Category: Green Party

Source: Green Party

We need serious investment and solutions into our education system, not a vanity project from David Seymour. 

“Education is not a business and should not be treated as such. Funneling millions into what is essentially a pet project for David Seymour, at a time when teachers are crying out for more resourcing for our public schools, is morally bankrupt and incredibly irresponsible,” says Green Party Education spokesperson Lawrence Xu-Nan.   

“Today’s announcement is another classic case of the Government favouring ideology over evidence. The evidence is clear that kids learn best when schools are at the centre of community support. Charter schools are a distraction – with multiple reports and reviews highlighting the lack of accountability these institutions have. 

“The education of our children is a public good and is something that should not be tampered with for private gain. Handing this responsibility to the private sector showcases serious neglect and highlights the prioritisation of profit over people that is spearheading the direction of this Government. 

“History paints a very lacklustre picture of the performance of charter schools. Teachers, unions and educational experts have made it abundantly clear that they are an option not worth pursuing. 

“This is ultimately a distraction from the core issues we must confront. 

“The solutions for these are at our fingertips, all that is lacking is the political will to address the core drivers behind our educational decline, which are poverty and under-resourcing. 

“We know what we need to do to improve educational outcomes for our kids – it’s not giving money to the private sector to provide schooling, it’s improving our public system and ending poverty to ensure all children have what they need to thrive,” says Lawrence Xu-Nan.

Source: Green Party

This morning’s announcement from the Minister of Transport highlights his lack of ideas and lack of appetite to confront the climate crisis. 

“This Government is on a road to nowhere and completely out of ideas when it comes to building a transport network fit for the 21st Century,” says Green Party Transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter. 

“The single-minded focus on roads and neglect of other modes of transport will see our emissions skyrocket and the efficiency of our transport network decline. 

“The coalition is pouring petrol all over the ever-raging climate crisis fire by incentivising and encouraging car use whilst slashing and burning all the low-cost and low-carbon alternatives available. 

“National is in serious denial about what is needed to solve our transport problems and address the climate crisis. We need significant investment in low-carbon and low-cost alternatives to moving people and goods. 

“Time and time again, this Government has been found in opposition to the evidence in its approach to transport policy. We saw this with the scrapping of the Clean Car Discount and we are seeing it now in the Government prioritising roads over rail, public transport and other initiatives that have been shown across the globe to not only lower emissions but reduce congestion. 

“We need rail of national significance, for freight and people. Our cities need more affordable and frequent public transport. Our regional roads need improvements and safe and appropriate speeds.

“Transport is one of our biggest carbon burdens and is a challenge we must rise to. The solutions are at our fingertips and are being implemented across the world. 

“We either act now or risk total failure to deliver a resilient transport system and habitable climate for our kids,” says Julie Anne Genter. 

Source: Green Party

The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry.

“Just over a year ago our North Island was hammered by deadly and devastating climate-change charged weather events. Many are still grappling with the clean-up, insurance issues and infrastructure gaps. These are the consequences of a warming planet and we must do everything we can to both mitigate climate changing emissions and adapt. Good policy does both,” says Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.

“We are ready and willing to work with all political parties interested in making this happen. We commend Minister Watts for picking up the mantle from Hon. James Shaw to progress critical climate adaptation work in a cross-party manner.

“We encourage everyone and their communities, hapū and iwi to get involved with the Inquiry to have their say.

“Let’s get on with this critical work for people and planet,” says Chlöe Swarbrick. 

A Notice of Motion in Parliament to empower the Finance and Expenditure Committee to conduct an inquiry on climate adaptation has been agreed on by all parties. The inquiry’s purpose is to develop and recommend objectives and principles for the design of a climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. 

Source: Green Party

The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries.

“Poverty is a political choice and this Government is not only choosing to maintain it but also make life even harder for those doing it tough,” says Green Party spokesperson for Social Development and Employment Ricardo Menéndez March.

“Minister Upston and her colleagues in cruelty are doubling down on wanting to punish people in poverty with obligations that have no evidence of supporting people into good employment.

