Free prescriptions important step forward

services and systems

Fossil fuel inflation drives up cost of living, Luxon rests assured

Exposure to volatile fossil fuels has driven inflation to its highest level in two years, piling more pressure on New Zealanders' cost of living, says the Green Party. "Stats NZ has today confirmed what every New Zealander already feels at the checkout. Almost everything is more expensive. That is because our economy is wired up to fossil fuels," says Green Party Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.  "Inflation has hit 4.1 per cent in the year to June, up from 3.1 per cent in...

Posted at July 21, 2026 11:16 AM by Chlöe Swarbrick

services and systems

Green Party launches plan to cut power bills and take power back from the big energy companies

The Green Party has today launched its election energy policy, a plan to cut household power bills and establish Kiwipower, a publicly owned company to deliver the affordable, secure, renewable power the market has failed to build.“The Greens will lower bills, cut emissions and put power back in the hands of New Zealanders. That means Warmer Kiwi Homes, community-owned power, solar on rooftops and a new generation company, designed to solve our dry-year problem, owned by New Zealanders: Kiwipower," says...

Posted at July 20, 2026 1:06 PM by Chlöe Swarbrick and Marama Davidson

services and systems

Transport plan more pipe dream than pipeline

The Government's Major Transport Projects Pipeline, released today, shows billions of dollars of mega-roads still unfunded with no timeframe for when many will ever be built."After years of pressure to front up on how it would pay for its roading wish list, the Government has released less a pipeline and more a pipe dream with no clear way to fund its mega-projects," says Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter. "Putting projects in the 'slow lane' is an admission that...

Posted at July 09, 2026 11:38 AM by Julie Anne Genter

services and systems

Private emails with lobbyists in Luxon's Ministerial offices are potentially a systemic problem

The Ombudsman has confirmed the Prime Minister's Office unreasonably withheld secret briefings, and the Green Party has obtained a new OIA showing the same private email problem in other Ministers' offices, suggesting a potentially systemic problem across Government.“New Zealanders have the right to know who is influencing political decision making, and how,” says Green Party Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.   “Regular people do not get to exchange secret emails with the Prime Minister's top officials, getting the law ultimately changed in their favour....

Posted at July 01, 2026 1:55 PM by Chlöe Swarbrick

services and systems

Luxon's Government nearly halves food bank funding as demand hits record high

The Green Party says this Government has nearly halved funding for food banks in Budget 2026, extending the $15 million in annual support for just one more year before cutting it to $8 million a year from 2027, at the very moment demand has never been higher.“Food banks are the last lifeline for the people doing it the toughest, and this Government has chosen to nearly halve their funding,” says Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson.  “Demand has never been higher. The NZ Food...

Posted at June 04, 2026 11:32 AM by Marama Davidson

services and systems

Government clears the way to automate decisions about people's survival

The Green Party is condemning the Government's move to hand decisions on benefits over to automated systems, warning it will leave more people in hardship without the support they are legally entitled to."Handing decisions about people's ability to survive to a machine is a deliberate choice to make it harder for people to get the help they need," says Green Party social development spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March.  The Social Security (Modernisation) Amendment Bill will be introduced today for its first...

Posted at May 29, 2026 11:07 AM by Ricardo Menéndez March

services and systems

Bill drawn to ensure young people aren't made homeless when leaving Oranga Tamariki

The Green Party bill requiring the government to make sure young people leaving state care have a safe, stable home to move into has been drawn as a member's bill today, the same day the Government begins the process of criminalising homelessness."On the day this Government chooses to punish people for being homeless, we are choosing to make sure no young person leaving state care ends up on the street in the first place," says Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson. ...

Posted at May 21, 2026 2:08 PM by Marama Davidson

services and systems

National’s public housing reform ‘cuts costs’ at the expense of our most vulnerable

The Green Party is warning that the Government’s changes to public housing will see more public housing tenants evicted and driven deeper into poverty. “Luxon’s Government has built on their despicable pattern of finding ‘savings’ in their budget from the empty pockets of the poorest people in New Zealand,” says Green Party Housing spokesperson, Tamatha Paul.  “They are balancing their budget on the backs of pensioners, beneficiaries and disabled people who rely on public housing.”  “Increasing rents by 20% on top of unaffordable food costs, power bills and medical bills is simply cruel.”  “Ironically, they say they want to limit time spent in public housing, yet these changes mean that these tenants will never be able to...

