The Government needs to come clean about how many more of the construction-related jobs for the SkyCity convention centre will actually be overseas, following news that half of the steel frame construction work has been given to a Thailand-based company, the Green Party said today. “Steven Joyce needs to front up about how many more of the jobs he promised for New Zealanders will actually be overseas,” Green Party gambling spokesperson Denise Roche said. “The pokies-for-convention-centre deal was always bad...

New data showing that the number of homeless people in the Auckland CBD has risen 20 percent in the last year shows the Government needs to start building desperately needed homes, the Green Party said today.* “The Government needs to stop joking about homelessness, as the Prime Minister did in Parliament today, and get on with building more houses,” Green Party social housing spokesperson Marama Davidson said. “Families sleeping on the floor of marae, or in their cars, would be...

Kua hinga he tōtara nui o te wao nui a Tāne, kua hinga he rangatira mīharo rawa atu o Ngāti Kahu. E rere haere ana ngā mihi aroha o Te Rōpū Kākāriki ki te whānau pani me ōna iwi whānui e tangi ana i tēnei wā pōuri. The Green Party expresses its sorrow over the passing of Sir Graham Latimer, a great Māori leader of modern times. “Sir Graham Latimer was an inspirational leader, and will be remembered for helping...

The Green Party is calling on the Minister of Health to give an immediate Ministerial Directive to the Capital and Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) to free an autistic man who has been locked in a cell-like room for five years. The New Zealand Herald revealed today that Ashley Peacock has been kept in effectively solitary confinement in Porirua for the past five years, allowed only one and a half hours outside each day. “The Minister of Health has specific...

The Green Party today launched a campaign and petition to fight for our rivers, to ensure they are safe for swimming now and in the future. “We’ve chosen 10 rivers from around the country to visit, and highlight what needs to be done to make them clean enough to swim in again,” Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said at the Party’s annual conference at Lincoln. “New Zealanders want rivers that are safe to swim in that they and future generations...

Kia tau te rangimārie o te Rangi e tū nei o Papatūānuku e takoto nei o te Taiao e awhi nei ki runga i a tātou. Tīhei mauri ora! He mihi nui ki ngā mana whenua o tēnei takiwā, Ngāi Tahu, Tuahuriri, tēnā koutou katoa mō tō manaakitanga.                                                                 ...

Green Party Co-leader James Shaw has told the Green Party AGM that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Labour Party signed this week increases the chances of changing the Government at the next election. The Green Party is holding its AGM in Christchurch this weekend and includes a keynote speech from Labour leader Andrew Little on Saturday, and the launch of a new environment campaign on Sunday. “As of today we are in campaign mode. We have 18 months...

The Prime Minister should apologise for misleading the country about the Ministry of Social Development’s interactions with homeless people in south Auckland, the Green Party said today. “John’s Key’s attempt to distract New Zealanders from the Government’s housing failures has threatened the great work that the Salvation Army does with homeless families,” said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw. “He went out of his way to try to make these homeless people look bad by saying they declined Government help –...

New research showing a jump in homelessness in New Zealand is a sign that the Government’s current approach to the issue is failing, the Green Party said today. The University of Otago, Wellington (UOW) study reveals that between the 2006 and 2013 censuses, the number of New Zealanders who are “severely housing deprived” increased from 33,295 to 41,705. The figures do not include people living in emergency accommodation such as night shelters, and do not take into account the three...

The Green Party is calling on National to get smart on crime and invest more in rehabilitation services to help reduce re-offending.