“Without evidence and without a moral compass, this coalition seems hellbent on driving our levels of inequality past the point of return. 

“The Ministry of Social Development confirmed during its Annual Review that there is no evidence work seminars actually help people into employment. 

“The Government does not care about the fact that work seminars have no proof they support people into employment, and are more interested in finding excuses to strip vulnerable people of support and dignity. 

“Instead of punishing people, the Greens are calling for an end to benefit sanctions and an overhaul of employment support so that people who lose their jobs are meaningfully supported into work that matches their skills and aspirations,” says Ricardo Menéndez March.

Source: Green Party

This morning’s pre-Budget speech from the Minister of Finance offered no “meaningful” news on the Government’s trickle-down economics based plans.

“We can expect tax cuts in the form of crumbs for everyone except those who own for a living. These decisions come at the cost of gutting public services, cutting half-price public transport, chopping fees-free prescriptions and slashing benefit increases, making life all the more difficult for anyone but those at the top. The Minister of Finance is basically just saying, let them eat cake,” says Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. 

“The Reserve Bank told us in their Financial Stability report that the Government’s tax cuts for landlords will only increase house prices. It’s a $2.9 billion receipt of where their priorities are.

“Throughout the week, the Minister of Finance waved around the OECD’s Report, and before that, the IMF’s. Both told us we desperately need a capital gains tax for a fairer and more productive economy, as have the Minister’s own officials at Treasury.

“This Government needs to stop taking New Zealanders for chumps. The Minister said it herself: the Government’s tax cuts will be modest. However, the price we pay for them will be monumental. 

“There’s a reason one of the Government’s top priorities before Christmas was to quietly shred IRD’s public reporting requirements on the fairness of the tax system.

“Poverty is a political choice and this Government is telling us they’re intent on growing inequality. When someone tells you who they are, believe them,” says Chlöe Swarbrick. 

Source: Green Party

On Radio New Zealand this morning, the Justice Minister stated the Government was considering ending election day enrolments.

“The Government’s flirting with ending election day enrolments hints at a frightening degree of disdain for democracy and people’s right to have their say. It smacks of the politics of Trump’s America,” says Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. 

“Accessible elections are critical to a functional, inclusive democracy. Any imposed barrier is rightfully open to serious criticism of voter suppression. We’ve seen similar measures disproportionately harm marginalised communities in the likes of the United States.

“Who benefits when we limit people’s ability to engage in our democracy? It’s not regular people. It’s the lobbyists and mega-corporates keen to fast-track their wishlists.

“The Government has already made a mockery of Parliamentary convention since the election, justifying ramming through policies they did not campaign on – like winding back smokefree regulations and public reporting on the fairness of our tax system – in the blink of an eye. Even for them, there’s got to be a line somewhere, and there’s nothing more sacrosanct than free and fair elections.

“The Greens are calling on the Government to immediately rule out any consideration of ending same-day enrolment and voting to put this issue to bed. You’d hope all of Parliament could agree on the importance of upholding accessible elections,” says Chlöe Swarbrick.  

Source: Green Party

The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations.

“This is a big win for Wellingtonians who want to see more affordable housing close to where they work, study, and socialise,” says the Green Party’s Wellington Issues and Housing spokesperson Tamatha Paul.

“We’re encouraged by the minister’s decision to take up the Council’s decisions and help make the capital a more liveable city with the required residential intensification.

“To everyone who got involved and made their voices heard in favour of more housing, thank you. Today’s decision shows what’s possible when people organise around a vision for their communities.

“Minister Bishop has agreed with most of the Council’s recommendations for zoning including those relating to development around Adelaide Road, the walkable catchment around the City Centre Zone, character precincts, building heights and controls on the interface of the City Centre Zone and the Johnsonville train line.

“This is encouraging to see, and represents an endorsement of the Wellington City Council’s processes for implementing the District Plan: the Intensified Streamlined Planning Process and the Medium Density Residential Standards system.

“I’d like to mihi to the Wellington City Council, particularly Mayor Tory Whanau, on the ongoing work it’s doing in this area, after several years of grind and consultations at the community level. To see the government endorsing the Plan means we’re one step closer to the goal of being a truly inclusive modern capital city,” Tamatha Paul says.

