New Zealand’s major surf breaks and the impacts of vehicles on beaches are receiving more attention from local authorities because of the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement 2010 (NZCPS), new analysis released by Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage today shows. “Surfers can be grateful that protecting surf breaks is now something that councils consider in preparing plans and when resource consents are sought for development work such as dredging,” Ms Sage said. Under the Resource Management Act, the NZCPS guides local...

A new report shows New Zealand is continuing to lose its precious wetlands and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage says it will take years to turn the trend around. The Minister released the eighth national report under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance to mark World Wetlands Day today. “It will take a concerted and serious effort and years to change this trend. Our wetlands are the land’s kidneys capturing sediments and nutrients and slowly releasing water in drought...

The Green Party will have a new Female Co-leader by April 9, following the announcement today of an early special election for the position and a truncated campaign period of two months. The Female Co-leader position has been vacant since Metiria Turei’s resignation in August last year. Green Party Co-leaders are normally elected annually at the party’s AGM but the party executive has decided to bring the election forward in order to fill the vacancy sooner. “We are keen to...

Kia tau te rangimārie o te Rangi e tū nei o Papatūānuku e takoto nei o te Taiao e awhi nei ki runga i a tātou. Tīhei mauri ora!   Tēnā koutou katoa. Ko James Shaw tōku ingoa. Ko ahau te kaiārahi o Te Rōpū Kākāriki. Five years after the Velvet Revolution that made him President of Czechoslovakia and then the Czech Republic, the former dissident and poet Václav Havel, said that: “There are good reasons for suggesting that the...

The Green Party’s position on the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is unchanged, Co-leader James Shaw said today. “We recognise Trade Minister David Parker has made significant progress on some controversial provisions in the TPP, including investor-state dispute settlement, and we support those changes. However, we still don’t believe there are sufficient safeguards for people and the environment that would enable us to support the deal,” Mr Shaw said “Our position on trade and the TPP in particular...

The Green Party wishes to extend its warmest congratulations to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her partner Clarke Gayford on the news that they are expecting a child.  “This is wonderful news. On behalf of the Green Party, I’d like to congratulate Jacinda and Clarke, and wish them the very best for parenthood,” said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw. “That a woman can be the Prime Minister of New Zealand and choose to have a family while in office says...

New Zealand’s position as 10th worst nation for creating urban waste per capita is shameful, says Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage, who will review how the Waste Minimisation Act is being implemented. Recent news reports have highlighted World Bank data which puts New Zealand at number 10 on a list of countries creating the most urban waste. “Significantly reducing waste going to landfill by 2020 is a key goal of the Green Party’s confidence and supply agreement with Labour and...

We have two important new transparency measures to help counter the influence of money in politics.

The Green Party is saddened by the news of the passing of former Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Jim Anderton, who passed away today.

The Green Party is supporting the Government’s medicinal cannabis legislation introduced to parliament today, but is encouraging the public to use the select committee process to push for improvements to expand the law in relation to New Zealanders suffering from chronic pain and other medical conditions who could benefit from the use of medicinal cannabis, but who are excluded from legal protections in the Bill.