News - Steve Abel

nature and climate

Overwhelming farmer support for equal welfare standards for pork imports

The Green Party says a new poll has found strong farmer support for fairer import standards for animal products, consistent with the intent of a Member's Bill from Green MP Steve Abel. The Curia poll released today by Animal Policy International found 79 per cent of farmers agree that imported animal products should be required to meet New Zealand's animal welfare standards, while only 10 per cent disagree.  "It's great to see the strong farmer support for closing the welfare gap and ensuring...

Posted at May 06, 2026 9:36 AM by Steve Abel

nature and climate

Greens call for urgent inquiry into food factory closures

The Green Party is calling for an urgent select committee inquiry into the closure of Heinz Watties, Greggs, and McCain food processing facilities.Green Party spokesperson for agriculture Steve Abel, a Member of the Primary Production Select Committee, has written to the Committee expressing serious concern at the closure of long-standing food production facilities. "Understanding the extent of the impact and risks is a matter of urgency that the Primary Production Select Committee should open an inquiry into," says Steve Abel. ...

Posted at March 30, 2026 12:55 PM by Steve Abel

nature and climate

Cancellation of live exports a win for Animals

The Green Party is claiming a win for animals, following the Luxon Government's confirmation that they have cancelled plans to reinstate the live export of animals at sea.Plans to resume the trade in live animals by sea was part of the National and Act coalition agreement, however the frequently endorsed intention has been scrapped at cabinet, according to Animal Welfare Minister Andrew Hoggard, who said “we needed to get everyone on board to take it forward and haven’t achieved that.”...

Posted at March 13, 2026 5:56 PM by Steve Abel

nature and climate

Pig cruelty won’t stand under Green Government

The Government has passed its Bill to keep mother pigs in cruel cages for at least another 10 years.“Today the Government has locked in cruelty for mother pigs and chosen pork lobbyists over public sentiment and welfare evidence," says the Green Party’s animal welfare spokesperson, Steve Abel. “The phase out of farrowing crates should have been legislated today but Luxon’s Government has instead legalised 10 more years of misery for mother pigs and their piglets. “New Zealanders don’t want to...

Posted at December 12, 2025 4:10 PM by Steve Abel

te tiriti o waitangi

Marine coastal law robs Māori of customary rights

The Green Party says the passing of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) (Customary Marine Title) Amendment Bill robs Māori of customary rights to the Takutai Moana.“This Government is selling out Māori with a Bill that prioritises profit over taonga and is another form of raupatu,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Māori-Crown relations Steve Abel.  “The Government has a duty to ensure customary rights are upheld. Instead they are diminishing Māori rights, sidelining the voices of iwi and...

Posted at October 21, 2025 9:00 PM by Steve Abel

te tiriti o waitangi

Government one step closer to legislating another raupatu

The Green Party condemns the Coalition Government passing its Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) (Customary Marine Title) Amendment Bill through its second reading, which prioritises profits over taonga.“This Bill is this Government’s most anti-Tiriti piece of legislation yet, and that’s saying something,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Māori-Crown relations, Steve Abel. “Customary rights are tino rangatiratanga in action. This Bill robs Māori of customary rights to the takutai moana, effectively denying centuries of relationship with the marine coastal...

Posted at October 09, 2025 5:05 PM by Steve Abel

nature and climate

Govt must own its role in Canterbury nitrate emergency

The Green Party welcomes Environment Canterbury’s decision today to carry a motion declaring a nitrate emergency, and is calling on the Government to take responsibility for the crisis its own policies have fuelled.“The Government can’t wash its hands of its responsibility in worsening this health and environmental emergency,” says Green Party Agriculture Spokesperson, Steve Abel. “Every New Zealander should have confidence that their drinking water is safe and not contaminated by pollution from intensive dairying. “In just six months, Canterbury...

Posted at September 17, 2025 4:15 PM by Steve Abel

nature and climate

Biodiversity credit won’t fix damage done by Luxon Govt

The Green Party says the Government’s newly announced Biodiversity Credit scheme is a tiny positive that doesn’t undo the biodiversity harm caused by the Luxon Government.“This is a bandaid on a gaping wound which does nothing to address a deepening crisis and runs the risk of being mere greenwashing,” says the Green Party spokesperson for Agriculture Steve Abel. “While credit schemes and covenants are an important pathway to protecting vital biodiversity on farmland, these alone are not nearly enough to...

Posted at June 12, 2025 12:20 PM by Steve Abel

nature and climate

Greens launch Member’s Bill to close loophole allowing animal cruelty in imports

Today, Green Party MP Steve Abel has added a new Member’s Bill to the biscuit tin to ensure any product sold in New Zealand meets New Zealand’s animal welfare standards, even if it’s produced overseas.“We shouldn’t allow on our supermarket shelves what we wouldn’t allow on our farms,” says Green Party Agriculture and Animal Welfare spokesperson, Steve Abel.  “This is about fairness for animals and for farmers. “We’re proud of our animal welfare laws here in New Zealand, but right...

