency, so that the buyer knows exactly what they're buying; additionality, so that what they're buying is clearly an additional benefit from what would have happened otherwise; longevity, so that the action or the outcome will occur over a longish period of time." A central registry for the credits is something they will be considering too, he said. Weaver describes credits as a variation on philanthropy. "Are they commodifying nature? No, they're not. They're commodifying the human labour and technology cost to look after nature. So no nature is being traded in these credits." It's not a goldrush Johnston said biodiversity credits could work well for farmers and landowners working collaboratively, say, in catchment groups, to fund things like fencing and pest control. "One of the things I'm really keen we test is how you can do this in a way that is cost effective. 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