Minister must say whether they had anything to do with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s (NZTE) refusal to release a report into the deaths of 900 lambs sent to Saudi Arabia as a Government bribe to a Saudi businessman, the Green Party said today.

The Green Party is calling on the Justice Minister to release the full list of the reasons New Zealanders are imprisoned on Christmas Island, and for the Prime Minister to correct his statement that the detainees were “rapists and murderers”. Justice Minister Amy Adams has given media an edited summary of offences committed by some of the New Zealanders on Christmas Island, but has refused to release details about those detainees who have not committed any offences, or who were...

Parliament will have the opportunity to establish a supermarket referee to ensure supermarkets treat suppliers fairly, after Green MP Mojo Mathers’ Commerce (Supermarket Adjudicator and Code of Conduct) Amendment Bill was pulled from the members’ bill ballot today. The Bill establishes an independent supermarket adjudicator who would work with the industry to develop a code of conduct for relationships between supermarkets and their suppliers, and deal with complaints about behaviour that allegedly breaches the code.  “The two huge supermarket chains...

The Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith should not be given the power to appoint Environment Protection Agency (EPA) decision-makers who decide applications for seabed mining and other development in New Zealand’s oceans, the Green Party said today. Yesterday, Greenpeace revealed that Dr Smith is seeking to change the law to give himself the power to personally choose who will sit on the Environmental Protection Agency’s “decision-making committees” for marine consent applications, responsible for deciding if companies can prospect for oil...

The Government’s treatment of sexual violence survivors and history of cutting funding to sexual and family violence services stands in stark contrast to John Key’s tirade about rapists in Parliament yesterday, the Green Party says. Prime Minister John Key caused widespread offence yesterday with his outburst claiming that members of the opposition were “backing rapists” when they questioned his Government’s unwillingness to challenge Australia’s record on human rights. “John Key should ditch the playground abuse and turn his energy to...

The Green Party is offering the National Government the chance today to vote for the environment, and show it can work constructively across parties to future proof our economy by voting for two Green Party Members’ Bills, the Green Party says. Parliament will today vote on two Green Party Members’ Bills - Green Party Co-leader James Shaw's Climate Change (Divestment from Fossil Fuels) Bill, and Green MP Gareth Hughes’ Fair Go for Solar Bill. The Divestment Bill would direct the managers of...

The Government is allowing Kiwi children to become seriously ill because it refuses to create minimum health and safety standards for rental homes and properly renovate state houses, the Green Party said today. Despite it being spring, stories continue to emerge of New Zealanders becoming sick because of the cold, damp and mouldy state homes they’re forced to live in, with the Tihore-Aue family of Porirua the latest to speak out. “Thousands and thousands of Kiwis are living with black...

The National Government’s failure to take meaningful action to curb property speculation is creating a serious risk to the financial and economic stability of the country, said the Green Party today. The Financial Stability Report released by the Reserve Bank today echoed warnings in the IMF mission statement yesterday that rampant house price inflation, fuelled by property speculation in Auckland, is a serious risk to the New Zealand economy. The Reserve Bank stated in its report, ‘Rising investor activity has...

John Key’s comments about opposition MPs backing rapists in Parliament today is a huge misjudgement that shows the Prime Minister is losing it, the Green Party says. “John Key’s weird outburst in Parliament today was deeply offensive, especially for the many women MPs who have come to politics through their work tackling sexual and family violence,” Green Party Co leader Metiria Turei said. “John Key obviously thought he was being macho and clever but he completely overreached when he made...

A report released today by the IMF shows the Government’s inaction on the housing crisis is creating a significant risk to New Zealand’s economy, the Green Party said today. In its New Zealand Mission: Concluding Report, the IMF calls for more houses to be built in Auckland urgently, and for more tax incentives for housing speculators to be removed – which the Green Party believes should include a proper capital gains tax. “When the IMF is saying you’ve stacked the...