Vision for NZ missing from PM’s speech

Bill English’s state of the nation speech today lacked vision and leaves New Zealanders with a stark choice about the kind of government they want, the Green Party said.

“The new Prime Minister didn’t talk about the housing crisis, or stagnant wages, or polluted rivers and lakes. These issues aren’t going to go away – in fact, it’s now clear that the only way to fix them is by changing the Government,” said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw.

“New Zealanders can have warm, safe, affordable homes and higher wages but only a Green-Labour government will make those things a reality.

“There was nothing in Bill English’s speech for families who are struggling with the cost of living and housing, or people stuck in traffic just trying to get to work, and there was no commitment to ending child poverty or cleaning up our rivers.

“Bill English said at Rātana that the Government had reached the limits of what it could do for poverty and the economy. From today’s speech it’s clear they’re giving up trying.

“National has had nine years to address the major challenges that we’re facing as a country, whether it’s affordable housing, child poverty, low wages, unswimmable rivers, or climate change. For the ninth year in a row, Bill English and National have come up short.

“The Prime Minister didn’t mention climate change even once, or any environmental issues, when New Zealand has a prime opportunity to help lead the global movement towards a high-value, clean-tech economy.

“It’s important that people feel safe in their communities, but we need to focus on fixing the underlying causes of crime with investment in mental health, drug and alcohol services, and helping people find stable jobs and homes in their communities once they’ve served their time.

“Putting more money into Police is how you catch criminals and fill prisons, but it’s not how you reduce crime,” said Mr Shaw.

Volunteer

The Greens are proud to be driven by passionate people like you. Today we need your help to take action on the biggest issues facing Aotearoa. Volu...

Action

Save Auckland's Climate Budget

Sign the petition to stop Mayor Wayne Brown's proposal for dangerous cuts to climate and environmental programmes that protect us from extreme weat...

Action

No New Mines 2023

Action

Expand Voting

Now more than ever, young people in Aotearoa are impacted by Government decisions, and they deserve to have a say. We are calling on all Members of...

Action

End Intensive Winter Grazing

Sign the petition to Labour Ministers, to move faster in bringing regulations into force and end intensive winter grazing.

Action

Trains for Climate

Add your name to our open letter urging the Minister for Finance Grant Robertson to save our passenger trains between Wellington, the Wairarapa and...

Action

Healthy Oceans 2022

Join our Healthy Oceans Crew to help us keep the health and protection of our oceans high on the Labour Government’s political agenda.

Action

It's time: A Ministry for Rainbow Communities

Join our call asking the Prime Minister to establish a Ministry for Rainbow Communities that can champion Rainbow issues.

Action

No new mines on conservation land

Sign the open letter asking Labour Ministers to stick to their promise of banning new mining projects on conservation land.

Action

Allow community ownership of our buses

Public transport is an essential service and helps to tackle the climate crisis by reducing our carbon emissions. But there are barriers to communi...

Action

Local Events

We have activists across Aotearoa / New Zealand who are working hard to build a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. This page lists upcomin...

Latest Environment Announcements

Story

Green Party calls for stronger action by Auckland Council to protect urban trees and native forest

The Green Party is calling on Auckland Council to do more to protect urban trees and housing developer Aedifice Property Group to restore and repla...

You wood not believe it: Greens secure win for urban trees

The Green Party’s advocacy has secured an amendment to the Natural and Built Environment Bill at a crucial stage of the Parliamentary process to en...

Forestry sector must compensate for slash damage

The Green Party welcomes today’s release of the report of the Ministerial Inquiry into slash and sediment, and are clear that the forestry industry...

Greens launch petition to protect conservation lands from mining by Mineralogy International Limited

The Green Party has today launched a petition calling for conservation land to be protected from mining by big overseas companies such as Mineralog...

National's drought of ideas won't help farmers facing climate change

Christopher Luxon and the National Party have once again presented another lazy, back-of-the-napkin policy to Aotearoa.

