Category: Green Party

Source: Green Party

The Coalition is trying to axe yet another opportunity to improve rentals by dropping the Residential Property Managers Bill.

“This Government of landlords, by landlords, is trying to quietly shred nearly two decades of work towards basic regulations for property managers. They evidently don’t have the spine to stand up and tell nearly one and a half million renters that they don’t care about their living standards – but actions speak louder than words,” says Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. 

“In the hope no one was watching, last night the Government sent out a press release telling the Social Services Committee to end its months-long consideration of regulations for property managers on the eve of reporting back to Parliament. 

“This is not only Ministerial overstep, not only a slap in the face to New Zealanders who organised themselves to engage in the democratic process by submitting, but yet another example of this Government’s disdain towards the most basic improvements in renters’ lives.

“I’ve written to the Social Services Committee to remind them that there is a constitutional separation of powers between the legislature and the executive. The power to end consideration of the Bill sits with them, not the Minister. The least they can do is their due diligence and report back to the House, making it clear precisely what the Minister is trying to quietly put in the bin.

“Everything about this Government is back to the future. Over 15 years ago, in 2007, National members in Opposition argued for the Real Estate Agents Act to extend regulation to property managers. Then they got into Government and canned it. Last year, the Nats voted for the Bill at First Reading, but now they’re trying to stop it even before finishing full consideration by the Select Committee.

“Only a few months ago, National and Labour were in a scrap about the number of landlords in this country. The honest truth is, neither really seem to want to know. The answer lies in progressing this Property Managers Bill and extending it to a landlord register, which even property managers have argued for in public hearings.

“What’s this Government so scared of? A bit of accountability and proper democratic process? Or, perhaps, the one and a half million renters in Aotearoa realising their collective power to turf them out?” says Chlöe Swarbrick. 

Source: Green Party

The Green Party is renewing its call for rent controls following reports of rental prices hitting an all-time high.

“Landlords are the only people who are being well-served by our Government. People who rent are already struggling with sky high rents – and can see very clearly the lie that tax cuts for landlords will trickle down to help,” says Green Party Housing spokesperson Tamatha Paul. 

Properties on Trade Me’s rental index have risen by an average of $50 in the last year, bringing the national median rental price to $650.

“The government has given landlords a $2.9 billion tax break at a time when rents are skyrocketing and families are struggling to put food on the table. Landlords are laughing their way to the bank. 

“An increasing number of people in New Zealand have no choice but to rent. If we want renting to be attractive, dignified and affordable, we need controls on rent increases, a rental warrant of fitness, and to urgently build new housing.

“The Government must stop tipping the playing field so heavily in landlords’ favour. Rental housing is in a dire and deteriorating state and requires urgent action. 

“For decades, successive governments have normalised sub-standard housing in Aotearoa that is so bad it hospitalises people with preventable illnesses. Thousands of children are admitted to hospital each year from living in damp, mouldy homes.

“Housing is a human right. We can and must ensure it is afforded to all,” says Tamatha Paul. 

Source: Green Party

The Government’s resource management reforms will add to the heavy and ever-growing burden this Government is loading on to our environment. 

“This legislation will accelerate the decline of our natural world and add fuel to the climate crisis fire in what is another classic case of environmental mismanagement from this Government,” says Green Party environment spokesperson Lan Pham. 

“This is an absurd dereliction of duty that will do nothing to build the infrastructure New Zealand needs, and will instead accelerate environmental decline. 

“The Government is hellbent on pushing our natural environment to the brink, exploiting everything it can for any profit that can be squeezed out of it.

“Halting work to protect significant natural areas will harm indigenous biodiversity, destroying the plants and animals that set Aotearoa apart from the rest of the world. 

“The repeal of winter grazing regulations will worsen the pollution in our waterways and increase the level of harm our animals are exposed to. For decades, successive governments have allowed farms to be run like factories, with a profit-at-any-cost approach. This represents another step in the wrong direction. 

“Easing the consenting process for coal mining is as unscientific as it is dangerous for both people and planet. If anyone needed one basic rule for dealing with the climate crisis it would be to stop burning fossil fuels.

“The actions of this Government will go down in history as the most anti-environment we have ever seen. 

“Winding back freshwater protections will accelerate the demise of one of our most precious natural resources. Due to decades of neglect, many of our rivers and lakes are unsafe to swim in, whilst native freshwater species that depend upon the health of our water face extinction. This situation is urgent, something the Government is choosing to ignore.

“Nearly half (45 per cent) of New Zealand’s total river length was not suitable for activities like swimming between 2016 and 2020 based on Campylobacter infection risk. A shocking 68 per cent of indigenous freshwater birds were threatened with extinction or at risk of becoming threatened in 2021. It is now also estimated that only 10 percent of our historic wetlands remain, despite these being vital for the survival of many threatened plants and animals.

“Future generations will remember this Government for its blatant disregard of the natural world,” says Lan Pham.

Source: Green Party

Resurrecting the archaic three-strikes legislation is an unwelcome return to a failed American-style approach to justice.