Posted at May 21, 2026 1:07 PM by Ricardo Menéndez March and Tamatha Paul

services and systems

Luxon’s ‘DOGE style cuts’ will harm New Zealand

Luxon’s cuts to the public service will only put more pressure on frontline workers, meaning New Zealanders miss out on the support they need, says the Green Party.“In 2024, Luxon told New Zealanders that frontline services would be ‘protected,’ which has now been shown to be a sham,” says Green Party Public Services spokesperson, Francisco Hernandez.  “These are DOGE style libertarian fantasies right out of Elon Musk’s playbook.” “Nicola Willis is committing New Zealand to arbitrary headcounts which will eat...

Posted at May 19, 2026 12:10 PM by Francisco Hernandez

services and systems

NCEA changes doom thousands of students to failure

The National Party’s decision to scrap NCEA entirely guarantees many thousands of children will leave school with no qualification, no love of learning, and no preparation for a complex and fast-changing world, the Green Party says.“One thing is clear from the announcement today by Christopher Luxon and Erica Stanford, they want more students to fail rather than more students to succeed.  “Education is about encouraging curiosity and nurturing our future generation’s love of learning. NCEA is a world class qualification, one that...

Posted at May 18, 2026 9:58 AM by Lawrence Xu-Nan

te tiriti o waitangi

Greens call on Luxon to abandon racist education reforms

The Green Party is urging Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to abandon amendments to the Education and Training Act following the Waitangi Tribunal’s scathing report on the proposed changes.“The Waitangi Tribunal has been clear: Luxon’s Government has breached its Tiriti obligations. It can no longer mask the racism in its education reforms,” says Green Party Co-leader, Marama Davidson.  “Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a promise to take the best possible care of each other. Its place in the education of our tamariki, our taonga, our...

Posted at May 15, 2026 12:04 PM by Marama Davidson

services and systems

Luxon confirms criminalisation of those he’s made homeless

Luxon’s decision to provide Police with the power to issue move-on orders to homeless people as young as 14 will have disastrous consequences for our country and our most vulnerable, says the Green Party. “Christopher Luxon has chosen to make more people homeless, and now he’s criminalising them for being homeless,” says Green Party Co-leader and Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick. “It costs $200,000 a year to chuck someone in prison, for worse and worse outcomes. The Government refuses to spend...

Posted at May 14, 2026 3:17 PM by Chlöe Swarbrick

services and systems

Greens call on Government to act on power bills before winter

The Green Party is calling on the Government to use every tool they have as shareholding Ministers of the major gentailers to bring power bills down before winter, after new data shows tens of thousands more households can't afford to keep warm."No New Zealander should be left in the cold and dark this winter while the Government's own power companies are banking record profits," says Green Party Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.  In a letter to both Ministers, Swarbrick sets out the steps the Government can take immediately to keep...

Posted at May 11, 2026 12:13 PM by Chlöe Swarbrick and Scott Willis

services and systems

Government cuts education funding while youth unemployment soars

Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson says the Government is callously trading away New Zealanders’ education opportunities to pay for tax cuts for the super-rich.“Unemployment has soared since Luxon came to power, and the situation is even worse for our young people,” Davidson says.  “While Luxon, Peters and Seymour have no hesitation in undermining New Zealanders’ dreams of contributing to society, the Green Party will fight to properly fund the aspirations of our youth and students.   “Over 14% of New Zealand’s...

Posted at May 09, 2026 8:40 AM by Marama Davidson

services and systems

Green Party pushes for extension of $50 fuel crisis relief payment to students, alongside Winter Energy Payment

The Green Party has released an updated Member’s Bill to extend the Winter Energy Payment to tertiary students and temporarily raise this year’s payment for students by $50 a week, to match the fossil fuel crisis response payment.The Winter Energy Payment begins today, 1 May, and is currently provided to beneficiaries and pensioners to help them heat their homes until October, while other families are receiving the temporary $50 boost to help cover fuel and the cost of living. “Right now,...

Posted at May 01, 2026 11:26 AM by Francisco Hernandez