Category: Labour Party

The Government must support Northland hapū who have resorted to rakes and buckets to try to control a devastating invasive seaweed that threatens the local economy and environment.

“The Government’s expectation that local Bay of Islands hapū fight a tsunami of caulerpa, a pest seaweed species, with garden rakes is unrealistic,” Labour biosecurity spokesperson Jo Luxton said.

“Government funding of $15 million to combat caulerpa in Northland is not enough. Tonnes of it have washed up on shores following Cyclone Tam.

“Caulerpa is a seaweed that smothers the seafloor and competes with other species for space. It could potentially devastate the local aquaculture industry, and stifle opportunities for the local Māori economy and jobs.

“Local hapū are crying out for government resourcing to control the weed but are being ignored. Instead, they must resort to rakes and buckets to clean up a multimillion-dollar mess.

“Overseas, infested areas have halved local fish stocks and heavily affected tourism jobs.

“Māori aren’t after compensation but want their efforts to be resourced and to be involved in decision making. By ignoring their calls, this is just another kick in the guts for Māori from this government. 

“There are opportunities for the local Māori economy and jobs that could be lost because of this Government’s incompetent response,” Jo Luxton said. 

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Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins joins those mourning the passing of Pope Francis.

“I’m very sad to hear of Pope Francis’ passing. We honour the life and service he gave to people around the world, not just of his own faith, but to all people.

“Throughout his papacy, he showed deep compassion and an unwavering commitment to social justice, inclusion and the dignity of every person.

“He stood up for action on climate change, championed peace through his diplomacy, and advocated for the rights of migrants and refugees.

“His leadership challenged us all to build a fairer and more caring world,” Chris Hipkins said.

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After stonewalling requests for information on boot camps, the Government has now offered up a blog post right before Easter weekend rather than provide clarity on the pilot.

“It’s been almost a year since Christopher Luxon and Karen Chhour celebrated the announcement of their boot camps experiment, and yet, we still don’t have any clarity on what exactly is going on,” Labour’s children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said.

“What’s also worrying is the lack of transparency around a participant running away from the pilot. What went wrong – what lessons were learned? We still don’t know.

“The Government was widely warned this experiment would fail. Decades of evidence shows this, and the Royal Commission uncovered the severe harm that’s happened before.

“When questioned last month, Karen Chhour effectively confirmed her office has been instructing officials to withhold information about the boot camps, which explains the empty update.

“Christopher Luxon and Karen Chhour celebrated the pilot when it was first announced, and now that it’s failed, it’s been radio silence.

“The Minister must stop stonewalling while she is pushing through legislation that will launch boot camps throughout the country.

“If this pilot has failed, New Zealanders deserve to know – it’s their money being spent and their safety that’s at risk,” Willow-Jean Prime said.

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Inflation is rising again and it’s landing hardest on families already stretched thin.

“For the second time this week, families already stretched by rising costs are hit with the news that prices are going up again,” Labour finance and economy spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said.

“It’s not just grocery prices that are high, it’s rates and rents too.”

On Tuesday, figures from Stats NZ showed food prices up 3.5 percent over the past year, with butter up a staggering 64 percent, milk up 16 percent, and meat up more than five percent. Now, new figures show that inflation is up across the board, including rates which have gone up 12.2 percent and rent, up 3.7 percent.

“With the shift to final year fees-free, prospective students are also being hit with a 22.6 percent increase in the cost to study right now. Coupled with rents and food prices, it’s a particularly hard time to be a student,” Barbara Edmonds sai

“The Government has spent billions on tax cuts but made life more expensive for people at the same time. The small amount each week is quickly eaten up by rising costs.

“They scrapped free prescriptions, cancelled half-price public transport, and chose not to lift the minimum wage in line with inflation. These are their choices, and it’s made life harder for New Zealanders.

“Nicola Willis also won’t say if she’s about to cut the Best Start or Winter Energy Payments. These are vital safety nets which help new parents pay the bills and older New Zealanders heat their homes in winter.

“These price hikes occurred before U.S. tariffs hit and there’s a lot of uncertainty ahead. Families need reassurance and real support, not more cuts and complacency,” Barbara Edmonds said.

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The Government’s health infrastructure plan is big on promises but coy on where the money is coming from.

