A new Human Rights Commission campaign to recognise the impacts of domestic violence in the workplace can be immediately addressed by the Government by adopting Green Party MP Jan Logie’s member bill. The members’ bill, the Domestic Violence Victims’ Protection Bill, provides for domestic violence leave to support staff. The Warehouse and some Government agencies, like the GCSB, are proactively offering this as good employers. “Maintaining employment helps women by supporting their independence and keeping them linked into their community. ...

Women around the country now have a much simplified pathway to being paid fairly following the Government’s acceptance of the Joint Working Group’s recommendations on equal pay, the Green Party said today. The Joint Working Group on the principles of equal pay – led by the NZ Council of Trade Unions, Business NZ, and Government representatives – submitted its recommendations to Cabinet earlier this year. “Women have been underpaid and undervalued for too long, and it’s about time the Government...

Families of children with disabilities are struggling unnecessarily when Government support is only theoretically, but not practically, available, the Green Party said today. Child Poverty Action Group’s report out today Barriers to support – Uptake of the Child Disability Allowance in Otara found that many parents of children with disabilities are not currently receiving the Government Child Disability Allowance (CDA) available. “Families are struggling unnecessarily to ensure that kids get the care that they need, and Government systems should make...

The real cost of living has grown more for people on low incomes, beneficiaries, and superannuitants than it has for people on moderate and high incomes under National, the Green Party said today. New data from Statistics NZ’s Household Living-costs Price Indexes shows the effect of rent and power bills rising faster than the general rate of inflation. Low-expenditure households have seen their living costs rise twice as much as high-expenditure households since 2008. “National has built an economy where...

The community sector is stressed out and needs a government that supports them properly, especially in the face of large scale Child Youth and Family (CYF) reform, the Green Party said today. The ComVoices State of the Sector Survey, released yesterday, shows that almost half of community organisations are worried about their financial viability, with around a quarter of surveyed organisations only be able to sustain their organisation through reserves for a year or less. “When the majority of notifications...

A huge leap in Special Needs Grants show that more and more New Zealanders cannot afford the basics of life, the Green Party said today. Figures released from the Ministry of Social Development late yesterday show that in the last year there has been a 46.4 percent increase in Special Needs Grants payments, which people apply for to pay for things including emergency housing and food. The total amount of hardship assistance provided by the Government has increased 27.4 percent...

Changing the age of care for young people in state care up to 21 is a good step, but will need better financial resourcing to work, the Green Party said today. Young people will soon have increased levels of support available past the age of 17 under new Child, Youth, and Family (CYF) reforms that the Government has announced today. The age of care is being increased for young people in state care to 21 years old, with transition support...

A United Nations report has today directly challenged New Zealand to take action to address child poverty, including establishing a national definition of poverty, according to Metiria Turei, co-leader of the Green Party.

New figures out today reveal a bleak trend for New Zealand women, with the gender pay gap continuing to grow, the Green Party said today. Figures from the Labour Market Statistics: June 2016 quarter show an increase in the gender pay gap from 11.8% to 12%. Four years ago, the gender pay gap was $9.1%. “The fact that there’s still such large imbalance in pay shows how far we have to go on getting women a fair go,” Green Party...

New figures out today reveal a bleak trend for New Zealand women, with the gender pay gap continuing to grow, the Green Party said today. Figures from the Labour Market Statistics: June 2016 quarter show an increase in the gender pay gap from 11.8% to 12%. Four years ago, the gender pay gap was $9.1%. “The fact that there’s still such large imbalance in pay shows how far we have to go on getting women a fair go,” Green Party...