The Health Minister must urgently launch an inquiry into mental health services, after serious issues with the standard of care at mental health and disability facilities around the country were revealed today, the Green Party said. A NZ Herald investigation of more than 60 Crimes of Torture reports show repeated basic breaches of patients’ rights, such as access to fresh air, water, or meaningful interaction. It also identifies systemic, recurrent problems across all District Health Boards (DHBs), including understaffing and...

The Green Party is congratulating the organics sector on taking major steps this weekend to unify the sector, as well as wishing the Soil & Health Association a happy 75th birthday. In a show of the sector’s strength and confidence about the future, major organics organisations Soil & Health and BioGro New Zealand have combined to bring their significant strengths together, and sector umbrella organisation Organics Aotearoa New Zealand has chosen to expand its membership, embracing key food industry players...

First-home buyers in Auckland are earning only about half as much as the daily increase in house prices, and are being increasingly shut out of the market, the Green Party said today. REINZ house price data released today showed the median Auckland house price rose $500 every day in June, to a new high of $821,000. “First-home buyers who had scraped together a deposit a month or two ago now won’t have enough and will have to keep saving,” Green...

The National Government’s about-turn on foreign trusts has been welcomed by the Green Party today in the wake of the Shewan Inquiry that found that foreign trusts were a likely vehicle for tax abuse and need to be opened up with increased disclosure and reporting requirements. The Green Party has been pushing for similar disclosure measures around foreign trusts since 2012 while the IRD had made repeated attempts to warn the National Government of the risks of them in 2013...

The Government must suspend the commercial catch of New Zealand's longfin eel, and accept the conclusion by Parliament's environment watchdog that the eel is on a path to extinction, the Green Party said today. In her submission on the Government's catch limits for South Island eel fisheries, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment recommended that the commercial catch of longfin eels should be suspended until it is clear the species is recovering. “The Government can take the simple step of...

The Green Party is disappointed by the decision to decline consent for Otago’s Blueskin Bay community wind farm project, which shows why Government leadership is needed to help smooth the transition to a more sustainable electricity system. “This is obviously very disappointing for the local community who have worked so hard to get their own wind farm. They should be congratulated for their vision and their work,” Green Party energy spokesperson Gareth Hughes said. “The Blueskin Bay community achieved a...

Educational achievement will not improve until the Government prioritises feeding, housing and looking after our children properly, the Green Party has said today. Research reported today has uncovered a consistent achievement gap of an average of two years schooling between children in lower and higher decile primary schools. “The reason for the gap in achievement between low and high decile schools is the inequality that this National Government has fostered in New Zealand,” Green Party Education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said...

The Government’s backdown on forcing Housing New Zealand (HNZ) to pay a multimillion-dollar dividend shows that the Government can take measures to help end the housing crisis if it really wants to, the Green Party said today. “Reinvesting HNZ dividends to build more houses just makes sense and I’m pleased the Government is finally showing some flexibility on this,” said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw. “It was perverse that National was forcing HNZ to pay a dividend back to the...

Ashburton District Council’s decision to drop the sale of public land including the right to bottle and sell billions of litres of water is a win for the Ashburton community, the Green Party said today. “Canterbury’s water has been polluted and drained by the rapid expansion of the dairy industry in the region, making bore water undrinkable in some areas and most rivers unsafe for swimming. So it beggars belief that the council would even consider selling a plot of...

The Government must support the use of wahakura and pepi-pods to reduce the rate of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI), particularly for Māori babies who are eight times more likely to die in infancy, the Green Party said today. The NZ Herald reported today that the Government has ignored advice from coroners that wahakura and pepi-pods could reduce the number of children dying from SUDI, and refused to fund their use. Wahakura are woven baskets that give baby a...