“Simeon Brown says that more than $20 billion is needed but says nothing about where that will be magicked up from,” Labour leader Chris Hipkins said.

“Labour had a plan to fix Nelson Hospital’s infrastructure woes, but the National Government kicked that down the road, and is doing it again. Meanwhile, patients put up with wasps in the wards.

“Work was underway on building Dunedin’s much needed new hospital, but National paused it and cost Dunedin residents years of better care because of it.

“The National Government broke the promise it made to New Zealanders that its cuts wouldn’t affect doctors and nurses providing care for communities. But we’ve seen the impact of chaotic cuts all over the country, most recently in Gisborne and Nelson Hospitals, where staff are stretched thin.

“The plan emphasises car parking but there’s very little new infrastructure focussed on improving health for rural communities.

“Labour is the party that invests in health care and health infrastructure, National is the party that makes chaotic cuts, breaks promises, runs our hospitals down and takes New Zealand backwards,” Chris Hipkins said.

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Families already stretched by rising costs will struggle with the news food prices are going up again.

“The weekly shop is a challenge for many families right now, and the rising price of staples like butter and mince won’t help,” Labour finance and economy spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said.

The latest figures from Stats NZ show food prices rose 3.5 percent over the past year, with butter up a staggering 64 percent, milk up 16 percent and meat up more than five percent.

“The Government’s only answer to rising costs has been tax cuts. They cost billions and have disappeared into rising weekly bills for New Zealanders,” Barbara Edmonds said.

“They chose not to lift the minimum wage in line with inflation, taking those on the lowest wages in our country backwards. Rates and insurance have both increased for those who own their home.

“Nicola Willis also won’t commit to not cutting the Best Start or Winter Energy Payments. These are vital safety nets which help new parents pay the bills and our most vulnerable heat their homes in winter.

“Groceries are one of the biggest weekly costs for households, and right now, Kiwis are not getting the support they need to keep up,” Barbara Edmonds said.

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More people could be harmed if Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey does not guarantee to protect patients and workers as the Police withdraw from supporting mental health call outs. 

“Two reported incidents show that by withdrawing the Police’s support from mental health call outs, people suffering severe distress will fall through the cracks, and will miss out on the support and care they deserve,” Labour mental health spokesperson Ingrid Leary said.

“The Government has failed to provide a plan to support mental health workers, patients and other staff when people detained under the Mental Health Act are brought into emergency departments. 

“The Government said it had a plan for Police to reduce the amount of time they stay with a person detained under the Mental Health Act in an emergency department, but it’s being pushed through too fast.

“Staff in our hospitals are already reporting high levels of violence in their workplace. Withdrawing Police without trained safe staff to step in puts everyone at risk.

“Matt Doocey is compromising worker and patient safety and is failing to deliver the mental health support he promised New Zealanders. He should be held accountable if more incidences of harm are reported,” Ingrid Leary said.

“While in Government, we were developing a plan to phase in mental health co-response teams nationally to respond to 111 calls for people experiencing mental distress,” Labour Police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said.

“However, rushing through the withdrawal of Police support is irresponsible when there is no additional mental health workforce in place.”

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More children are going hungry and statistics showing children in material hardship continue to get worse.

“I’m worried about children in this country, who seem to be becoming more and more of an afterthought by the day,” Labour child poverty reduction spokesperson Jan Tinetti said.

“The Government has reversed the measure Labour put in place to ensure benefits rise with the average wage – which the Children’s Commissioner said at the time was the single best thing a government could do to lift children out of poverty.

“They are running the school lunch programme into the ground, meaning more children aren’t getting the hot, healthy meal that was sometimes their only one in the day.
“They’ve squeezed lower-paid Kiwis, by refusing to lift the minimum wage in line with inflation – while at the same time they are failing to tackle cost of living issues like they promised.

“They cut public services for measly tax cuts, which have been more than offset by their decisions to cut free prescriptions, cut free and half-price public transport, and introduced a rebate scheme for childcare that isn’t delivering what was promised.

“Just this week, Nicola Willis wouldn’t commit to not cutting the best start payment, which helps out new parents and the winter energy payment which helps families heat their homes in winter.

“The Government must prioritise investment in children and stop making cuts that make families’ lives harder,” Jan Tinetti said.

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