National’s plan to sell state houses and provide income-related rent subsidies to private landlords will drive up rents and house prices for everyone and is economically reckless, the Green Party said today. “Shifting the responsibility for housing from the Government to the private sector looks like a cynical attempt to enrich landlords while palming off responsibility for housing the vulnerable,” Green Party housing spokesperson Kevin Hague said. “National’s plan swaps our state homes for massive state subsidies to private landlords....

A major climate report released overnight by the United Nations on climate change is an urgent call to action, the Green Party said today.   The report brings together the recent round of UN reports that summarise where climate science has got to. The report states that without additional action we are on track for “severe, widespread, and irreversible impacts globally.”

Information contained in a new chapter of the book Key: Portrait of a Prime Minister, that Jason Ede stopped working for the National Party on the night the book Dirty Politics was released, shows Mr Key and senior ministers hid crucial facts from the public during the election campaign, says the Green Party. “All through the campaign John Key misled New Zealanders by pretending that Jason Ede was still working for the National Party, when in fact he had stopped...

A small part of the $850 million record profit posted by the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) today needs to be set aside to protect savers’ deposits in the future, said Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman today. Dr Norman was responding to the full-year profits posted by the BNZ, which announced a 22 percent increase in after-tax profits today to $850 million. New Zealand remains the only country in the OECD that has no deposit insurance to protect savers'...

The Reserve Bank’s U-turn on interest rates today shows monetary policy settings were wrong and New Zealanders have suffered unnecessarily through the loss of jobs and having to pay higher interest rates, the Green Party said today. Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler today left the Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at 3.5 percent but replaced previous wording about further rate hikes being necessary with the comment that “a period of assessment remains appropriate before considering further policy adjustment”. “Unfortunately the...

The National Party has the opportunity to show leadership by transitioning our vehicle fleet towards renewable electricity when a new contract to supply Government limousines for VIPs goes to tender next month, the Green Party said today. “This is a great opportunity for the Government to lead by choosing low emission, electric cars,” Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said today. “The performance of some electric car models, like the Tesla Model S, exceed the specifications needed for the...

All options for meeting Auckland’s transport needs should be considered, including reprioritising the transport budget away from wasteful spending on motorways, the Green Party said today. Auckland mayor Len Brown is today releasing a transport report by the Independent Advisory Board, which outlines funding options including an increase in rates and fuel taxes and/or road tolls. “Aucklanders should have the debate about transport funding - but all options should be on the table, including fewer expensive roading projects,” Green Party...

An international report measuring the impact of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) on child poverty rates, showing children in New Zealand have done worse than children in other countries, is further proof the Government needs to urgently take additional steps to reduce poverty rates here, the Green Party says. UNICEF’S latest report, Children of the Recession. The impact of the economic crisis on child well-being in rich countries, shows that New Zealand children’s welfare went backwards on three of the...

The Court of Appeal victory for Lower Hutt caregiver, Kristine Bartlett demonstrates that both the Government and employers have been ignoring and not fully implementing equal pay law, the Green Party said today. The Court of Appeal today upheld earlier rulings which supported the Service and Food Workers Union view that Ms Bartlett is entitled to use the equal pay act to argue for a rate of pay equal to what those working in the same occupation would receive if...

National’s strategy to rely on commodities such as milk powder and logs has been exposed in the September trade figures released today, the Green Party said. “National’s strategy to hang all economic hope on exporting ever-increasing volumes of milk powder and logs, is shown to be misguided,” Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman said today. Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) reported the values of total exports fell 3.0 percent in the September quarter, following a 7.5 percent fall in the June...