The Government should be showing leadership and replacing the Crown cars with high-end electric cars instead of buying 34 more diesel BMW limousines, the Green Party said. “The Government has wasted the opportunity to lead the way and start replacing the Crown fleet with electric cars, instead of buying more BMW diesels,” Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said. “The latest high-end electric cars like Teslas can travel about 400km on one charge so range is no excuse, especially...

The National Government still has time to extend the bright line test to five years to better curb rampant housing speculation, the Green Party said today. National’s “bright line” rules will apply tomorrow, requiring income tax to be paid on any gains from residential property purchased and sold within two years, with some exceptions.  The exceptions include the sale of an owner’s main home, inherited property, or the transfer of property in a relationship settlement. “National’s moves to clarify the...

The Green parties of New Zealand and Australia are jointly calling on the Australian Government to halt the indiscriminate deportation of New Zealanders, and people from other countries, and are raising concerns about their continued detention in off-shore detention centres.

The Green Party is calling for New Zealand to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at President Obama’s Leaders’ Summit, following similar calls by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon.

The Green Party is excited by the news that the Government is creating an ocean sanctuary at the Kermadecs and hope that more is to come. “We’re delighted the Government has picked up the Kermadec ocean sanctuary concept that has been in a Green private member's Bill drafted by Gareth Hughes several years ago,” said Green Party environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage. “The 620,000 square kilometre sanctuary just announced is great news for the seascapes, underwater volcanoes and diverse wildlife that...

The Government must not use the Rebstock review to justify their own irrational ideological obsession to privatise CYFS, the Green Party said today. “The ‘radical overhaul’ that the Minister has signalled after seven years in Government should not result in a free-for-all grab of core Government services,” Green Party women’s spokesperson Jan Logie said. “The Rebstock review is being used as a stalking horse for companies like Serco to get in and make profit out of some of the most...

It would be hypocritical of John Key to sign up to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to end extreme poverty around the world and stop climate change, if he does not actually implement those policies at home, said the Green Party today.

The National Government must listen to the overwhelming chorus of voices calling for them to come clean on exactly what’s in the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), including from people who support the deal, the Green Party said. A case is being heard in the High Court today about whether the Government must release secret analysis of the its TPPA negotiating position. “New Zealanders have said time and time again that they want the National Government to tell them exactly...

A proper Capital Gains Tax remains the most essential immediate option to fix the Auckland housing crisis, the Green Party said. Reserve Bank data released today shows that in the last year, 43 percent of mortgage lending has been for property investment while just 12 percent has been for first home buyers. “No solution to Auckland’s housing crisis is complete without a capital gains tax (exempting the family home),” Green Party finance spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said. “While National’s bright...

Statements by Trade Minister Tim Groser today suggest he has given up on securing a good deal for New Zealand dairy exports and may not even attend the next round of Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) ministerial negotiations, the Green Party said. “Tim Groser has said that because what is on the table for dairy is ‘completely inadequate’, he probably won’t even attend the next round of ministerial negotiations. Why on Earth would he sign the deal if it’s inadequate?” Green...