Parliament will get the opportunity to make the Treaty of Waitangi a stronger part of our nation’s laws with a Members’ Bill drawn today, the Green Party said today. “This is a real opportunity to stop any more unfair confiscations of what is left of whenua Māori,” Green Party Te Tiriti o Waitangi spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said. The Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill was drawn from the ballot at Parliament today as a Members’...

The Green parties of New Zealand and Australia have lodged a submission with the Australian Human Rights Commission asking it to establish an inquiry into the treatment of New Zealand citizens who are detained in immigration detention centres. Green Party human rights spokesperson Marama Davidson has written to the Commission on behalf of the New Zealand and Australian Green Parties, saying people from both countries were deeply concerned about the human rights abuses occurring in Australian facilities and the impact...

The Green Party is demanding that Corrections Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga stop the lockdown of teenagers for 23 hours a day in Mt Eden Prison and clarify what Corrections has done about the practice since first alerted to it more than a year ago. “The latest Ombudsman’s inspection shows young people on remand were being locked in their cells 23 hours a day at Mt Eden – that is akin to torture,” said Green Party Corrections spokesperson David Clendon. ““It is...

  The Green parties of New Zealand and Australia have lodged a submission with the Australian Human Rights Commission asking it to establish an inquiry into the treatment of New Zealand citizens who are detained in immigration detention centres. Green Party human rights spokesperson Marama Davidson has written to the Commission on behalf of the New Zealand and Australian Green Parties, saying people from both countries were deeply concerned about the human rights abuses occurring in Australian facilities and the...

Green Party disability issues spokesperson Mojo Mathers is marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities by launching a new Member’s Bill, which will create a more inclusive and accessible New Zealand. Ms Mathers’ Human Rights (Disability Assist Dogs Non-Discrimination) Amendment Bill explicitly states that a person cannot be a denied a service – such as housing or transport – on the basis that they have a disability assist dog. “We have long way to go to make New Zealand...

The Green Party will be asking the Government today to reveal the full extent of taxpayer support for fossil fuels, Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei says. Yesterday 950 international environment groups awarded New Zealand the “Fossil Of The Day” award at the climate talks in Paris after John Key told international leaders to stop fossil fuel subsidies, while his own Government was providing financial support for fossil fuels to the tune of millions of dollars a year. Later, the Minister of...

The hepatitis A berry outbreak has highlighted that consumers are in the dark about where their food comes from, the Green Party said today. Four cases of hepatitis A have been traced back to frozen imported berries, but consumers cannot choose to buy local berries because no country of origin labelling is required, and the Ministry of Primary Industries refuses to say which brands are involved. “People should be able to find out where their food comes from, so they...

Parliament will today have the opportunity to support the establishment of a supermarket adjudicator tasked with developing a code of conduct to level the playing field between big supermarkets and local produce suppliers, following problems exposed by the 2014 Countdown investigation. Green Party MP Mojo Mathers’ Commerce (Supermarket Adjudicator and Code of Conduct) Amendment Bill will be given its first reading this evening, followed by a vote. “Today Parliament will have the opportunity to support local produce suppliers to get...

The Green Party will oppose the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill, Green Party Environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage said today. “National has wasted its opportunity to strengthen the Resource Management Act (RMA). Instead many of the changes proposed to the Act weaken rather than improve the protection of the environment and reduce the opportunities for public participation. “The RMA is the fundamental law that protects the environment that New Zealanders love. Any changes to the law should provide more protection, not less....

The Government’s failure to build affordable housing, and to ensure rentals are long-term and healthy to live in, has created a ticking time bomb of homelessness as hundreds of thousands of baby boomers arrive at retirement, the Green Party said today. The Salvation Army today released its report Homeless Baby Boomers showing that upwards of 200,000 baby boomers are set to arrive at retirement age, without the traditional safety net of their own home, creating huge uncertainty in their old...