The Green Party has decided to not stand a candidate in the Ōhāriu electorate for the 2017 general election. “The Green Party’s priority is changing the Government in 2017. We have been very clear with our supporters and the public about that since we signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Labour last year,” said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw. “I think New Zealanders will understand that, in an MMP environment, it makes perfect sense for us to not stand a...

The Green Party backs today’s open letter from the Human Rights Commission and others calling for a government inquiry into the abuse of children in state care, and for a formal apology to be made to the victims. “There is a growing list of organisations and people who are calling for a government inquiry into the abuse of children in the state’s care. It seems everyone but the Government realises that an inquiry and a formal apology are essential to...

Labour and the Green Party are joining with Grey Power to investigate the state of aged care in New Zealand, and will be touring the country to hear from patients, professionals and families over the next two months. “All New Zealanders deserve a high standard of medical care, and it’s clear that for many older people in rest homes or residential facilities, those standards still aren’t being met”, said Labour health spokesperson Annette King. “This tour will revisit the 2010...

The rising cost of living is hitting people who earn modest incomes and beneficiaries hardest, the Green Party said today. Living costs for beneficiaries and low-spending households rose more than twice as much as for high-spending households in 2016, according to Statistics NZ’s Household Living Costs Price Index data. “Bill English says the economy is humming along nicely but the truth is that while people at the top might be doing well, thousands of families on lower incomes are feeling...

Official briefings show that the Government will fall short of its target for reducing climate pollution by 85%, despite Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett saying the Government is on track to meet it, the Green Party said today. In October 2016 Paula Bennett wrote an opinion piece titled ‘We're on the Right Track on Tackling Climate Change’, in which she claimed the Government had a plan to meet its targets, including an “ambitious” electric vehicles programme. However, a briefing to...

The Green Party is calling on WorkSafe and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to undertake an urgent review of the ongoing use of methyl bromide – a highly toxic fumigant – at ports across the country. The call follows a decision made by the Environment Court last Friday to block an application by Envirofume Ltd to fumigate logs for export using methyl bromide at the Port of Tauranga. Envirofume’s application to use methyl bromide was rejected on the basis that...

Shifting the approval of cannabis-based products from the Minister to the Ministry of Health is a step in the right direction, but doesn’t go far enough to help the many New Zealanders who want and need access to them, the Green Party said today. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne has today delegated decision-making for prescribing cannabis-based products to the Ministry of Health. “Peter Dunne has removed one hoop New Zealanders have had to jump through to get access to medical...

The latest Salvation Army report reinforces the need for a new Government committed to action on the biggest issues facing New Zealand, the Green Party said today. The 10th State of the Nation report from The Salvation Army, Off the Track, released today shows entrenched rates of child poverty, the highest prison muster ever, and an alarming lack of safe and affordable housing. “The barriers that many New Zealanders are facing to living a happy life are not being addressed...

The Green Party will today seek to introduce a Bill to Parliament that doubles New Zealand’s annual refugee quota to 1500 immediately, and to 2000 from 2018. “In a world racked with uncertainty and turmoil, welcoming a few hundred more refugees is the least we can do to pull our weight,” said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw. “We’re suggesting a small law change, but it will make a massive difference to people whose lives are affected by conflict and persecution....

E te Māngai o te Whare, tēnā koe. Ki a koutou ōku hoa Pāremata, huri noa i te Whare, ngā mihi o te tau hou ki a koutou katoa. Mr Speaker, The Prime Minister’s statement today contains a whole lot more boring half-measures and pointless tinkering around the edges, that won’t fix the big problems we’re facing, like housing affordability, homelessness, child poverty, and climate change. He says he’ll encourage oil exploration, but hasn’t he noticed that most of the...