The Government is restricting the public’s right to have a say on what happens in their neighbourhoods and on environmentally damaging activities, the Green Party said today. “Under proposed changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA), council officers will be able to strike out submissions if they don’t meet a high enough threshold. This means that unless people have the time and money to pay for expert evidence, their submission can be ruled out,” said Green Party environment spokesperson Eugenie...

The Green Party will withdraw its request for a Select Committee briefing into gun control if an independent inquiry is to go ahead.

Every child who is suspected of having dyslexia must be provided with a publicly funded assessment, after a select committee of MPs heard children from lower income families are still missing out, the Green Party says. Last year half of all the schools that made no Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) applications, which help dyslexic students with their exams, were decile one or two. This follows previous revelations that the vast bulk of kids who got one on one assistance in...

The Green Party is supporting calls for a moratorium on big, publicly subsidised irrigation schemes that are bad for the environment and bad for the economy, the Green Party said today. The Tourism Export Council and the Environmental Defence Society have called for a five-year ban on new irrigation in the wake of the collapse of dairy prices internationally. The groups have also said that the growth in intensive farming is a disaster for our rivers and streams. “This is...

The Green Party today announced a new Safe to School plan, which aims to dramatically increase the number of young people biking and walking to school. The campaign calls for a 30 km/h speed limit outside all urban schools, and an 80 km/h speed limit around rural New Zealand schools, with the limit dropping to 30km/h during school hours. Our plan would see these changes introduced over three years. Local authorities, in conjunction with schools, will also be able to...

Te Ture Whenua Bill must not proceed without broad and properly informed support following the critical report from the Waitangi Tribunal released today, the Green Party said. “Te Ture Whenua Bill shouldn’t be introduced this month to Parliament until the concerns brought up by the Waitangi Tribunal and wider community are allayed,” Green Party Māori Development spokesperson Marama Davidson said. “Māori land, and the rules that govern it, are too important to get wrong. “The whole point of the Bill...

The Green Party asked a Parliamentary committee to hear from gun experts four months ago, but Government inaction has prevented it from going ahead.

Environment Canterbury (ECAN) must take responsibility for Canterbury’s waterways running dry, and wind back water takes so that even in times of low rainfall, water is protected, the Green Party said today. There are several reports of spring-fed headwater tributaries of Christchurch’s Ōtākaro/Avon River drying up completely.   “There were warning signs that taking too much water on the plains from aquifers that feed the Ōtākaro/Avon River had a detrimental impact on city streams and rivers,” said Green Party Canterbury spokesperson Eugenie...

The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) must reveal the 9,700 emails it has tried to hide regarding the swamp kauri trade, and front up over why it has concealed information, the Green Party said today. The High Court has said MPI must release the emails to Northland Environment Protection Society (NEPS), which NEPS wants for its judicial review case that MPI allegedly breached the Forests Act by allowing export of ancient swamp kauri logs and planks. “Minister for Primary Industries Nathan...

The Green Party is calling on the ACC Fund to not invest public money in the Ruataniwha dam. ACC is reportedly part of a consortium of public investors who are likely to fund 100 percent of the dam’s build costs, along with Crown Irrigation Investments and regional council-controlled Hawke’s Bay Regional Investment Company. Most of the rivers in the Ruataniwha catchment already exceed acceptable nitrate levels. “The case for the Ruataniwha dam doesn’t stack up economically or environmentally, and ACC...