New Zealand’s rivers and lakes should be swimmable and central Government needs to hurry up to enable it, the Green Party said today. The National Government’s ‘Next steps for fresh water’ consultation document was released today and is calling for public submissions. “Measures announced are a recipe for more dirty water, and a disappointment to many around the country who want swimmable rivers,” Green Party water spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said today. “If the water standard continues to be ‘wadable and...

The Australian’s Government’s “citizenship pathway” is welcome progress but there is still a long way to go, said the Green Party today.   Today, the Australian Government announced that New Zealanders will now have a pathway to citizenship, through permanent residence, if they have been living there for over five years and have met the income threshold. The pathway is retrospective and will not apply to those who arrive in Australia from today.   “This is a good start for New...

Unless National’s Bluegreens Forum at Lake Tekapo this weekend pushes for strong environmental changes, it will only provide an opportunity for the National Government to greenwash its poor environmental record, the Green Party said today.   “Under the National Government, net greenhouse gas emissions have risen by 11 per cent compared to 1990 levels, 62 per cent of monitored recreational swimming sites are too dirty to swim in, and the Department of Conservation (DOC) is dependent on corporates to do...

Government financial statements released today are further evidence that National is failing to manage the economy responsibly for long term stability, the Green Party said. The financial statements for six months to 31 December 2015 showed a deficit of $889 million, $92 million higher than forecast. Core Crown debt grew to $66.9 billion, $1.1 billion higher than forecast. “The latest statements show the National Government is struggling to get its books in order in the short term and in the...

John Key should use his trip to Australia and Sri Lanka as an opportunity to restore New Zealand’s strong reputation of promoting human rights and standing up for our unique values, said the Green Party today.

The turning of the sod for the SkyCity Convention Centre today is not a cause for celebration for Auckland, it’s a disaster for the entire country, the Green Party said. “John Key and Steven Joyce may be smiling as they rub shoulders with the SkyCity executives today, but in reality the expansion of the SkyCity casino empire is a disaster for New Zealand, not a day for celebration,” Green Party Internal Affairs spokesperson Denise Roche said. “The pokies-for-convention-centre deal symbolises...

Judith Collins’ abuse of information about prisoners in order to attack a Labour MP marks a dangerous return to her dirty politics-style way of doing Government business, the Green Party said today.   Corrections Minister Judith Collins went on the attack today, accusing a Labour Party MP of visiting notorious prisoner Arthur Taylor, and refusing to confirm how she knew about the supposed visits.   “Judith Collins’ dirty politics-style of running her ministries is designed to intimidate opposition MPs and others...

The Government must rewrite and strengthen its Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill so that it will actually keep Kiwi children warm, safe and dry in the homes they live in, the Green Party said today. Yesterday, Children’s Commissioner Dr Russell Wills slammed the Bill as a “shameful” broken promise that “will do little to for children living in cold, damp, mouldy houses”. “The aim of the Bill should be to guarantee every New Zealand child a home that will keep them...

The Salvation Army has raised serious doubts about the Government’s much trumpeted achievements for children, revealing that public performance targets are more about making ministers look good, rather than keeping kids safe, the Green Party says. The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report, released this morning, found there was “no way of knowing” whether child abuse was actually falling, despite Government claims that it had reduced. It found CYF (Child, Youth & Family) was “disregarding” some notifications entirely and...

A blowout in prison population numbers, that appears to have caught the National Government off guard, is the latest evidence of the Government’s failure to manage the Prison Service, the Green Party said today.