Category: Green Party

Source: Green Party

The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces.

“Christopher Luxon is choosing to prolong the recession and kneecap productivity through merciless cuts,” says the Green Party Co-Leader and Finance spokesperson, Chlöe Swarbrick.

“Today’s HYEFU shows the Government’s trickle-down decisions come at the cost of the very ‘economic growth’ they crow so much about. It doesn’t add up and it doesn’t make sense, and they clearly don’t care.

“For all the bluster, ‘the economy’ is just all of us, the things we make, and the rules we put in place to create the world we want to live in. Under a Green Government, people and planet would be put before profit, through a fairer tax system and a guaranteed minimum income.

“But right now, the Government is redistributing wealth upwards with their trickle-down tax cuts, while gutting public services and infrastructure spending, and shifting costs onto regular people.

“This is the austerity play book: defund public services to failure, watch them fail, then privatise; take the so-called ‘cost’ off the Government’s books and watch those costs rise for regular people.

“Christopher Luxon’s Government wants to play Monopoly when what we need is a responsible Government. It would pay for them to learn that the game was designed to educate children about the pitfalls of an economy premised on land speculation and luck,” says Chlöe Swarbrick.

Source: Green Party

The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many.

“This adds insult to injury for our workers who have been under constant attack under this Government,” says Green Party spokesperson for Workplace Relations, Teanau Tuiono.

“The Green Party’s Income Guarantee provides a clear alternative, a commitment to every New Zealander that no matter what, you will have enough to put food on the table, a safe place to call home, and live a decent life–all paid for with a fair tax system.  

“While the Government claims this move supports its objective of reducing the number of people claiming the Jobseeker benefit, it fails, miserably, to address the reality for many workers. The assertion that work is the pathway out of poverty rings hollow when minimum wage is no guarantee of the ability to pay rent, feed a family, or pay for essential things like healthcare.

“Shockingly, half of children living in poverty live in households whose primary income comes from work. 

“Further, rents are increasing significantly faster than minimum wage increases, with a massive 4.1 per cent increase in rent costs from November last year. The system is failing those it claims to support. 

“Choosing to raise the minimum wage by less than inflation means more people will face mounting debt and will struggle to cover the basics, let alone afford the unexpected costs of medical care, childcare, or urgent repairs. 

“The Government’s decision today does not reflect what New Zealanders deserve. It’s time for bold action that prioritises the well-being of workers and their families, not more pandering to the rich at the expense of the rest of us,” says Teanau Tuiono.

NOTES:

Source: Green Party

Today the ACT-National Coalition Agreement pet project’s findings on “no additional warming” were released.

“Whether it’s climate action or child poverty, Christopher Luxon committed at the election, then quietly tried to change the targets and reduce action while in Government,” says Green Party Co-Leader and spokesperson on Climate Change, Chlöe Swarbrick. 

“There’s a reason climate scientists balked when the Government announced it would review agricultural emissions: it was an obvious smokescreen to lower climate ambition, as the report and Ministerial comments released today make abundantly clear. 

“There’s a reason the Government chose not to give this job to the independent, expert Climate Change Commission, but instead set up their own Ministerial pet project, who were conveniently not allowed to consider the impacts of so-called ‘no additional warming’ from agriculture in the context of all of our climate targets and strategy.

“The Climate Change Commission and Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment have explained time and again that a ‘no additional warming’ approach would mean every other part of our society and economy will carry a far higher burden, or mean reducing our necessary contribution to the global fight for climate action.

“Christopher Luxon should be thoroughly embarrassed to have been hoodwinked by lobbyists who have tried and failed this grift in Australia. Then again, we’re talking about the same guy who decided to throw our constitution to the wind to form a Government despite the Treaty Principles Bill not being anyone’s bottom line.

“Enough is enough. Climate Minister Simon Watts, will you please stand up?” says Chlöe Swarbrick.

Source: Green Party

The Government’s decision to axe all Humanities and Social Science research funding through the Marsden Fund is a massive step backwards.  

“Social sciences are critical in shining a light on some of the injustices and inequalities of society, things this Government would prefer to keep in the dark,” says the Green Party Spokesperson for Science and Research Scott Willis.

“We can and must invest in social science research, it forms a critical part of the ongoing critique and improvement of the society we all live in. It is essential for understanding and addressing the big challenges we face.

“If we are to counter the rise of misinformation and disinformation, and concerning trends such as the lurch towards authoritarianism and ‘alternative facts’, then we need to have a well-resourced social science and humanities sector.

“Today’s announcement compounds the pattern we’ve seen from very early on in this Coalition’s tenure of undermining the science community while ignoring the advice that comes from it. 

