A new report by the Ministry of Justice provides an important baseline for measuring the Government’s work to address and end sexual violence in New Zealand.

A unique project enhancing the mana and wellbeing of the environment and the people of the Hokianga is to receive $300000 over three years from the Ministry for the Environment’s Community Environment Fund.  Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage made the announcement at a kiwi protection workshop at Ōpara in the south Hokianga today. The He Ripo Kau project Kaitiaki Kiwi is sponsored by Reconnecting Northland, a regional connectivity conservation programme.  He Ripo Kau partner groups work on kiwi protection, wetland and freshwater...

More food is set to be rescued and redistributed in Northland as part of the Government’s plan to reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfills announced Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage in Whangarei today. $350,700 from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) is being dedicated to expanding the One Double Five Whare Awhina Community House Trust food rescue programme to more Northland communities. “The new funding allows the Trust to build on its...

The Green Party has negotiated important civil liberties changes in the proposed Terrorism Suppression Bill which will now establish human rights and process safeguards. “We’ve ensured that foreign convictions and deportations won’t be accepted without proper scrutiny and we’ve ended the use of secret evidence without an advocate,” said Golriz Ghahraman, Green Party spokesperson for Justice. “We’ve been clear from the start about our key concerns. Our position in Government has allowed us to negotiate and get agreement from the...

The Green Party is pleased to see progress on Fair Pay Agreements, a crucial step towards greater fairness at work for everyone, with Minister Iain Lees-Galloway announcing consultation on a discussion document today. “Fair Pay Agreements are a crucial tool to provide greater fairness at work for everyone,” says Jan Logie, Green Party Workplace Relations spokesperson. “As we move to a zero carbon economy, we need businesses to be focused on innovation rather than driving down wages and conditions to...

The future for New Zealand’s threatened indigenous freshwater fish looks brighter with the passing of the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Bill in Parliament today said Minister of Conservation, Eugenie Sage. “Until now, our freshwater fish legislation has been 20 years out of date. We have lacked effective tools to look after fish spawning areas, ensure that culverts and drains don’t block fish passage in rivers and streams, and manage fishing on conservation lands. “Indigenous freshwater fish have been treated...

The Green Party has welcomed the Council of Trade Unions’ call for a people-led, people-focused response to climate change, including increasing benefit levels and implementing the recommendations of the Welfare Expert Advisory Group. “We must ensure people are supported to live good, fulfilling lives as we deal with the consequences of climate change,” says Marama Davidson, Green Party Co-Leader. “Right now, too many whānau are unable to thrive and this is going to get worse unless we take action now...

The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during a two-day predator trapping course run by the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) at the urban ecosanctuary. “Since the Predator Free 2050 goal was announced in 2016 there has...

The Green Party has welcomed the government surplus announced yesterday as an opportunity to take stronger action on the critical issues New Zealanders face. Green Party co-leader James Shaw said today: “This government has clearly established its economic credentials. Now we can seriously take on the task of eliminating poverty and inequality, strengthen our public services and infrastructure which were so severely run down by the previous government, and take the strong climate action which is so crucial to all...

Takahē may be flightless but their population is flying high with the official count reaching 418 after a record breeding season that produced an estimated 65 juveniles, the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced today. “The population reaching a high of 418 is great news for takahē which were considered extinct until rediscovered in 1948. It demonstrates what can be achieved when we give nature a helping hand,” said Eugenie Sage. The Department of Conservation’s annual takahē count at the end...