“New Zealand needs a justice system that treats all people with humanity, dignity, and respect. Bringing back the failed three strikes law will lead to grossly unfair results that disproportionately impact Māori, including much harsher sentences than would otherwise be imposed,” says Green Party Justice spokesperson Tamatha Paul.

“It is shameful that New Zealand has one of the highest imprisonment rates in the developed world. This is despite mounting evidence that mass incarceration has failed to bring down rates of crime, keep communities safe, or rehabilitate those in our system.

“The Government is hell-bent on funnelling more and more people into prisons. It is another poorly thought out idea imported from the United States that is designed to do little more than make the Government look ‘tough’. 

“If the Government genuinely cared about addressing people’s concerns about crime then it could take action to address the causes of offending, including mental healthcare, addiction treatment, housing and liveable income support, while introducing a new pathway away from prisons.  

“Imprisonment can and must be seen as a last resort, rather than the failed norm in our system.

“The three strikes law means that mistakes that people might make as teenagers will be with them for their entire life. It means even if you’ve turned your whole life around, you could still end up in prison for life. It means no matter what changes you make towards being a better person, your life is reduced down to these rigid and inhumane three strikes and there’s nothing a judge can do about it,” says Tamatha Paul. 

Source: Green Party

The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. 

Smoke, mirrors and shadows continue to shroud the Government’s fast-track legislation,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. 

“It is outrageous for Minister Bishop to release the list of stakeholders invited to participate in the fast-track process only hours before public submissions close and after thousands of people have already had their say, without crucial information. 

“The Government is trying its very best to do democracy in the dark by obscuring and restricting the information available to the public whilst limiting the opportunity people have to engage. 

“The list released this afternoon includes organisations that have lost cases in the Environment, High and Supreme Courts, failing to meet our environmental standards and now being given the opportunity by the Government to use this legislation to bypass them. 

“We join Forest and Bird in its call for the submissions period to be extended so members of the public are able to have their say whilst armed with the incredibly salient information the Government has decided to release in the final hour. 

“If Minister Bishop was truly committed to transparency he would have released this list at the start of the submissions period, not the end and without the input of the Ombudsman. 

“The Government can either rectify this by extending the submissions period or choose to continue to build on its democracy-dodging legacy by once again skirting around due process. The choice is simple,” says Marama Davidson. 

Source: Green Party

The Government’s policy announced today to ease consenting for coal mining will have a lasting impact across generations. 

“Today the Government has announced the latest frontier in its relentless assault on our planet, easing the path for more climate-heating coal mining,” says Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. 

“The window of opportunity to respond to the climate emergency is quickly closing. The International Energy Agency has made it crystal clear that if we want to limit global warming within the 1.5 degrees tipping point, we must be phasing out the use of fossil fuels, not ramping it up. 

“Coal is the dirtiest of fossil fuels and its extraction and burning costs our planet and the next generation greatly. The Government must realise its actions now will have serious ramifications for our immediate future, manifesting all the more climate-charged extreme weather events and tragedies.

“The Government are telling us they don’t care about our shared future. When someone shows you who they are, believe them.

“With Green action in Government over the last six years, total use of coal dropped by over 30% in 2022. With the lowest levels of consumption in 22 years, the last thing any of us need is the coalition ramping up coal mining.

“Instead of throwing coal, oil and gas on the climate crisis fire and gutting climate action across every single policy area as the Government has, we can and must make evidence-based, real-world steps to keep warming below 1.5degrees like our lives depend on it, because they do.”

Source: Green Party

The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. 

So much of what people value about Aotearoa is under threat from this government’s anti-environment power grab. If we are going to stop them we need as many voices as possible,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. 

“Right now, MPs on the Select Committee are accepting public submissions on this terrible law. It is a crucial opportunity for our communities to make their thoughts and feelings known – but there is only one week to go. 

“Thousands have already signed our open letter warning the Prime Minister that this government’s blatant disregard for environmental protection has no place in Aotearoa.

“Now we are organising for as many submissions as possible directly to the select committee, which are crucial for showing MPs directly that New Zealanders value nature over industry profit. 

“Despite the best efforts of the Government to dress this up as due process with shallow advisory boards and panels, the fact remains that Ministers are handing themselves extraordinary powers to approve projects that could include new coal mines, mining on parts of our precious conservation estate, and the destruction of the seabed.

“Politics doesn’t just happen every three years with an election. It happens every day with decisions made by people in power. This power ultimately rests with the people and the Green Party will fight to ensure it is felt by the Government,” says Marama Davidson. 

Source: Green Party

The Government’s announcement on tenancy rules prove that it does not care about renters. 

“We have a Government that thinks it is running a company not a country, and treats housing as a business. Housing is a human right, and every person deserves a warm, safe and affordable home, whether they own that home or not,” says Green Party Housing spokesperson Tamatha Paul. 

“Today’s announcement has made it crystal clear that this Government is not pro-tenant but pro-self interest. 

“Home ownership rates in New Zealand have drastically reduced over the past three decades, with more and more children growing up in rental housing and more and more elderly New Zealanders struggling to make ends meet while paying high rents. In particular, in Aotearoa today Māori are more likely to rent than own their homes, despite being tangata whenua. 

