The Green Party is challenging the Government to make good on its promise to tackle child poverty in this month’s Budget, as its other promises fall by the wayside to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. “The Government has promised two key things from Budget 2015: a surplus, and action on child poverty. It’s already failed on its surplus goal and will be judged harshly if it fails to improve the lives of the quarter of New Zealand kids...

The National Government is letting down Auckland by delaying funding for critical rail and bus projects, the Green Party said today. Auckland Mayor Len Brown today announced that ratepayers will face additional average transport levies of $99 for households and $159 for businesses. “National’s refusal to back the smart transport projects Aucklanders need and want means the city is facing a higher increase in rates today,” said Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter. “Aucklanders are voting with their feet...

A report into dairying shows how the environment is being milked by the industry for all it’s worth - and that’s before taking the use of herbicides and pesticides into account, the Green Party said today. The report released by Massey University this week shows that dairy intensification over the last 20 years has seen waterways become heavily polluted, greenhouse gas emissions increase, and biodiversity loss, among other negative impacts, and argues that the cost of cleaning up the environment...

The Government’s failure to take action on the Auckland housing crisis is keeping interest rates high and hurting households and businesses, the Green Party said today. “The Reserve Bank’s ability to lower the OCR to help businesses invest and households pay off their mortgages faster is limited by the Government’s inaction with regard to the Auckland housing market,” Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said. “Auckland’s housing crisis is clearly a drag on the rest of the economy which needs smart...

Falling exports and rising imports have led to the largest annual trade deficit since July 2009, the Green Party said today. Statistics New Zealand Overseas Merchandise Trade figures for March show there was an annual trade deficit of $2.4 billion for the year ended March 2015. This was the largest annual trade deficit since the year ended July 2009, driven by falling whole milk powder exports to China and declines in oil exports. “A large fall in the value of...

John Key’s choice not to raise women’s rights with the Saudi King and to reveal New Zealand troops' location to international media instead of telling New Zealanders first are the latest in a series of leadership lapses by the Prime Minister, the Green Party said today.

The Government needs to renegotiate the cost sharing agreement with Christchurch City Council rather than force the city to flog off its valuable assets, the Green Party said today. Submissions closed today on the Council’s Long Term Plan 2015-2025. In it, the Council proposes to sell $750 million of assets such as Orion and Christchurch Airport Limited in order to fund an ambitious capital spending programme and its $793m share of the anchor projects. “Anchor projects like the $253m stadium are...

John Key’s trip to Saudi Arabia has now become about women’s rights, as the world watches whether New Zealand’s Prime Minister will stand with or against women, the Green Party said today. “John Key said on the weekend he ‘may’ bring up issues of human rights when he meets with the Saudi King in the next 24 hours, but that is nowhere near good enough,” Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said. “This is a regime in blatant breach of its...

The Green Party is the first New Zealand political party to call for the remembrance of the 100th anniversary of the genocide of the 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman government. “The 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide is an opportunity to start real and significant reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey,” said Green Party global affairs spokesperson Dr Kennedy Graham. “The Green Party supports the European Parliament’s call for a proposal to establish an ‘International Remembrance Day for Genocides’. “New...

John Key should be judged by the “high” standards that have been the downfall of MPs and state sector bosses, instead he is trivialising his harassment of an Auckland woman, the Green Party says. “Backbench MP Aaron Gilmore lost his job for abusing a waiter, and Former CERA chief Roger Sutton lost his job for behaving in a way that women in his office found offensive. The Prime Minister of New Zealand should be held to a higher standard than...