Tomorrow’s Budget needs to announce a new, transformative plan to fix the housing crisis, the Green Party said today. Finance Minister Bill English will deliver his eighth Budget tomorrow and it’s likely it will contain no significant new measures to address rampant speculation in the housing market or the lack of affordable homes being built. “We’re becoming one of the only countries in the world that makes it easier for people to buy their second, third, or fourth house instead...

The Green Party today announced a plan to get half of New Zealand’s freight moving by rail and sea within 10 years, and dramatically reduce the number of dangerous trucks clogging up New Zealand’s roads. “National’s single-minded focus on a few expensive highways is downright irresponsible, and will ultimately force more and more trucks onto New Zealand roads,” said Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter. “National spends five times more on a few low-value motorways than it does on...

Taking more tax cuts off the table was the right move for Bill English to make in his pre-Budget speech today, the Green Party said. “It’s good that the Government has realised that tax cuts aren’t the kind of medicine our economy needs right now,” Green Party finance spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said. “National’s tax cut bribes have historically benefitted people on high incomes, and come at the expense of fixing problems like child poverty and the housing crisis. “There...

It’s time for the Government to act to solve the housing crisis as the Reserve Bank again called for stronger Government action, the Green Party said. “The Government is moving too slowly and cautiously on housing, but actually there are many things it could do right now that would make a difference, including a proper capital gains tax (excluding the family home),” Green Party finance spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said. “The Government’s blaming everyone but itself for the housing crisis,...

The Government can start the clean-up of the foreign trust industry as early as tonight by supporting the Green Party’s proposed changes to a Government tax bill being voted on this evening. Green Party finance spokesperson Julie Anne Genter will put forward an SOP to the Government’s Taxation (Transformation: First Phase Simplification and Other Measures) Bill that will require trustees, settlors, and beneficiaries of foreign trusts to disclose to the IRD their name, date of birth, address, passport number and...

The Government’s financial update today shows its focus on maintaining a wafer-thin surplus has come at the expense of real ideas about how to tackle the big economic problems we face, like child poverty, unemployment, and the housing crisis, the Green Party said. Government Financial Statements for the nine months to 31 March 2016, the last update before the Budget on 26 May, showed a modest $167 million operating balance before gains and losses and net government debt of $63.3...

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Simon Bridges’ lacklustre electric vehicle announcement today will do little to increase the number of electric vehicles on New Zealand roads, the Green Party said today. “Sadly, National has failed to make electric cars more affordable and accessible for New Zealanders,” said Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter. “The policy is actually unfair and counterproductive. Those wealthy enough to afford electric vehicles will be exempt from paying to maintain the roads we all drive on, and will be allowed...

The Government’s failure to fix Auckland’s broken housing market has forced the Reserve Bank to keep the Official Cash Rate (OCR) higher than normal hurting exporters and jobs, the Green Party said today. The Reserve Bank kept the OCR unchanged today at 2.25 percent despite economic conditions that favour further cuts. The Bank cited high Auckland house prices and a need for additional housing supply there. “Housing market pressures are building in some other regions,” it added. “National’s failure to...

27 April 2016 National should let KiwiRail compete for funding from the enormous roading budget and scrap the two-tiered funding system which grossly favour costly highway projects, the Green Party said today. The comments come following a report by KiwiRail showing it considered shutting down its entire freight business to meet the Government’s requirements to deliver a short-term profit. “The $3 billion a year in National’s transport budget should be opened-up to be invested in rail, not just roads," said...