Minister Bishop has decided not to remove ten buildings from the schedule of heritage buildings in the District Plan.

Tamatha Paul says she looks forward to working further with Minister Bishop on de-listing of earthquake-prone and otherwise dangerous heritage buildings to create a more fit-for-purpose system.

Source: Green Party

Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land.

This Members Bill, which was drawn from the ballot today and will be debated in Parliament, aims to address a flaw in the Public Works Act 1981 whereby Māori freehold and customary land can be acquired by a Minister or local authority for public works, without the consent of affected Māori communities.

“Not one more acre of whenua Māori should be taken by the Crown, and I am calling on all political parties to support my bill to protect Maori land from confiscation under the Public Works Act,” says Green Party Māori Development spokesperson Hūhana Lyndon.

“For many Māori, the confiscation of land is not just a memory of the Land Wars and their legacy, but something that is still confronting them in the present.

“The Public Works Act was one of the key mechanisms which facilitated the alienation of Māori land. The powers of compulsory acquisition in the Act cut across the Treaty guarantee of rangatiratanga.

“The Waitangi Tribunal found that the Crown must actively protect Māori interests, and this is what my Bill seeks to do, by protecting the small amount of Māori land left from compulsory acquisition – thus giving primacy to Article Two of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

“The Green Party’s Hoki Whenua Mai commitment aims to prevent whenua Māori being taken in future and provide a clearer path for the return of land previously taken.

“Ko tēnei te wā kia whakatika – the time is now to right past wrongs and return land wrongly taken from Māori to Māori, so whānau and whenua can thrive,” Hūhana Lyndon said. 

An earlier iteration of this Member’s Bill was tabled by former Green MP Catherine Delahunty in 2016 but was voted down by the previous National Party-led government. However, Lyndon says Parliament now has a chance to make amends.

Source: Green Party

Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices – and this Government is choosing to make them worse.

“The Government’s $2.9 billion tax cut for landlords has been called out for what it is by our very own central bank: a boost for property speculators at the expense of anyone else who wants a roof over their head,” says Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.

“The Reserve Bank’s Financial Stability Report details that the Government’s economic policies, including restoring tax deductibility for landlords and rolling back the brightline test, will increase house prices and increase demand for existing houses. This is terrible policy that funnels money from renters and workers to landlords and speculators. 

“Meanwhile, we’re none the wiser about how anything new will actually get built, as the Government is planning to roll back the Medium Density Residential Standards and has already torn up Resource Management Act reforms.

“In a nutshell, the Government has handed landlords nearly three billion dollars just to increase house prices and push first home buyers out.

“It’s clear who this Government is here to serve. It’s not regular people, renters, first home buyers or those who work for their income. This is a Government for landlords, by landlords. When someone shows you who they are, believe them,” says Chlöe Swarbrick. 

Source: Green Party

The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. 

“Slashing Government spending mixed with severe job cuts and declining state support will prove to be a catastrophic cocktail for our communities already under significant strain,” says Green Party Social Development and Employment spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March. 

“Today’s unemployment figures, the highest we have seen in three years, show that the Government’s dated and dismal politics are having a marked impact across our communities.

“We will see poverty proliferate under a Government relying on increased unemployment to soften inflation whilst simultaneously cutting benefit increases and looking for any excuse to prevent people from accessing it. 

“Poverty is a political choice, one that successive Governments have chosen not to address. However, with unemployment rising and households experiencing wave after wave of financial strain, there is no better time than the present to end poverty and introduce an Income Guarantee. 

“This is a policy we campaigned on and will continue to push as disparities in wealth widen and the incomes of people on the breadline stagnate. 

“The Income Guarantee is a commitment to every New Zealander that no matter what, your income will never fall below $385 per week, after tax. For couples, our Income Guarantee will be at least $770, and a single parent will always have an income of at least $735.

“Everything we need to make life better for people in Aotearoa is at our fingertips. What’s missing is the political willpower to use it, something that is severely lacking amongst the coalition,” says Ricardo Menéndez March.