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Green Party welcomes Speaker’s commitment to making Parliament accessible
The Green Party welcomes the commitments made in the Speaker's report on improving the accessibility of Parliament for disabled people. The Speaker’s report was a response to the recommendations of the Government Administration select committee report on its inquiry into the accessibility of services to Parliament that was released earlier this year.
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NZ finally ratifying maritime labour convention good news
It is great news that New Zealand has finally ratified the Maritime Labour Convention, the Green Party said today. Foreign ships transporting New Zealand export goods will now need to meet minimum international standards to ensure the fair treatment of seafarers.
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Greens call for end to cruelty of factory farming
The Government must end the legalised cruelty of factory farming, the Green Party said today. Footage shown on Campbell Live this week revealed yet again the appalling, but legal, conditions pigs are routinely kept in on factory farms. The conditions the pigs were kept in would almost certainly contravene New Zealand’s animal welfare laws if they involved a companion animal such as a pet cat or dog.
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Brakes needs to be put on China extradition treaty
Today, on International Human Rights Day, the Green Party is calling on the Government to discontinue talks on an extradition treaty with China.
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Report shows National must change its economic plan
An OECD report today shows the fundamental philosophy of New Zealand Governments over the past 30 years has been wrong, and the only hope for New Zealand is if National dramatically changes direction, the Green Party said today. “The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development found that New Zealand was the worst example in the developed world in which huge increases in inequality had hampered the economy. “New Zealand was singled out for being the world’s most extreme disciple of...
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National giving Auckland growing pains
The National Government is suffocating Auckland’s transport development by holding back its funding for the vital City Rail Link, said the Green Party today. Auckland Council voted today to delay the main works on the City Rail Link to 2018 because the National Government won’t commit funding before 2020. This comes in spite of record patronage growth this year, which places Auckland trains on track to hit 20 million users annually by 2018. “The current rail system is being pushed...
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National to allow oil drilling in Maui’s Dolphin sanctuary
National has announced 15 new drilling permits today that include permits in the Maui’s Marine Mammal Sanctuary, Victoria Forest Park, other ecologically protected areas and the deepest well ever permitted in New Zealand. It appears that they have granted a permit that would allow oil drilling in deeper water than ever before anywhere in the world.
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Treasury says failure to cut emissions could cost $34,000 per household
The Sustainability Council has obtained figures previously redacted from a Treasury climate briefing which shows that the cost of failing to take action to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions is between $3 billion and $52 billion from 2021 to 2030. The Treasury report identifies the cost of buying credits to cover a target of a 5 percent reduction below 1990 levels for the 2021-2030 period at a price of between $10 and $165 a tonne.
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Greens call on the Auditor General to investigate serious conflict of interest
The Green Party has asked the Auditor General to investigate serious conflicts of interest over Food and Grocery Chief Katherine Rich’s membership on the board of the Health Promotion Agency (the Agency). “I’ve asked the Auditor General to investigate because the Health Minister won’t,” Green Party health spokesman Kevin Hague said today. “Health Minster Jonathan Coleman’s complacency is alarming. “The Health Minister told me this week he is unconcerned about revelations Ms Rich has participated in meetings of the Agency...
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Central Govt to blame for Auckland rail delay
The National Government is delaying Auckland’s rail development, while pushing ahead with the expensive Puhoi to Wellsford motorway, a motorway with declining traffic volumes, benefiting fewer people and business, said the Green Party today. Yesterday, Mayor Len Brown proposed to push back the start date of the City Rail Link due to a lack of funding certainty. The National Government has said it will not commit funding before 2020, despite huge growth on the rail network. “The Government has got...