With temperatures high around the country, Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter has launched the Ministry of Health’s new Heat Health Plan Guidelines. “Climate change is a big threat to our society, and we need to plan for anticipated weather like hotter days now,” says Ms Genter. “Although it is great to enjoy the outdoors, getting too hot is a serious risk that will happen more in our future. Our health will be impacted by climate change, and we need...

The Green Party is heralding today’s transport announcement as the start of a new era of investment in sustainable transport in our towns and cities.   The Government released the final Government Policy Statement on land transport funding today. It allocates up to $1.1 billion for new walking and cycling projects, up to $4.8 billion for rapid transit, and up to $8 billion for public transport over the next decade.   “The Greens campaigned on shifting transport funding away from...

“The new Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s first report dealing with New Zealand’s proposed Zero Carbon Act provides a valuable contribution to the national conversation on this issue,” says the Acting Minister for Climate Change, Julie Anne Genter.

A new official report detailing potentially irreversible impacts of climate change in New Zealand show why the next government must act urgently to cut climate-damaging pollution, the Green Party said today. The 2017 Atmosphere and Climate report states that climate change is already potentially irreversibly affecting New Zealand. It says that climate impacts to date include: ·         Our glaciers shrinking by almost a quarter of their volume. ·         Coastal seas rising by 22 cm. ·         A more acidic ocean off...

Official advice released to the Green Party under the Official Information Act shows that the previous National Government dismissed an option to make road safety its most important transport priority after being told the road toll was rising. Ministry of Transport officials proposed making ‘road safety’ the highest strategic priority for the 2018 Transport Strategy, saying it would increase safety benefits (i.e. by saving lives and reducing serious injuries) by 17 percent.1 However, National chose ‘economic growth and productivity’ as...

The next government needs to commit to a goal of zero harm on our roads to address the rapidly rising numbers of people being killed on them, the Green Party said today.

Decades of underinvestment in Auckland’s public transport and minimal uptake of electric vehicles under National are being highlighted by the looming petrol shortage, the Green Party said today. “If more Aucklanders had access to reliable trains, buses, safe cycle routes or an electric car, this temporary disruption to petrol supplies wouldn’t be such a big deal for commuters,” said Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter. “The fact is, many Aucklanders still don’t have access to fast, reliable public transport...

The Green Party today announced a $418 million transport plan for greater Christchurch focused on creating a new network of rapid public transport lines, a city-wide bike share scheme, and safe cycling infrastructure. It accompanies a commitment to invest over $1 billion nationwide over ten years to complete cycling networks in our towns and cities, especially around schools. The Green Party’s plan for Christchurch includes a commitment to fast-track three new rapid transit lines by 2022, including: An Airport Line...

The Green Party in government will fund free counselling for all New Zealanders aged 25 and under as part of a $260 million youth mental health package. “Free counselling for any young person who wants to talk about the ups and downs they are experiencing with a trained professional will make a huge difference to people’s wellbeing,” Green Party leader James Shaw said today. “Everyone goes through ups and downs and as a society we can do more to recognise...

A newly released report by the Auckland Housing Summit reveals the scale of National’s housing crisis, the Green Party said today. New data from Statistics New Zealand has also confirmed the second consecutive quarter that building activity has fallen, with a 0.4 percent fall in residential house-building across New Zealand. “This report reads like a laundry list of things National has done wrong or failed to do,” said Green Party building and housing spokesperson Julie Anne Genter. “The results come...