Green Party MP Marama Davidson will be joining a women’s peace boat in late September which will highlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the Green Party said today. 

The Government must support the use of wahakura and pepi-pods to reduce the rate of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI), particularly for Māori babies who are eight times more likely to die in infancy, the Green Party said today. The NZ Herald reported today that the Government has ignored advice from coroners that wahakura and pepi-pods could reduce the number of children dying from SUDI, and refused to fund their use. Wahakura are woven baskets that give baby a...

The Green Party and Labour will launch an inquiry into the growing homelessness crisis after the Government rejected calls from MPs on the Social Services Select Committee to investigate the issue. “The Government could’ve agreed to take the homelessness crisis seriously by supporting a cross-parliamentary inquiry, but unfortunately they’ve instead chosen to keep ignoring the issue,” said Green Party Social Housing spokesperson Marama Davidson.  “You only have to walk along Courtenay Place and Queen Street to see that homelessness is growing...

The Government needs to urgently reconsider its position to not provide funding for breakfasts and lunches for children who go to school hungry, the Green Party said today. The call comes after an Upper Hutt community group revealed it is struggling to get businesses to support a local school lunch programme, and after a report from the Christian Council of Social Services which showed some parents can’t afford to pay for food as well as pay their rent. “Thousands of...

The Government’s continued undermining of Te Puea Marae is disgraceful, and does a disservice to the homeless people who are being helped by the marae, the Green Party said today. “The Government has spent more time undermining Te Puea Marae than supporting its exceptional work in helping the homeless. Paula Bennett’s office leak is the worst example of this underhanded and unnecessary behaviour,” said Green Party social housing spokesperson Marama Davidson. “The fact is, Te Puea Marae has made the...

New data showing that the number of homeless people in the Auckland CBD has risen 20 percent in the last year shows the Government needs to start building desperately needed homes, the Green Party said today.* “The Government needs to stop joking about homelessness, as the Prime Minister did in Parliament today, and get on with building more houses,” Green Party social housing spokesperson Marama Davidson said. “Families sleeping on the floor of marae, or in their cars, would be...

Kua hinga he tōtara nui o te wao nui a Tāne, kua hinga he rangatira mīharo rawa atu o Ngāti Kahu. E rere haere ana ngā mihi aroha o Te Rōpū Kākāriki ki te whānau pani me ōna iwi whānui e tangi ana i tēnei wā pōuri. The Green Party expresses its sorrow over the passing of Sir Graham Latimer, a great Māori leader of modern times. “Sir Graham Latimer was an inspirational leader, and will be remembered for helping...

New research showing a jump in homelessness in New Zealand is a sign that the Government’s current approach to the issue is failing, the Green Party said today. The University of Otago, Wellington (UOW) study reveals that between the 2006 and 2013 censuses, the number of New Zealanders who are “severely housing deprived” increased from 33,295 to 41,705. The figures do not include people living in emergency accommodation such as night shelters, and do not take into account the three...

News that the only potential buyer for 348 state houses in Invercargill has pulled out of the deal is another blow to the Government’s flawed plan to rid itself of responsibility of state homes and their tenants, the Green Party said today. “The state-house sell-off has been a disaster from day one, and what’s happened in Invercargill is just another example of the Government’s sheer ineptness on this issue,” said Green Party social housing spokesperson Marama Davidson. “This risk now...

Urgent action is needed to increase the supply of warm, healthy rental homes after a TV3 investigation into homelessness and overcrowding in Auckland. “People are saying the housing crisis was ten years in the making. For most of those ten years, National’s been in charge while New Zealand has become a country where families are forced to live in garages and cars,” Green Party social housing spokesperson Marama Davidson said. “Families heading into a winter of sleeping in a cold...