The Minister of Education must step up and take responsibility for the children at Whangaruru School who have been failed by her charter school experiment, the Green Party said today. Education Minister Hekia Parata has today confirmed her earlier recommendation to close the experimental charter school, Whangaruru School, in Northland. “The children who were experimented on in Northland have been shortchanged by the Government on their education,” Green Party education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said today. “The Minister of Education must not...

Stock grazing in waterways is nothing new in Canterbury, but the Regional Council seems to be letting farmers get away with it, the Green Party said today. The comments come on the back of reports that cows from Dame Sian Elias and Hugh Fletcher’s farm in Canterbury were deliberately allowed to wander into Lake Taylor next to a DOC campsite. “The most recent Environment Canterbury (ECan) compliance report shows 95 complaints were made to the council about stock in waterways....

National’s housing policy half-measures aren’t enough to stop the Reserve Bank keeping interest rates on hold, which in turn is holding back small businesses, the Green Party said. “If it wasn’t for the Auckland housing crisis, I’d expect the Reserve Bank to cut the Official Cash Rate to help businesses invest and hire more staff,” Green Party finance spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said. “With very low inflation, Fonterra cutting its forecast dairy pay-out, and international ratings agencies saying New Zealand’s...

The Green Party celebrated the National Government's U-turn on the City Rail Link (CRL), with a mock-opening of the planned Karangahape rail station, which will be built on the site of its Auckland office. The Prime Minister, in his speech to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce today, committed to work with Auckland Council to allow major works to begin on the CRL in 2018. Karangahape Station will be built on the CRL route, and the Mercury Lane entrance constructed on...

The Green Party is celebrating a major victory today following the Prime Minister’s announcement that the National Government will no longer stand in the way of the City Rail Link (CRL), the Green Party said. The Prime Minister, in his speech to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce today, backtracked on the National Government's long held position of a 2020 start date for the CRL. The Government is committing to work with Auckland Council to bring forward a business plan, formalise...

The Green Party is today calling for better education and steeper fines for those who allow their stock to pollute waterways, after cattle on a Canterbury farm were deliberately let into a lake to drink last week. “Farmers up and down the country are working hard to protect rivers and streams by excluding stock from waterways and investing in riparian planting that helps to alleviate nutrient pollution,” said Green Party water spokesperson Catherine Delahunty. “This shocking incident where cows have...

More cracks are appearing in the National Government’s façade of economic management, with the Crown accounts back in deficit and international ratings agency Fitch downgrading its predictions for New Zealand’s economy, the Green Party said. “Eight years into National's reign, the Government has slipped back into deficit while net Crown debt continues to grow, because National hasn’t found a stable way to fund its spending choices,” Green Party finance spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said. “The root of National’s economic problems...

The Green Party is disappointed but unsurprised that John Key has refused to support setting up an independent policy costings unit, said the Green Party today.

The Green Party has announced a policy to bring more clarity into the political system today, in Co-leader Metiria Turei’s State of the Nation Speech.   Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei proposed the formation of the Policy Costings Unit (PCU), which would operate independently to cost the policy of political parties.   “New Zealanders deserve more transparency from their politicians so that they can better engage in the political system,” said Mrs Turei.   “That’s why the Green Party is...

The Green Party launched a petition at Rātana today in support of its Members’ Bill to stop the compulsory acquisition of whenua Māori under the Public Works Act. “This is a real opportunity to stop any more unfair confiscations of what is left of whenua Māori. The rallying call of Dame Whina Cooper of ‘Not one more acre’ of compulsory Māori land acquisitions can now be put into practice, and the Treaty of Waitangi can be made a stronger part...