Nick Smith’s proposed changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) are based on anecdote and ideology. They will further weaken laws that help control ugly urban sprawl, and protect freshwater, public conservation land, and the coastal environment, the Green Party said today. The Green Party opposes Nick Smith’s Resource Legislation Amendment Bill which the Local Government Environment Select Committee is expected to report back to Parliament today. “Our environmental law should promote liveable cities and towns and help restore New...

Working mothers are still being underpaid in New Zealand and will continue to be until we have a government that’s willing to take decisive action on gender pay equity, the Green Party said today. Statistics New Zealand released new figures today which show that the pay gap between mothers and fathers in New Zealand is 17 percent. “Women have been underpaid for far too long, and we need a strong government that prioritises women getting a fair deal,” Green Party...

The Green Party is throwing its support behind the Access Alliance’s new campaign to make Aotearoa 100% accessible for everyone. The Access Alliance is a coalition of disability organisations campaigning for legislation that will set national standards for accessibility across all areas of New Zealand life and the economy. “This is a question of fairness. New Zealanders with disabilities need to have the same access to public infrastructure, services, workplaces and online information that everyone else has”, said Green Party...

A new report released today shows that officials under Environment Minister Nick Smith are largely ignoring councils who fail to enforce environmental law, leaving our natural places vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. On the enforcement of environmental law under the Resource Management Act (RMA), the Environmental Defence Society and Law Foundation report found that: “The Ministry for the Environment gives compliance and enforcement relatively little priority…" and that “Councils have, for the most part, been left to do the job...

The Green Party has today launched a member’s bill that will keep water from underground sources, called aquifers, safe from pollution and contamination. Co-leader James Shaw announced the move to a full house in his keynote address at the Green Party’s candidates’ conference in Upper Hutt. “New Zealanders are hugely concerned about the state of our fresh water – whether it’s our rivers or our drinking water – and it’s going to be a big issue for voters this year,”...

Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter is grateful for having had the opportunity to talk to thousands of Aucklanders about making their city even better and even greener, during the Mt Albert by-election campaign.

National’s inadequate response to the Select Committee Inquiry into Learning Support will see children on the autism spectrum, with dyslexia, and dyspraxia, continue to miss out on an education, the Green Party said today. Yesterday the Government released its official response to the recommendation put forward by the Green Party-initiated Inquiry into Learning Support for children on the autism spectrum, and with dyslexia and dyspraxia. “These kids shouldn't have to wait for the Government to grow a heart and a...

Nick Smith’s rebranding of dirty rivers as clean has conveniently left out diseases that account for a third of all illnesses New Zealanders can catch from swimming in dirty rivers, the Green Party said today. “Nick Smith’s redefinition of water quality not only pulls the wool over New Zealanders’ eyes but it’s disingenuous because it leaves out key information,” says Green Party water spokesperson Catherine Delahunty. The proposed new grades for rivers ignore the risk of getting cryptosporidium, giardia, salmonella,...

New Zealanders who want swimmable lakes and rivers have been let down by the Government’s freshwater announcement today, which does nothing but shift the goalposts, the Green Party said. In an announcement expected to require stronger standards for freshwater bodies, the Environment Minister Nick Smith has simply re-labelled the standards, so that what was once only safe for wading is now to be considered safe for swimming. “The Environment Minister thinks he can pull a fast one on New Zealanders by...

The Green Party has today welcomed Wellington City Council’s proposed social and affordable housing plan as an example of how to help solve the housing crisis. “This is the kind of affordable house-building project that could and should be happening all over New Zealand, not just in the capital – but we need central government leadership to get the scale of building needed to really make a difference nationwide,” said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw. “On Wellington City Council, the...