Small Business

In May I addressed the crisis we are facing in Christchurch following the February earthquake. I said then that knowing the challenges ahead of us in what was the new normal, we needed to engender a sense of hope in the community. More

This year's Budget is essentially more of the same: a traditional neoclassical Budget in a time of national austerity. Let me critique it from a Green perspective, and offer an alternative, ecological Budget in a time of global crisis.

Two and a half months after the devastation that rocked and racked New Zealand's second-largest city, Christchurch remains in a strange psychological state, essentially one of suspended animation.

This is a rather historic moment. Apart from in wartime New Zealand I think we are passing into law arguably the most Draconian legislation ever passed by a New Zealand Parliament. I do not wish to be melodramatic, but we have experienced a dramatic event, and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Bill is a dramatic bill.

I want to pick up an issue that I raised earlier, and so did Brendon Burns, and others—the much-maligned. It pertains to community engagement. I will make just one further point on community engagement, and I wish to then address the issue of powers as well. More

I want to address the immediate practical issue of the Green Party's Supplementary Order Papers, and in doing so I want to divide my time. I will talk initially to the issue of community engagement. As I said during the first reading debate, our concerns revolve around a two-fold process: firstly, the lack of adequate community engagement; and, secondly, the extensive powers. More

We acknowledge that the task of recovery in Christchurch is massive. We acknowledge that the purposes of this bill are appropriate. We acknowledge that there is a role for central Government and an essential role for central Government. More