About half of all beneficiary families with children will be disappointed to learn today they will not get the full $25 benefit increase that the National Government has led them to believe they will, the Green Party says. The Government’s $25 a week benefit increase for parents is due to kick in today, along with a new obligation for parents of 3 year olds to seek work. “Despite all its grandstanding about the historic benefit increase, the Government has designed it...

The Green Party is calling on electricity lines companies like Unison to join the 21st century and adapt to work with solar energy, instead of raising charges on households with solar panels. Unison controls the electricity lines network in the central North Island and is introducing an extra charge on customers with solar panels of up to 26 percent, effective today for new customers and to be phased in for existing solar customers. “This solar penalty looks like an uncompetitive...

The Green Party is introducing a members’ bill today that will reduce environmental degradation as a result of dairy intensification by requiring all cows to wear nappies. “There are too many cows making too much waste for our environment to handle. Cow nappies are a simple way to keep that waste off the land and out of our waterways,” said Green Party co-leader James Shaw. “Cow number 1s and 2s are responsible for degradation of our waterways through run-off and...

Port workers and people living near the Port of Tauranga can breathe a sigh of relief following a successful bid by the Green Party and other groups to block the use of a potentially fatal gas at the port, said the Green Party today. An Independent Commissioner this week declined an application by Envriofume Limited to discharge the potentially fatal air pollutant Methyl Bromide at the Port of Tauranga. Methyl bromide is used to fumigate logs for export. The Commissioner...

The Government’s decision to accept all recommendations from a Select Committee inquiry initiated by Green Party MP Jan Logie is a huge win for sexual violence survivors and those working to help them, the Green Party says. The Government has today released its response to the recommendations of the Social Services Select Committee, following an inquiry into sexual violence services sparked by Green Party women’s spokesperson Jan Logie. The Government has accepted or broadly accepted all 32 of the committee’s...

Denise Roche today amended her Member’s Bill to increase the refugee quota to 1500 permanently.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman’s kneejerk opposition to changing the legal status of cannabis is out of step with the Police Association and a growing international consensus that current drug laws aren’t working, the Green Party said today. The Police Association this morning said updating our drug laws could be a way of reducing gang crime.  This followed a major review by the Lancet and Johns Hopkins University that found that the world-wide ‘war on drugs’ has caused more harm than...

The Green Party is calling on the Government to put its heart first and double New Zealand’s refugee quota immediately, a move that the Greens and Labour would make in government. An ActionStation petition of 20,000 people will be presented to politicians today asking for a doubling of the annual refugee quota, which has stagnated at 750 for 28 years. “Doubling our refugee quota is a heartfelt political statement that says New Zealanders care and want to do our bit,”...

Environment Minister Nick Smith must step in and question why the Hawkes Bay Regional Council (HBRC) has not prosecuted Eastland Group after a disastrous sediment spill that has devastated the Waihi and Waiau rivers, the Green Party said today. Silt has polluted the Waihi and Waiau rivers since late last year, when Eastland Group’s sluice gate was broken. “There are serious questions to ask of the Regional Council about why it hasn’t prosecuted the Eastland Group before now, and why...

The Government needs to correct how it pays Working for Families and the accommodation supplement to stop the value of them decreasing, the Green Party said today. The Government has been criticised today for deliberately running down the value of Working for Families and the accommodation supplement to the point that Kiwi families receiving the payments are falling into further hardship. These supports were introduced to help families sustain themselves and make sure they could afford rent and the basics....