Category: Labour Party

The Labour Party is sad to hear of Marama Davidson’s breast cancer diagnosis and is wishing her well.

“Receiving health news like this is never easy, and the Labour Party is wishing Marama Davidson the best for her upcoming surgery and recovery,” Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said.

“We tautoko her message – don’t put off being checked. I am relieved for Marama, her family, friends and colleagues by her comment that this was picked up early.

“I am pleased to hear she will return to continue her work as a Member of Parliament, and we look forward to seeing her back later this year.

“Politics can be robust, but we are all human. It’s moments like these that remind us of that,” Chris Hipkins said.

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The Labour Party has always advocated for strong effective health and safety measures in New Zealand workplaces.

“Unfortunately, for many years we have high levels of workplace fatalities and injuries compared to other countries like the United Kingdom and Australia. Any review must look to reverse these trends and ensure all workers come home safe to their families,” Labour’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson Camilla Belich said.

“Health and safety laws in New Zealand are more than tick boxes and road cones, they are essential to ensure workers, employers and the public are safe.

“The Minister needs to ensure experts, worker’s voices and unions are including in this consultation and that any changes improve, not weaken, the safety of New Zealanders.

“Workers, their families, employers and businesses all want safer workplaces and the Minister should not seek to force a non-existent wedge between these parties through this consultation exercise. What’s needed is effective investment in Worksafe so they can undertake their important role, investment in the plant and structures regulations, and investment in injury prevention.

“Regretfully, the government recently cut funding to Worksafe and for the implementation of these important regulations. I hope this review is not an excuse for the Minister to voice her ideological opposition to regulation while making no meaningful positive change to New Zealand’s high workplace fatality and injury rates,” Camilla Belich said.

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The Government has reportedly scrapped a policy that would have gone far to fix gender and ethnic pay gaps and instead is implementing a watered-down voluntary system.

“This Government is paying lip service to pay equity. A voluntary reporting mechanism has been in place for some time now and does not work – that’s why Labour made it a requirement for large businesses,” Labour spokesperson for women Jan Tinetti said.

“This announcement is beyond disappointing. Our pay gap in NZ is currently 8.6% and has stubbornly refused to move. Other countries have had success in tackling pay gaps through comprehensive reporting regimes.

“We need to ensure we’re staying in line with international standards to attract highly skilled people to New Zealand and do what’s right as an inclusive and forward-thinking country,” Jan Tinetti said.

“When it comes to pay, transparency is the key to ending the pay discrimination that is sometimes hidden,” said Labour workplace relations spokesperson Camilla Belich said.

“Not moving forward with a pay transparency regime would take New Zealand backwards. Initially, around 900 entities would have been required to report their pay gap, increasing to almost 2,700 over the next four years. I think we can safely say voluntary measures will not come close to this.

“This is a dark day for women’s and workers’ rights and comes hot on the heels of announced changes to sick pay that would disproportionately affect women and the closing of the Pay Equity Unit by this Government. We call on the Govt to retain our policy,” Camilla Belich said.

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With farmers under increasing pressure financially, Labour supports a rural banking inquiry.

“Our Primary Production Select Committee has heard submissions on rural banking, which paint a grim picture of the financial strain many farmers are under,” Labour agriculture spokesperson Jo Luxton said.

Despite good returns over the last two years and opportunities opening up overseas, farmers are feeling the pinch because of the charges imposed on them by the banks.

“Our select committee has heard that one in four farmers are now feeling under financial pressure, which is affecting their mental health,” Jo Luxton said.

“New Zealand’s economy relies on primary exports. While in Government, Labour secured new trade deals with the United Kingdom and European Union, which opened up new markets to our farmers so they could make more from what they produce and help grow New Zealand’s economy. 

“We mustn’t let down the very producers set to benefit from that progress.

“Labour supports a joint banking inquiry at the Primary Production and Finance and Expenditure Select Committees.

“I will be advocating for the inquiry to have a strong focus on rural banking, what’s happening in the industry, competition, interest rates and access to finance,” Jo Luxton said.

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The Government knew its changes to the school lunch programme would risk achievement, attendance, nutrition and wellbeing of New Zealand children, as well as having wider impacts on reducing child poverty, and made the changes anyway, new documents show.