“Bringing back no-cause evictions will be a constant reminder to renters that they are at the whim of their landlord. It means constantly being on edge about whether you are secure in your home or not. 

“Removing tenants’ right to renew their lease at the end of a fixed-term means that people will be moving houses every year. If we want renting to be seen as a long-term, viable option in Aotearoa, as it is in many countries with greater housing security, then we must make sure that renters can see their house as a home. 

“I constantly hear horror stories about renters who have been kicked out for something as simple as putting blue tack on the walls and renters who have to pack up their whole lives and move around constantly. It completely unsettles people just trying to live their lives, and it can be distressing for children who are displaced from the communities they know and the schools they go to. The playing field is uneven and these changes to tenancy rules further tip the balance in favour of landlords.

“In New Zealand, we have a mega-landlord Prime Minister, and we have a Government made up of landlords. What we are seeing is politicians serving their own interests.

“If the Government were serious about improving things for renters, they would be building more public housing – not making it easier to kick people out,” says Tamatha Paul. 

Source: Green Party

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. 

The Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill would empower consumers with more of a right to repair their products, minimising waste and reducing costs. 

“Too much of what we use ends up in landfill burdening our environment and also our pockets. This can change. Instead of an economy of obsolescence and throw-away culture where products often fail to last we can choose to progress towards a more sustainable and affordable society,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. 

“This Bill would require manufacturers to produce repair parts and provide resources to allow consumers to extend the life cycle of the products they use. 

“For anyone who uses a phone, fridge, toaster, television, an appliance of any shape or size, this Bill would make life a lot easier in enhancing the longevity of the resources we use to navigate our everyday lives. 

“The European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, France and other parts of the world are all implementing regulations of this nature as part of this global push towards more sustainable consumption. Here in Aotearoa, Consumer NZ has been pushing for a similar law change and I’m proud to have taken up that call through this member’s bill. 

“The longer we can keep products in use, the less emissions and waste pollution we produce in manufacturing and transporting new products. My Bill would provide a stronger pathway for people to repair and maintain the goods they buy. It would be a strong step towards building the circular economy we need to sustain a healthy planet and liveable climate. 

“This Bill combines climate action with cost of living relief. We can build a better future for ourselves whilst also enhancing our daily lives of the present. 

“I look forward to working with Parliamentary colleagues of all stripes towards progressing this Bill through the House,” says Marama Davidson.

Source: Green Party

A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. 

“Fairness is at the heart of this Bill. We had a group of New Zealand citizens who had their citizenship recognised and then had their citizenship removed by statute. That is unfair.” says Green Party spokesperson for Pacific Peoples Teanau Tuiono.

Teanau Tuiono’s Restoring Citizenship Removed By Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill would restore the right to citizenship for people from Western Samoa who were born between 1924 and 1949, fixing a cruel and targeted law from the Muldoon era. 

“In 1982, the Government rushed through the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act to deny New Zealand citizenship to Western Samoans. 

“Earlier that year, the Privy Council found that because those born in Western Samoa were treated by New Zealand law as “natural-born British subjects”, they were entitled to New Zealand citizenship when it was first created in 1948. But the Muldoon Government took that right away – choosing to scapegoat a community over the rule of law.

“In March 2003 during the Government, a petition with over 90,000 signatures calling for the law’s repeal was presented to Parliament – but nothing changed.

“There are people alive today who were New Zealand citizens and had this right arbitrarily and egregiously removed through a shameful act. It is well past time to remove this law and put things right, and I’m honoured to have taken a step towards that today. 

“I want to acknowledge my brother Faʻanānā Efeso Collins. I wish he was standing in this house today, and his leadership will continue to guide my mahi on this important Bill. This first reading is for him. 

“I thank other parties for their support so far and call for continued cooperation to ensure the safe passage of this Bill into law. Together we can reconcile our past and forward as peoples who call the Pacific home,” says Teanau Tuiono. 

Additional information:

• New Zealand citizenship wasn’t created until 1948. Before then, New Zealanders were British subjects
• At the time citizenship was created, New Zealand was administering present day Samoa (known until 1997 as Western Samoa)
• In 1982, Falema‘i Lesa, a Samoan citizen living in New Zealand, was prosecuted for overstaying. She argued she wasn’t overstaying, as she said she was a New Zealand citizen
• The Privy Council ruled that, because earlier NZ legislation had treated those born in Western Samoa after 13 May 1924 as “natural-born British subjects” for the purposes of NZ law, that cohort of people received NZ citizenship when NZ established its own citizenship in 1948
• The Muldoon Government acted swiftly and in 1982 passed the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982
• The 1982 Act removed NZ citizenship from those people who, under the earlier NZ legislation, had NZ citizenship because they were born in Western Samoa between 13 May 1924 and 1 January 1949, and those claiming citizenship through those people by descent or marriage
• The Restoring Citizenship Removed By Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 would mean that a person whose NZ citizenship was removed by the 1982 Act will be eligible for citizenship as of right, instead of having to go through the standard residency and citizenship application processes.