The Green Party says urgent action is needed to soften the blow of inflation for New Zealanders on the lowest incomes.

Stats NZ’s monthly rental and food price indexes released today continue to show that over the last 12 months the essentials have gotten increasingly expensive for thousands of New Zealanders.

The Green Party has published an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for an immediate rent freeze and for that to remain in place until rent controls are made meaningful and permanent.

The Green Party is calling on the Government to simplify the welfare system by getting rid of the complicated calculations that mean many people will not receive Friday’s benefit increase in full.  

The Green Party is calling on the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, David Clark to break up the supermarket duopoly.

The Green Party calls on the Government to stop tinkering and immediately increase benefits to liveable levels, following the release of data by Fairer Futures which shows some of the country’s worst-off families need $300 a week more in support to make ends meet.

The Green Party is calling on the Government to boost support directly to people so they are not put at greater risk by a change in COVID-19 protections, despite the pandemic continuing to take a toll on our communities and public health system.

The Green Party says direct payments to New Zealanders would have provided better support than a temporary cut in fuel tax.

Ending poverty should be part of our public health response, says the Greens today in support of a report from Child Poverty Action Group.

Urgently increasing the supply of public and papakāinga housing now will address what the Salvation Army calls a housing ‘catastrophe’.