“This ideology-driven Government doesn’t value evidence-based policy where it doesn’t align with its focus on short-sighted economics. 

“The uncertainty this creates among a sector that is already chronically under-funded cannot be under-estimated.

“The Government has a key role in encouraging and supporting high-quality research for the benefit of New Zealand. 

“We can and must invest in research if we want to find answers to our most pressing problems,” says Scott Willis.

Source: Green Party

Today’s Government announcement to limit farm forestry conversions tinkers around the edges, instead of focusing on the real problem and stopping pollution at the source.

“Banking on pine trees to cut pollution is barely a band-aid on a gas leak,” says Green Party Climate Change spokesperson, Chlöe Swarbrick.

“The Government’s changes are an acknowledgement that there’s a problem in converting productive, food-growing land into biodiversity-squashing pine plantations, but they stop far short of fixing that problem.

“Polluters will still be allowed to wave away their obligations to reduce emissions by simply planting pines. Basically, you get to keep pouring gas on the climate crisis fire if you can afford to stockpile credits.

“The current rules in the ETS can’t be relied on to change the behaviour of our worst emitters. 

“The real solution is cutting emissions at the source, driving structural change, and ensuring sustainable land use practices.

“It’s beyond time to re-think forestry offsets and focus properly on gross emission reduction.

“Carbon sequestration must be effective and sustainable when it is deployed. That means permanent native forests, which support our unique biodiversity and ecosystems.

“A real emissions reduction strategy requires stopping pollution at the source and rehabilitating native biodiversity. We can’t wait to unveil our Alternative Emissions Reduction Plan this coming weekend, for a system that works for people and planet, instead of exhausting both,” says Chlöe Swarbrick.

Source: Green Party

The Government’s new initiative to get people off the benefit won’t address the core drivers of poverty such as low incomes, lack of access to adequate housing and lack of employment opportunities. 

“This shallow, soundbite policy will see poverty continue to proliferate,” says the Green Party’s Social Development Spokesperson, Ricardo Menéndez March.

“People deserve to live in dignity, they deserve to be supported in times of need. We can afford to look after one another, all that is missing is the political will. 

“No number of check-ins by Work and Income staff will make up for the fact that benefit levels are below the poverty line, push people into debt, and create toxic stress for families. No number of check-ins will make up the fact that this is a Government that actively relied on increasing unemployment to lower inflation.

“If the Government was serious about lifting people out of poverty and enabling them to meet their potential, they would be guaranteeing liveable incomes to ensure people can participate in their communities with choice and dignity.

“Adding new responsibilities for Work and Income staff without fixing benefit levels and bolstering the MSD workforce is setting both people on the benefit and case managers to fail. 

“The soaring numbers of people on benefits are no accident; they are a direct consequence of this government’s slash-and-burn approach to job cuts and public service funding. 

“Sanctions, work-for-the-dole programs, and punitive measures simply do not work. All they achieve is perpetuating cycles of hardship, widening inequality, and creating barriers for people to get back on their feet.

“Successive governments have made bold promises to address poverty and unemployment, but the playbook has failed to change. 

“Instead of putting a new coat of paint on a broken system, the Greens will end poverty by introducing a guaranteed minimum income, paid for by a fairer tax system.

“It’s time for policies that build resilience and opportunity, not more blame and burden for those who need support the most,” says Ricardo Menéndez March.

Source: Green Party

In an interview with Q&A this morning, the Prime Minister refused to say whether he would commit to meeting the Paris Agreement, the international climate agreement which commits all countries to act locally to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees.

“Climate commitments aren’t numbers on a page to be toyed with at political whim. They’re hard scientific limits, requiring each country to do our bit for a liveable planet,” says Green Party Co-Leader and spokesperson for Climate Change Chlöe Swarbrick.

“This morning, Christopher Luxon basically told the nation he didn’t care, refusing to commit to meeting the promises we’ve made internationally as recently as last week with his Climate Minister at COP29.

“Change is unfortunately already locked in because of decades of political neglect. We’ve seen the consequences in ever more frequent climate change charged weather events ravaging rural and urban Aotearoa. Political leaders today are actively choosing whether to make that worse, or to act with urgency.

“When the man who styles himself a CEO focussed on targets and deliverables tells you he doesn’t want to commit to meeting the hard scientific limits for our collective survival, he’s telling you he cares more about profit than people or the planet.

“Climate change has been created by extractive, short-term economic thinking exemplified by Christopher Luxon’s so-called leadership. 

“A better world is possible.

“Next weekend the Greens will unveil our alternative Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP), which will make crystal clear that we can have an economy that supports people and the planet, instead of exploiting and exhausting both,” says Chlöe Swarbrick.

