Category: Green Party

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.

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.