Increases in class sizes look to be on the cards, after Education Minister Hekia Parata can't guarantee her proposed education funding model will result in no increase in class sizes, the Green Party said. "It doesn't seem to trouble the Minister if her proposal results in bigger classes, but she is ignoring that New Zealand parents see class sizes as vital for their child's education," Green Party education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said today. Appearing on The Nation this morning Education...

The Green Party is applauding Christchurch City Council’s decision to restrict the use of glyphosate-based weed killers in spaces open to the public, and is calling on other councils around New Zealand to follow suit. Christchurch councillors voted yesterday to restrict the use of glyphosate – a probable carcinogen – in areas accessible to the public. The decision aligns with an ongoing campaign by the Green Party to limit the use of glyphosate in public streets and parks. “We’re pleased...

The Ombudsman’s report into Paula Rebstock’s inquiry shows that the Government spent taxpayer money on a politically motivated attacks to distract attention from drastic public sector cuts, the Green Party said today.

The Government needs to urgently reconsider its position to not provide funding for breakfasts and lunches for children who go to school hungry, the Green Party said today. The call comes after an Upper Hutt community group revealed it is struggling to get businesses to support a local school lunch programme, and after a report from the Christian Council of Social Services which showed some parents can’t afford to pay for food as well as pay their rent. “Thousands of...

The Government needs to urgently increase funding for community sector groups which are struggling to cope with the growing number of people who need their help, the Green Party said today. The New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services released its Vulnerability Report today which outlines the huge strain that the community sector is under because of an eight-year funding freeze by the National Government. “Thousands of New Zealanders depend on organisations like the Salvation Army and Presbyterian Support to...

The Government needs to urgently ramp-up investment in Auckland's bus and rail network before it slaps a charge on Aucklanders travelling on congested motorways, the Green Party said today.

A new report on solar power and electric vehicles is further evidence that the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) isn’t working, and that the National Government needs to fix what’s holding New Zealand back from making the most of clean-energy technologies, the Green Party said. The report was produced by independent energy economists at Concept Consulting. “This report shows that National needs to join the 21st century and set up the right market structures to encourage new clean-energy technologies,” said Green...

The Government has broken its promise to keep New Zealand’s Iraq deployment to two years, putting our troops in further danger, the Green Party said today. This afternoon the Government announced that it would be extending the mandate and the length of the current NZDF deployment to Iraq until November 2018. “A hundred thousand people are fleeing Fallujah and humanitarian agencies are overwhelmed. New Zealand should be contributing the $50 million that has now been committed to this deployment to...

The Government needs to pick up the pace on cleaning up toxic sites, following new analysis that shows its Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund has been underspent almost every year since it was established, the Green Party said. The funding analysis comes after a RadioNZ investigation highlighted the slow pace of toxic site clean-up. “The Government talks the talk on cleaning up toxic contamination, but if it’s not spending the money it says it will on actually cleaning up the sites,...

The 5,000 children and young people in Child Youth and Family (CYF) care need an immediate child-centric approach, including a transition plan, to prioritise their wellbeing in the planned Government reforms of CYF, the Green Party said. The Children’s Commissioner’s State of Care report, out today, is an independent monitor of CYF services that are provided for our most vulnerable children, and raises concerns about how the transition process will affect the children already in care. “The 5,000 children and...