Further falls in dairy prices overnight highlight why New Zealand needs to diversify its economy, the Green Party said today. Global dairy commodity prices fell further overnight. Whole milk powder, a key price for Fonterra's pay out to farmers, fell another 13.3 percent to $US2538 a tonne. “Our overwhelming economic focus on dairy exports makes New Zealand extremely vulnerable to global dairy prices,” Green Party Co-leader Russel Norman said. “Dairy will continue to be an important export sector for New...

The well-being of children must be the paramount consideration underlining the Government’s review of Child Youth and Family (CYF), the Green Party said today. “CYF has a long history of performance and organisational issues, and has been long in need of an overhaul. The Greens are giving our qualified support to the review announced by Social Development Minister Anne Tolley today,” said Jan Logie, the Green Party’s Social Development Spokesperson. “Many of the problems CYF faces relate to resourcing and...

The National Government’s HomeStart package, which starts today, will likely be absorbed into higher margins for developers according to the Reserve Bank, the Green Party said. The Reserve Bank advised the National Government in June 2014 that its package of HomeStart reforms could “result in increased developers’ profit margins” and, over the longer term, “have the potential to add to existing house price pressures in what is a highly overvalued market”. National reduced the size of the final package delivered...

The sighting of a Maui’s dolphin in an area the Government has just opened up to oil and gas exploration shows how willing Energy Minister Simon Bridges is to sacrifice the environment for oil, the Green Party said today. The Maui's Sanctuary was created to help protect Maui’s dolphins, but it overlaps with areas the Government has offered up for exploration this week. A Maui’s dolphin, one of only 55 adult individuals remaining, was spotted in one of these areas....

After more than a year of campaigning by Green MP Mojo Mathers, the Government has finally agreed to ban cosmetics testing on animals, the Green Party said today. “I’m over the moon that the Government has acknowledged my work on this issue by finally agreeing to ban cosmetics testing on animals,” said Green Party animal welfare spokesperson Mojo Mathers. “I have been working solidly behind the scenes to get this ban through Parliament for some time now. “During the course...

The Green Party is calling on the Government to drop its mean-spirited move to appeal a court decision that respite carers should be paid at least the minimum wage. The Green Party can reveal that Crown lawyers yesterday lodged an application to appeal against an Employment Court decision that respite carers should be paid at least the minimum wage. Currently these workers are paid a daily amount of just $75. The move comes as the minimum wage for other workers...

The National Government looks set to miss the first UN deadline to submit its emissions reduction target for 2030, the Green Party said today. Mexico, Norway, Switzerland and the European Union’s 28 member states have delivered their ‘intended nationally determined contributions’ (INDCs) to the United Nations (UN) ahead of a March 31 deadline. Switzerland has set a target to reduce 1990 emission levels by 50 percent by 2030. The US is committed to meeting the deadline, and China and the...

The National Party Government has today revealed that the national environmental report topics for this year will, incredibly, exclude New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, the Green Party said today. “The topics, vetted by the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Statistics, are supposed to give New Zealanders a clear picture of the state of our environment, but by omitting greenhouse gas emissions, it conveniently glosses over the problem of New Zealand’s contribution to climate change,” Green Party Co-leader...

The Government’s block offer announcement of an area almost twice the size of New Zealand and including the home of the critically endangered Maui’s dolphin and other protected conservation areas is further evidence of how out of touch they’ve become, the Green Party said today.

The National Party’s loss in the Northland by-election is proof that the tide has turned on an increasingly out of touch Government, says the Green Party.