New expert analysis of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) shows that it will take power away from Māori, the Green Party said today. The analysis criticises a lack of consultation with Māori and shows how the TPPA limits the ability of tangata whenua to exercise control over their own affairs because it transfers power from the government, which has obligations to Māori, to multinational corporations, which don’t. It finds that the TPPA’s intellectual property chapter will ‘make it more...

Rumours that Auckland Transport is set to raise the fares on buses and trains are disappointing given the huge fall in oil prices, said the Green Party today. Auckland transport writer, Ben Ross, has reported today that Auckland Transport is set to raise public transport fares on February 28. “Auckland’s bus and train fares should be falling, not rising, if Auckland wants to fix its transport problems,” said Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter. “With record low inflation last...

An Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report released today, highlights that climate change will expose farmers to more frequent droughts like the one being experienced in the South Island. It confirms that government and farmers must make stopping dangerous climate change a top priority, the Green Party said today. The OECD report concludes that climate change is likely to increase competition for water resources, and exacerbate the challenges of meeting growing global demand for food. The report comes...

Low overall inflation provides ideal economic conditions for the Government to tackle snowballing housing costs, stagnating wages, and increasing climate pollution, the Green Party said today. The Consumers Price Index released today showed 2015 experienced the lowest level of annual inflation since 1999, at just 0.1 percent. “Relatively high GDP growth, low inflation, and low interest rates have created good conditions for the Government to invest in tackling the big economic issues like climate change and inequality,” Green Party finance...

The Green Party is welcoming the recent rise in the price on carbon, and is calling on the National Government to commit to serious reforms of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) so that New Zealand can start to reduce domestic pollution, the Green Party said today. The cost imposed on polluters under the ETS reached $10 a tonne, the highest price polluters have faced in four years. Carbon prices have, to date, been too low to have a discernible effect...

The government has a clear role to play to support people through the job losses and disruption of what the World Economic Forum is describing as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Green Party said today. The World Economic Forum has predicted that a perfect storm of technological, demographic, and other socio-economic forces will lead to a net loss of over five million jobs over the next four years across 15 major economies. The Future of Work Report 2016 predicts that...

The Green Party is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local councils to urgently reassess the safety of glyphosate, the carcinogenic active ingredient in weedkillers like Roundup, as it launches a nationwide ‘spray-free streets and parks’ campaign today at Onepoto Domain in Auckland. “Our survey of councils shows thousands of litres of glyphosate are used on berms, playgrounds and parks every year, putting people at risk from a probable carcinogen,” said Green Party pesticides spokesperson Steffan Browning. “Mums...

A lack of government leadership on climate change is leaving New Zealand businesses exposed to risks that are now ranked as the biggest facing businesses globally, the Green Party said today. Climate change has been ranked as the number one risk to business over the next decade, a World Economic Forum report has found. The Global Risks Report 2016 ranks the failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation as the top medium term threat ahead of water crises, large-scale involuntary...

The National Government’s hands-off approach to the housing crisis over the past seven years has led to New Zealand becoming the most unaffordable place in the world to buy a house, the Green Party said today. A new report by global financial experts Fitch Ratings that includes house price to income ratios shows that New Zealanders aren’t earning enough relative to the sky-rocketing cost of housing, and that the construction sector isn’t building enough houses to meet demand. “This report...

The National Government must make achieving equal pay for New Zealand women a priority in 2016, or risks further contributing to the growing gender pay gap, the Green Party said today. The New Zealand Herald today revealed that the gender pay gap is the worst it’s been in almost 10 years, with the median wage for Kiwi men almost $8,000 more than Kiwi women. “We are at a crisis point with the gender pay gap in this country,” said Green...