The Green Party is celebrating a major victory today following the Prime Minister’s announcement that the National Government will no longer stand in the way of the City Rail Link (CRL), the Green Party said. The Prime Minister, in his speech to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce today, backtracked on the National Government's long held position of a 2020 start date for the CRL. The Government is committing to work with Auckland Council to bring forward a business plan, formalise...

The Green Party is today calling for better education and steeper fines for those who allow their stock to pollute waterways, after cattle on a Canterbury farm were deliberately let into a lake to drink last week. “Farmers up and down the country are working hard to protect rivers and streams by excluding stock from waterways and investing in riparian planting that helps to alleviate nutrient pollution,” said Green Party water spokesperson Catherine Delahunty. “This shocking incident where cows have...

More cracks are appearing in the National Government’s façade of economic management, with the Crown accounts back in deficit and international ratings agency Fitch downgrading its predictions for New Zealand’s economy, the Green Party said. “Eight years into National's reign, the Government has slipped back into deficit while net Crown debt continues to grow, because National hasn’t found a stable way to fund its spending choices,” Green Party finance spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said. “The root of National’s economic problems...

The Green Party is disappointed but unsurprised that John Key has refused to support setting up an independent policy costings unit, said the Green Party today.

The Green Party has announced a policy to bring more clarity into the political system today, in Co-leader Metiria Turei’s State of the Nation Speech.   Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei proposed the formation of the Policy Costings Unit (PCU), which would operate independently to cost the policy of political parties.   “New Zealanders deserve more transparency from their politicians so that they can better engage in the political system,” said Mrs Turei.   “That’s why the Green Party is...

The Green Party launched a petition at Rātana today in support of its Members’ Bill to stop the compulsory acquisition of whenua Māori under the Public Works Act. “This is a real opportunity to stop any more unfair confiscations of what is left of whenua Māori. The rallying call of Dame Whina Cooper of ‘Not one more acre’ of compulsory Māori land acquisitions can now be put into practice, and the Treaty of Waitangi can be made a stronger part...

The Green Party wishes to express sadness at the death of renowned Coromandel conservationist and craftsperson Barry Brickell, whose unique miniature railway and potteries are iconic features of the Coromandel Peninsula. “I have known Barry for 42 years and have been privileged to witness his extraordinary creative drive both as a master potter and as the creator of one of the best eco-tourism experiences in this country. His voice and his vision will be hugely missed but never forgotten,” said...

The Green Party is asking the Government to release information about what trade-offs it made and what the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) will cost, following a new expert economic analysis that shows how the National Government has overstated the benefits while ignoring the costs. A paper prepared by economists for the New Zealand Law Foundation found that ‘the extent of economic gains is likely to be far lower than predicted and costs far higher.’ Costs may include environmental degradation,...

The staggering difference between the salaries of men and women within Government departments shows how much work needs to be done to close the gender pay gap, said the Green Party today. The report from the State Services Commission (SSC) showed that in some departments men were paid up to 39 per cent more than women. “The fact that there’s such a large pay gap shows how far we have to go on getting women a fair go,” Green Party...

The Government will sign away the power to do what’s needed to prevent climate change and protect the environment when it signs the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), the Green Party said today. A new expert environmental analysis of the TPPA by Simon Terry, Executive Director of the Sustainability Council of New Zealand, finds that ‘the environment is a casualty’ under the TPPA, because governments can be sued by multinational corporations for environmental regulations such as changes to the Emissions...