Posted at May 06, 2025 8:50 AM by Steve Abel

nature and climate

Greens stand with Coromandel locals against Luxon’s destructive mining policy

Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine.“These communities have successfully opposed mining for the best part of 50 years - Jones’ latest announcement is a mere blip in history that will be undone when there’s a new Green Government,” says Green Party Spokesperson for Resources, Steve Abel. “They know first-hand that long after the jobs have dried...

Posted at January 31, 2025 10:53 AM by Steve Abel

culture and innovation

Greyhound racing industry ban marks new era for animal welfare

After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026.“This is a great day for the welfare of greyhounds, they have a right to live without suffering,” says the Green Party’s Animal Welfare and Racing Spokesperson, Steve Abel. “An overwhelming majority of New Zealanders–three quarters, in the latest SPCA polling–have long called for the greyhound racing industry...

Posted at December 10, 2024 1:19 PM by Steve Abel

nature and climate

Government plan to reinstate live animal exports a “national disgrace”

The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports. “This decision is cruel and cuts against the grain of our values as a nation,” says the Green Party’s Animal Welfare spokesperson, Steve Abel. “Animals deserve a life free from suffering. Harmful practices that put profit ahead of their welfare are unacceptable. “The reality is that live export, by its nature, cannot uphold any such standards, and this move contravenes both the spirit and the letter of New...

Posted at November 20, 2024 6:16 PM by Steve Abel

nature and climate

Luxon needs to address the cow in the room

The Green Party was appalled to hear Prime Minister Christopher Luxon claim we are “doing everything we can” on climate change, while his government does nothing to address emissions in our most polluting sector. “Christopher Luxon's commitment to climate action is a national disgrace and global embarrassment," says the Green Party Spokesperson for Agriculture, Steve Abel. “Agriculture is the biggest emitting sector in Aotearoa - accounting for more than half of our emissions. Luxon has done everything he can to make...

Posted at October 29, 2024 1:47 PM by Steve Abel

te tiriti o waitangi

Takutai Moana changes another assault on Te Tiriti

The Government must abandon its Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act interventions after the Waitangi Tribunal found it was committing gross breaches of the Treaty.“This Government is throwing relations between Māori and the Crown into deeper disharmony,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Steve Abel.  “Māori rights to their Customary waters are at the core of what Te Tiriti guarantees. We need to uphold and honour the founding agreement our nation is built upon. “But...

Posted at September 13, 2024 3:57 PM by Steve Abel

te tiriti o waitangi

Greens call on Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned after letter from Christian leaders

The Green Party is once again urging the Prime Minister to abandon the Treaty Principles Bill as a letter from more than 400 Christian leaders calls for the proposed legislation to be dropped.“This letter is an endorsement of Te Tiriti justice and an indictment on the Treaty Principles Bill,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Māori development, Hūhana Lyndon.  “Te Tiriti o Waitangi provides the foundation for us all to find common ground and build an Aotearoa where all of...

Posted at September 09, 2024 5:00 AM by Hūhana Lyndon and Steve Abel

nature and climate

Ohinemuri River pollution highlights mining risks

The harrowing images of the severely polluted Ohinemuri River caused by an old mining shaft could become a more common occurrence under the mining regime the Government is looking to roll out. “The state of the Ohinemuri river paints a picture of what the future looks like if the Government unleashes mining across the country,” says the Green Party spokesperson for Resources Steve Abel.  “We need to work with nature, not against it. This is how we leave behind an Aotearoa...

Posted at August 24, 2024 4:45 PM by Steve Abel

te tiriti o waitangi

Greens call on Luxon to abandon Treaty Principles Bill following Waitangi Tribunal report

The Green Party is calling on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to abandon the Treaty Principles Bill following the Waitangi Tribunal’s scathing report on the proposed legislation. “Our Te Tiriti is a taonga. It binds us together, it should not be used to drive us apart,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Māori development, Hūhana Lyndon.  “At Waitangi, Christopher Luxon told Māori that Te Tiriti was our past, present and future. If he truly meant what he said, he would not allow...

Posted at August 16, 2024 12:30 PM by Hūhana Lyndon and Steve Abel

te tiriti o waitangi

Govt deals another blow to Maori-Crown relations

The cuts to Te Arawhiti will worsen relations between Māori and the Crown. “This is another blow to Māori and another step backwards in relations between tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti,” says the Green Party spokesperson for Māori Crown Relations Steve Abel.  “If we want to build on the important relationships that the Crown has developed with iwi over decades, and honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi, we need to be bolstering Māori institutions, not tearing them down or confusing their roles. ...

Posted at August 13, 2024 5:01 PM by Steve Abel