The Green Party is calling on the Government to let the computer game development industry access incentives already available to the screen production industry, following new information from the New Zealand Game Developers Association that suggests growth in the gaming industry is constrained by a lack of Government support. “Unless the Government provides an equal playing field with the movie industry, new gaming companies and high-value projects are likely to dry up,” Green Party information and communications technology spokesperson Gareth...

The Green Party is calling on all power companies to follow Contact’s lead and equalise pre-paid power prices with post-paid prices. “All power companies should follow Contact’s lead and drop their pre-paid rates to be in line with post-paid prices,” Green Party energy spokesperson Gareth Hughes said. “It’s good to see power companies like Contact and Mighty River Power responding to repeated calls from the Green Party to treat pre-paid and post-paid customers fairly. “We know that some of our...

The Green Party is calling on the Government to set a goal of 100 percent renewable electricity generation or risk being left behind as industry leads the transition from dirty fossil fuel electricity generation to clean renewable power, the Green Party said today. “The Government’s fossil fuel-focused energy strategy is looking out of touch and out of date following Contact’s announcement it is closing the Otahuhu B gas plant and Genesis’ announcement it will close the Huntly coal plant,” Green...

Parliament will get to vote on a simple amendment to the Electricity Industry Act that would guarantee households a fair price for any excess renewable electricity they supply back to the grid, the Green Party said today. Green Party MP Gareth Hughes had a Members’ Bill in his name pulled from the ballot today. The Electricity Industry (Small-Scale Renewable Distributed Generation) Amendment Bill will empower the Electricity Authority to act as an independent umpire setting a fair, reasonable buy-back rate...

The Government has forced Solid Energy to the point of no return with a deliberate series of actions and policies, and now wants to sell it off, the Green Party said today. “It’s a relief for Solid Energy’s 540 staff, 200 contractors, and their families and communities, that they still have jobs for the time being, but everyone knows the sun is setting on the coal industry and hundreds of workers are being let down by the Government,” Green Party...

Tertiary students have become significantly more financially distressed since National took office, according to the NZUSA Income & Expenditure Survey out today. The survey shows that almost half (44 percent) of all tertiary students report that that they do not have enough income to meet their basic needs. This results in higher levels of student debt, higher levels of credit card debt, and longer working hours outside of full-time study. Despite the increased need, Government support for students through student...

The Government is failing New Zealand households by letting residential electricity prices rise 3.8 percent while inflation is nearly zero, new data released today in the annual ‘Energy in New Zealand’ publication shows, the Green Party said. “Power prices have risen 3.8 percent in the twelve months to March 2015 while inflation was only 0.1 percent in the same time period,” Green Party energy spokesperson Gareth Hughes said. “When an essential household cost like electricity is rising so much faster...

The Green Party is calling on the Government to show leadership and work with the Southland community to develop an economic plan for a post-Tiwai Point aluminium smelter world. “It’s a relief for Southlanders that the smelter will stay open for the time being, but everyone knows that it won’t be there forever and we need a proper plan for a post-Tiwai Southland economy,” Green Party energy spokesperson Gareth Hughes said. “As long as New Zealand doesn’t have a clear...

The National Government’s voluntary guidelines for spreading toxic oil and gas waste on farmland ignore the concerns of New Zealand’s environmental watchdog about the dangers of heavy metal contamination, and could lead to greater risks to people and animals, the Green Party says. “MPI’s guidelines for spreading of oil and gas waste on farmland ignore concerns of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment about the danger of contamination by heavy metals, for example, barium and cadmium, and the need for...

The Green Party is calling on the Government to rule out huge increases to electricity lines charges, in the wake of a suggestion from the Electricity Authority that some households could be facing $500 increases to their yearly electricity bills just because of where they live.