New Zealand is starting from behind as it is poised to take up the presidency of the UN Security Council by failing to show leadership on one of the most significant international security issues of the day, said the Green Party today.

The Green Party has chosen to allow a split vote on today’s third reading of the Harmful Digital Communications Bill.

The National Government is spending its Land Transport Fund primarily on carbon-polluting transport infrastructure, rather than building a clean, balanced and efficient system for the 21st century, the Green Party said today. “The National Government could use the Land Transport Fund future-proof our transport system. Instead, National has chosen to continue spending over a billion dollars per year on a few carbon-polluting motorways that haven’t even passed a business case test,” said Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter.  ...

John Key must guarantee any state houses sold to local or overseas buyers for social housing are offered back to the Government first in the event they’re sold in the future, the Green Party said today. The National Government plans to sell thousands of state houses to social housing providers by 2017, and Horizon Housing, a not-for-profit charity based on Australia's Gold Coast, has expressed interest in buying more than 400 of them.

New Zealand must condemn Israel’s attempt to stop the humanitarian flotilla reaching Gaza and the prolonged, illegal blockade of Gaza by Israel, the Green Party said today.

The Green Party is today challenging the Government to tell New Zealanders how many new state houses will be created by its sell-off of our current state housing stock to overseas interests, as Prime Minister John Key appears confused about what the sale is supposed to achieve. “John Key said again today on Morning Report that the state-house sell-off is going to create more ‘social houses’ for Kiwis to live in, and that the sale of 400 to 500 homes...

People in Canterbury should not be second class citizens having to live with second class local body representation, the Green Party said today. The Green Party is concerned at the prospect of the National Government failing to restore a fully elected Environment Canterbury Regional Council (ECan) in announcements later this week about the council’s future.

The Green Party is calling on the Government to immediately rule out selling off state houses to Australian interests, after Bill English conceded it was on the cards on The Nation this morning. “By revealing that Australian businesses have been looking to purchase our state houses at bargain-basement prices, Bill English is also admitting that no-one in New Zealand wants to buy them, and that his grand sell-off plan is in tatters,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.  “There’s such...

The Ruataniwha dam project should not proceed, as it has already sucked up $12million of Hawke’s Bay ratepayers’ money and $6m from the taxpayer, and questions still remain about the dam’s viability in the wake of yesterday’s Board of Inquiry decision, the Green Party said today. HBRIC, the investment arm of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, has also earmarked another $80m of ratepayers’ money to pay for construction. As parts of the Tukituki catchment are already very polluted by high...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has once again misjudged what is an appropriate use of taxpayers money by spending $11.4 million dollars on an apartment, said the Green Party today.