New data released today shows that the difference between median hourly wages for men and women is the largest since National took office in 2008 – evidence that National’s hands-off approach to closing the gender pay gap has failed, the Green Party said. The difference between men’s and women’s median hourly wages was 11.8 percent in the June quarter 2015, according to the Statistics NZ New Zealand Income Survey, an increase from 9.9 percent in June 2014.* “It’s clear that...

The Government must listen to Pacific leaders and start taking climate change seriously on the international stage, the Green Party said today. "In addressing the United Nations today, John Key said he hoped Paris would amount to a meaningful agreement on climate change,” said Green Party co-leader James Shaw. "And yet the emissions reduction target that New Zealand is taking to Paris is embarrassingly weak.” "Key has been in talks with Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama. If the National Government...

The Green Party will return all prisons to state control because a person’s liberty should not be

Hekia Parata’s admission that the Government wants to tie school funding to achievement data, and her bizarre comments about charter schools and Apartheid, shows just how flawed National’s ideologically driven education reforms are, the Green Party said today. The Minister made the comments in her speech at the Post-Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) annual conference in Wellington. “The Minister has done a complete flip-flop on tying school funding to achievement data – first she ruled it out and now we’ve learned...

Shell’s decision to halt oil exploration off the Otago coast is another blow to the Government’s oil obsession, the Green Party said today. “Shell is joining the likes of Anadarko, Petrobras, and TAG Oil, who have all postponed, cut back, or cancelled their drilling operations in New Zealand waters," said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw. “The Government needs to see the writing on the wall – oil is a sunset industry and we need to be focusing on low-carbon economic...

The National Government should immediately move to secure and balance the rights of Kiwis living in Australia, said the Green Party today. Australia recently stepped up its policy of indiscriminate deportation of people who have been imprisoned for over 12 months, under new laws enacted in December 2014. Among those awaiting deportation in detention centres are about 300 New Zealanders. The New Zealand Green Party and the Australian Green Party have jointly called for these indiscriminate deportations to be halted,...

The Government should be showing leadership and replacing the Crown cars with high-end electric cars instead of buying 34 more diesel BMW limousines, the Green Party said. “The Government has wasted the opportunity to lead the way and start replacing the Crown fleet with electric cars, instead of buying more BMW diesels,” Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said. “The latest high-end electric cars like Teslas can travel about 400km on one charge so range is no excuse, especially...

The National Government still has time to extend the bright line test to five years to better curb rampant housing speculation, the Green Party said today. National’s “bright line” rules will apply tomorrow, requiring income tax to be paid on any gains from residential property purchased and sold within two years, with some exceptions.  The exceptions include the sale of an owner’s main home, inherited property, or the transfer of property in a relationship settlement. “National’s moves to clarify the...

The Green parties of New Zealand and Australia are jointly calling on the Australian Government to halt the indiscriminate deportation of New Zealanders, and people from other countries, and are raising concerns about their continued detention in off-shore detention centres.

The Green Party is calling for New Zealand to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at President Obama’s Leaders’ Summit, following similar calls by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon.