New information shows the Government did a second dubious deal with a disgruntled Saudi businessman who was blocking progress on the Gulf States Free Trade Agreement (FTA), says the Green Party today.

The Green Party will support the new levies on international passengers to protect New Zealand’s biosecurity, announced in Budget 2015. “New Zealand’s biosecurity is vital to our agricultural and tourism sectors, not to mention our natural environment, and so we will support the Government’s moves to strengthen biosecurity,” Green Party tourism and economic development spokesperson James Shaw said. “The Green Party acknowledges than some in the tourism industry have concerns about these levies, but we are encouraged that the Government...

The Green Party today joined with dozens of current and former legislators in calling for New Zealand’s trade negotiators to beware of the potential for the United States Government to apply the process of ‘certification’ to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

Urgent action is needed to make the 100% Pure New Zealand slogan authentic, following the revamp of Tourism New Zealand’s marketing campaign with more emphasis on the natural environment, the Green Party said today. “New Zealand’s clean, green image is a major drawcard for tourists but the Government’s inaction on the environment means we run the risk of irreparable damage to the tourism brand,” Green Party tourism spokesperson James Shaw said. “Tourism Minister John Key says 100% Pure is just...

The number of jobs in the screen industry has been in decline since 2009, despite National’s promise that its backroom deals with Warner Bros would secure more jobs here, the Green Party said today.

The National Government’s research and development (R&D) strategy has failed, with no growth in the proportion of businesses investing in R&D since its first year in office, the Green Party said today. The Statistics NZ Business Operations Survey, released on 20 March 2015, shows that in 2009 eight percent of businesses invested in R&D and that in 2014, the proportion of businesses investing in R&D was still just eight percent. “Steven Joyce’s R&D experiment has clearly failed, with just eight...

National appears to be giving foreign corporations extra rights to sue governments if they legislate to act in the national interest, says the Green Party. New documents, leaked today, show that under the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), the investor state section under negotiation appears to go further than similar clauses in existing trade documents. “National is governing in the interest of foreign companies at the expense of local interests,” said Green Party trade spokesperson James Shaw. “The Prime Minister needs...

The real objective of the Remuneration Authority Amendment Bill is to use the public backlash against MPs’ pay rises to constrain the pay of public sector workers, the Green Party said today. “It became clear in the debate over this rushed law change last night that the Government’s objective is to constrain salaries across the whole public sector,” Green Party open government spokesperson James Shaw said. “Minister Michael Woodhouse said that the Bill would ‘shine a light on profligate spending...

The Green Party is calling on the National Government to release their cost benefit analysis of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

The Green Party is pleased to see the impacts of climate change taken into account in the Tai Tokerau Northland Growth Study Opportunities Report, released today. “It’s great to see that the authors of this report are thinking about climate resilience in regions like Northland that are likely to experience increased droughts and floods due to climate change,” Green Party economic development spokesperson James Shaw said. “I hope the Government acts on the report’s findings that droughts and floods will...