New Zealand and other countries must step up and take the lead on climate change action following Donald Trump’s election, the Green Party said today. Donald Trump has previously said he would take the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement, and rescind President Obama's executive actions on climate change. “Now more than ever, we must put our planet’s future first, and ensure the progress we’ve made on climate change doesn’t go to waste," Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said....

The National Government has abused the parliamentary process to push through changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will increase ministers’ power and stop the public from having a say, the Green Party said today. The Government has today announced that it has made a deal with the Māori Party to get the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill through its second and third readings, which will make sweeping changes to the RMA. “Changes to the RMA will give more power...

Reports that Corrections management felt unable to censure Serco over fight clubs at Mt Eden Prison cast serious doubts over whether the Government can properly monitor privately run prisons, the Green Party said today. Reports this morning suggest that Corrections sat on a report into fight clubs at Mt Eden prison for a whole year, as the National Commissioner Jeremy Lightfoot did not think that Serco would make any necessary changes. Corrections was also warned in 2014 that fight clubs...

The real cost of living has grown more for people on low incomes, beneficiaries, and superannuitants than it has for people on moderate and high incomes under National, the Green Party said today. New data from Statistics NZ’s Household Living-costs Price Indexes shows the effect of rent and power bills rising faster than the general rate of inflation. Low-expenditure households have seen their living costs rise twice as much as high-expenditure households since 2008. “National has built an economy where...

The Government owes it to New Zealanders to admit we have a housing crisis and to prioritise getting more people into secure homes by making long lasting changes to the housing market, the Green Party said today. Yesterday’s announcement of $300 million funding for emergency housing over the next four years has come on the back of pressure from the sector and the Cross Party Inquiry into Homelessness which reported back last month. “There is no question that this money...

Animals will continue to be subjected to unnecessary pain and distress because the Government has refused to take serious action to address cruelty in rodeo, the Green Party said today. Almost 63,000 New Zealanders signed a petition asking for rodeo to be banned, but the Primary Production Select Committee, which is led by Government MPs and has just released its final report into the issue, has been largely unresponsive to those concerns. “Rodeo is both outdated and cruel – it’s...

Manurewa marae needed much better support from the Government in order to do its work helping homeless whanau, the Green Party said today. This Wednesday is the last day of Manurewa Marae’s Whakapiki Ora programme, which has helped 72 whānau and found permanent homes for 28. The marae is unable to continue their good work without support and funding from the Ministry of Social Development. “Their work at the marae has been challenging and really hard. What they have achieved...

Children in Auckland are falling ill with rheumatic fever as a direct result of the Government’s failure to address the housing crisis and child poverty, the Green Party said today. Figures released today show the number of children with rheumatic fever in the Auckland and Waitemata district health board areas has stayed at the same level, despite a Rheumatic Fever Prevention Programme running for five years now. “This is a stark reminder that the housing crisis isn’t going away, and...

A new survey of the early childhood education (ECE) sector shows centres struggling to make ends meet under a six-year Government funding freeze, the Green Party said today. The New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa survey of ECE centres shows that 87 percent of respondents have experienced shortfalls since the Government first froze per-child funding six years ago. The Government has pushed for 98 percent of children to be participating in ECE before starting school as a Better...

The Green Party is calling on the Government to establish a national Parihaka Day.