The Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy must step up and investigate failures in his ministry and fisheries management, which are allowing widespread fish dumping to threaten the sustainability of fish stocks, the Green Party said today. The comments come on the back of an email from a senior Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) official saying that if the current law was enforced, half of all inshore fishers would go out of business. This means that not only is fish...

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) must stop letting commercial fishers off the hook for illegal fish dumping, the Green Party said today.

The Green Party launched a campaign today to stop the proposed construction of a new gas-fired power plant in South Waikato that would increase greenhouse gas emissions, causing climate change. Nova Energy has applied for resource consents to build a gas-burning power plant near Otorohanga. The Green Party is asking Environment Minister Nick Smith to “call in” the application on the grounds that burning more fossil fuels will affect New Zealand’s obligations under the Paris Climate Change Agreement, and then...

The Government should heed calls from child rights advocates and raise the age of youth justice to include 17 year olds, the Green Party said today. 34 community, academic and justice organisations today released a joint letter urging the Government to include 17 year olds in the youth justice system, days before New Zealand will appear before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva. “The evidence is clear: allowing 17 year olds to be tried...

National has put key rail projects in Auckland on the backburner, choosing to delay light rail to the airport for a decade and a possible rail line to the North Shore for another two, the Green Party said today. The Government and Auckland Council this afternoon laid out a decade by decade plan outlining the major transport projects it wants to progress over the next 30 years. "With rapid population growth and the urgent need to cut climate pollution, now...

The Green Party is calling on the National Government to use Conservation Week to restore funding to the Department of Conservation (DOC) after seven years of cuts, the Green Party said today. The Green Party challenged the Conservation Minister in the House today to accept that, when adjusted for inflation, Vote Conservation had been cut by $424 million over the last eight years. “DOC has received, on average, $53 million less per year under National than it did in the...

Deducting $22-28 a week from the benefits of single mothers who, sometimes for their own safety, don’t name the father of their child is unfairly hurting families, the Green Party said today. The Green Party is supporting calls for Section 70A of the Social Security Act, which allows for the deduction, to be repealed by the Government. “The Government should do right by these families, and get rid of this bad law forever,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei. “$28...

National needs to commit to the full electrification of the Main Trunk Line between Auckland and Wellington so KiwiRail can upgrade to new clean-energy electric trains, the Green Party said today. KiwiRail is expected to reveal on Monday whether it will replace its existing fleet of electric locomotives with new electric ones, or revert back to diesel locomotives. “It would be ridiculous to revert back to dirty diesel trains, particularly given National’s promise to move away from climate-polluting fossil fuels...

The National Government’s underfunding of the Department of Conservation (DOC) could be responsible for another endangered species – the DOC ranger. “According to numbers supplied to MPs, in June 2015 there were 814 full-time DOC rangers, while in May 2016, there were 625. At this rate of decline, by Christmas 2019, DOC rangers will be extinct,” said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw. “One hundred and forty-two species have slid closer to extinction under National’s watch; DOC rangers could be next....

It is heartening that the Government is finally starting to address the failure of our justice system to provide protection for victims of family violence or support abusers to change,  the Green Party said today. “Family violence is currently embedded in New Zealand culture and we all need to be brave to face the level of changes needed to address it,” Green Party women’s spokesperson Jan Logie said. “Too many families have been further traumatised and indebted trying to get...