Source: Green Party

The Green Party says the report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Covid-19 Response underlines the need for proper investment in our health system so we are prepared for future pandemics. 

“We need to support our health system so it’s in a position to support our communities through any future pandemics,” says the Green Party Health Spokesperson Hūhana Lyndon.

“Any future pandemic response must put the health of our people first. It is also essential that we provide our most vulnerable communities, including our Māori and Pasifika, immunocompromised, disabled, elderly whānau and young people, with the care they need. 

“However, this will be near impossible under a health system reduced to its bare bones. 

“The Commissioner has noted how he’d be concerned if he was in a country that was cutting back its public health services while a pandemic remains a possibility. Unfortunately, that is the situation we are in now.

“The report’s recommendations make clear the health system should be more resilient and prepared, and this requires adequate resourcing. That won’t happen if the Government keeps slashing and burning jobs in public health. 

“The report also highlighted that the pandemic response had glaring gaps where it related to Māori, with the disadvantages they already faced in healthcare being exacerbated in the pandemic response. We must ensure our response to future pandemics does not worsen such inequities. 

“Despite the disparities, Māori were very effective at employing local networks to provide support on the front line in various lockdown stages, which speaks to the benefits of having pandemic response strategies developed with tangata whenua. It’s critical that Māori are included in all phases of the response. 

“The Government must begin to build an equitable health system that prioritises our most vulnerable communities and is well prepared to weather future pandemics,” says Hūhana Lyndon.

Source: Green Party

The Government’s directive to councils to increase bus and train fares substantially over the next few years is a bitter pill to swallow for communities across the country.

“Increasing the price to use public transport will be a disaster,” says the Green Party’s Transport spokesperson, Julie Anne Genter.

“Aotearoa was once a country where buses, electric trams and passenger trains were affordable, accessible, and available right across the country. It can be again.  

“The Coalition Government is now forcing public transport fares up further, adding more pressure on families and young people already struggling to make ends meet. 

“The Government’s changes to public transport could result in fares more than doubling in some regions. This comes after they cancelled free and half-price public transport for children and young people earlier this year. 

“It’s bad for the climate, bad for our cities, and it hurts those on low incomes most of all.

“This directive will make it much harder and more expensive for people to get around their towns and cities.

“It will also force some people to use cars instead, which means more traffic, air pollution and emissions.

“It makes no sense, when we must collectively reduce emissions, and when the economy is still reeling from layoffs and cancelled projects, to increase public transport fares. 

“Actions speak louder than words. Simeon Brown’s agenda is the opposite of climate action and is completely out of touch with what our cities need.  

“The Coalition Government must commit to funding a public transport network for the benefit of everyone in this country and for the good of the planet,” says Julie Anne Genter.

Source: Green Party

Support staff across Aotearoa have been dealt yet another devastating blow with the release of the latest collective agreement offer from the Government.

The proposed settlement offers a 0% pay increase to the vast majority of staff and caps increases for others at a mere 1.25%. On top of this, no commitments have been made on critical issues such as sick leave, job security, professional learning and development, or mileage.

“This appalling offer is a slap in the face to the essential support staff who keep our schools running,” says the Green Party’s Education Spokesperson, Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan.

“These staff members are essential to the education, care, and stewardship of our tamariki and rangatahi every single day. Today’s offer shows how little the government values their contribution.

“This offer doesn’t just fall short; it outright dismisses the value of education as a fundamental public good. We cannot continue to treat the public services we all rely on as a business with constant cost and corner-cutting. This approach will come at a serious expense to our communities. 

“This offer speaks to the lack of care and consideration this Government has for anything that isn’t tax cuts for the wealthy. Prioritising trickle-down tax cuts at the expense of our schools, children, and communities sets a dangerous precedent. 

“The Green Party stands with support staff in their call for a fair and equitable resolution that reflects the essential role they play in the education sector. It’s time for the government to put words into action and invest in the future of tamariki in Aotearoa by respecting and properly compensating the staff who support them,” says Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan.

NOTES:

• The pay increase offer amounts to a zero increase to members on all bands who would otherwise receive a step increase during the next three years. Those who are at the maximum available step/grade, and those at the bottom (Grade A Step 1) of the teacher aide scale, are being offered 1.25% + 1% + 1% each year for a three-year term.
• Under this offer, the majority of aides would get nothing more for the next three years than they would receive anyway through annual progression. For example, more than 85% of teacher aides would not receive a pay rise under the Government’s offer.
• The Ministry has advised that aides should view their annual salary progression steps as their ‘pay rise’.