Freshwater crisis needs stronger government action

New Zealand’s rivers, lakes and freshwater are in crisis and there needs to be a more ambitious Government plan to clean them up and protect agains...

Story

People need a government that will build many more homes

Labour’s plan to build more homes is a welcome step forward, but it lacks ambition.

Greens welcome launch of Te Ohu Tāmaki and challenges other parties on housing

The Green Party is welcoming the launch of Te Ohu Tāmaki, and affirms its commitment to clear the social housing waitlist in 5 years - and challeng...

Green Party launches Rental WOF Bill

The Green Party has today placed a Rental Warrant of Fitness Bill in the Member’s Ballot.

Marama Davidson Speech - A Home for Everyone

A decent home is the foundation to a decent life. To be warm and dry in your home is a human right.

Green Party makes Pledge to Renters

The Green Party is today making a Pledge to Renters: in the first 100 days of a new government, we will introduce legislation to make sure everyone...

Greens release rental stories collection

The Green Party has today released a collection of stories showing how dire the rental situation is in Aotearoa.

Story

PREFU shows efforts to keep us all healthy, now we need to revenue raise

PREFU has given a good insight into what was required to ensure New Zealanders were largely supported to continue work and remain healthy during CO...

Sustainable business

In the wake of COVID-19, we must empower small businesses in Aotearoa to flourish, create new jobs, and support their local communities. The Green ...

Sustainable jobs

A sustainable economy means good working conditions and fair distribution of the benefits of our natural resources. As we respond to the disruption...

High tech economy

A strong manufacturing and technology sector will create jobs in low-emissions industries and ensure we can sell Aotearoa’s skills to the world. Th...

Green Party welcomes first Wellbeing Budget

“The Green Party is proud to welcome New Zealand’s first Wellbeing Budget to deliver change for New Zealanders,” Green Party Co-leader James Shaw s...

Wellbeing: We need to change how we see our economy

“The Wellbeing Budget is a first step in changing the way we look at the economy and our place in it”, said Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson. ...

Story

Hate speech law fails women, Rainbow and disabled people

The Green Party today welcomed the first reading in Parliament of legislation to protect religious groups from hate speech, but remain concerned th...

Hate speech change welcome, but still leaves communities at risk

The Green Party welcomes hate speech reform to protect religious groups, but is concerned that the exclusion of women, rainbow, and disability comm...

Young people deserve better

The National Party’s plan to put children into military boot camps is so flawed it is dangerous.

Minister Hipkins way off the mark on unlawful Police action

The Green Party is calling on Minister Hipkins to address the underlying causes of crime, rather than to allow for abusive, American-style policing...

Three strikes law gone but not forgotten for many

The repeal of the archaic three strikes law is welcome but it doesn’t go far enough, the Green Party says.

Government must focus on the underlying causes of crime to combat gang violence

We need action to address the underlying causes of crime, not more of the same simplistic solutions that we know do not work and risk harming commu...

Story

Let’s build better, warmer, and climate-friendly

The Government must take steps to ensure that the way we build our homes is helping to meet New Zealand’s climate change targets, the Green Party s...

Sustainable buildings and warm dry homes

Everyone has the right to a warm, dry home. Instead, housing in Aotearoa often makes us sick from damp and cold. In Aotearoa, much of our housing s...

National would rather save landlords some cash than look after sick kids: Green Party

The National Party is more concerned about the back pocket of property investors than sick kids and the elderly, Green Party Co-leader Marama David...

Stop charging homeless people for emergency housing

The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop sending homeless people into thousands of dollars of debt with the Ministry of Social Develop...

Green Party: Building code out of date and won’t ensure warm, dry homes

In response to calls for a compulsory energy rating for buildings the Green Party is renewing calls for the building code to take better account of...

Green Party calling for bold steps to tackle issues in Salvation Army report

The Green Party agrees with the Salvation Army that bold new steps are needed to stop a worrying trajectory of increased rent rises and homelessnes...