The Green Party is today welcoming the release of the Government’s waste strategy, but says it has a big gap without action on the container return scheme for beverage containers.

The error Labour Ministers made by stopping work on a beverage container return scheme will be reversed by the Greens at the earliest opportunity as part of the next Government.

The Green Party is celebrating the signing of a historic United Nations Ocean Treaty, and calls on the new Oceans and Fisheries Minister to urgently step up protection for Aotearoa’s oceans. 

Today’s news of a Ministerial inquiry into forestry slash and land use in Te Tarāwhiti/Gisborne and Wairoa is welcome, but the forestry sector should have to compensate councils, landowners and communities for the enormous damage caused by land and logging management which has generated so much slash and sediment.

The Green Party is today welcoming reports of Government progress towards having no new mines on conservation land.

The Green Party welcomes an historic new global agreement to protect 30% of the planet for nature by the end of the decade and calls on the Government to follow it with immediate action to protect native wildlife. 

The Green Party backs the demands of Forest and Bird and calls on the Government to take urgent action to restore the health of the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana/ Te Moananui ā Toi.

The Green Party will continue to push for strong protections of core public assets so they cannot be sold off against the wishes of New Zealanders.

A decision by a United States Court to ban seafood imports from New Zealand shows the Government needs to do more to protect Māui dolphins. 

New Zealanders deserve strong protection against the future privatisation of water assets, the Green Party says.