On 27 March, the Government considered a Cabinet Paper which included advice from multiple agencies with concerns about plans to cut back the school lunch programme. It included:

• The Ministry of Health said “…the current proposal does not appear to be grounded in public health evidence and are concerned it will have a significant negative impact on communities where Ka Ora, Ka Ako is having the greatest impact.”
• Te Puni Kokiri notes “risks to learner achievement should the nutritional value of food delivered to secondary learners reduce.” 
• Oranga Tamariki did not support the changes, saying the current programme “has strong links to educational attainment and attendance, as well as wider impacts to alleviate child poverty.”

“The Ministry of Education also makes clear what we already knew, that $3 a day is not sufficient to feed secondary kids properly. The changes the Government has made will see students getting a snack rather than a healthy meal,” Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said.

“David Seymour was gunning for the scrapping of the programme. He didn’t get his way, so instead he is stripping $107 million out and setting it up to fail.

“The Cabinet Paper from 27 March includes advice from various agencies, including strong opposition to parring back the programme. But they chose to do it anyway.

“It’s baffling to understand why the Government went ahead with these changes, given the evidence in front of them and all of their talk about improving attendance. A full tummy can make a difference to a student’s learning and whether they are turning up to school.

“Taking good, healthy food out of the mouths of students in years seven and up, which are some of the most challenging school years, will only see worse outcomes for many young people. 

“This is about choices. Cutting $107 million from school lunches, whilst giving $2.9 billion to landlords will not sit right with many New Zealanders.   

“Concerns have also been raised about communities losing local jobs, some of which are done by parents. With unemployment set to rise, this could be a double whammy for household budgets during a cost-of-living crisis. 

“This newly released advice clearly shows the consequences of cutting the healthy lunch programme. It’s unfathomable that with the evidence in front of him, Christopher Luxon signed off on this Cabinet paper,” Jan Tinetti said.

Click here to sign the petition to save school lunches.

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Two months have passed since the National Government said it was a question of ”when, not if” New Zealand would recognise Palestine, in response to Labour’s call.

“In those two months, Ireland, Spain and Norway have recognised Palestine,” said Labour foreign affairs spokesperson David Parker.

“The war continues unabated, and thousands more have been killed or maimed by the Israeli army under the command of the Israeli government. The infrastructure of Palestine continues to be destroyed and yet more people made homeless. The humanitarian situation is dire.

“Calls by the United Nations for a ceasefire in Gaza have been ignored. The case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is being undermined by critics of that process.

“Sadly, for both Palestine and Israel, the prospects of a durable solution are diminishing.

“To now participate in RIMPAC operations with the Israeli Defence Force will be seen by New Zealand citizens and by non-western countries as further evidence of the lop-sided approach by this government to the tragedy that is happening in Palestine.

“The international rules-based order we rely upon is also being undermined. Experts at reputable institutions like Chatham House in the United Kingdom have cogently described the dangers arising from hypocrisy in the west. 

“New Zealand should use the influence we have to uphold the rules-based order which the Government says it supports.

“New Zealand is a member country of the International Court of Justice. Under the last Labour Government we participated in the case against Russia concerning the Ukraine, as we did in earlier years regarding Rwanda. New Zealand’s lack of action to date in this case stands in stark contrast.

“The National Government should be asked how they can defend their current inaction.

“It is high time for the National Government to do what it can with regards to Palestine, without further prevarication,” said David Parker.

Labour is renewing its call from a letter sent to Minister of Foreign Affairs on 12 April 2024 for the New Zealand government to immediately:

• recognise Palestine (not Hamas), and
• to intervene in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) process.

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The National Government is doing everything it can to delay taking action on climate as it announces that years of work on agricultural emissions will start from scratch.

“The longer we wait to decarbonise our economy, the more expensive it becomes and the bigger the damage to our industries and farming sectors in the long run,” Labour agriculture spokesperson Jo Luxton said.

“It puts market access at risk for our agricultural products. Labour delivered seven new and upgraded trade deals, which have opened up incredible opportunities for primary producers but mean New Zealand needs to stay ahead of the pack on exporting clean, green, low-emissions products.

“Offshore buyers demand products that are produced sustainably, and our primary producers rely on these markets. National is risking our competitive advantage by taking New Zealand backwards on climate action.

“National’s short-term thinking will hurt farmers, communities and livelihoods as the climate changes and the country endures more extreme weather events like Cyclone Gabrielle.

“We’re committed to climate action, and to working with the primary sector to find climate solutions that will ensure long-term stability for jobs and communities.

“We were doing the right thing by working alongside the sector to come up with a long-term plan to reduce emissions from agriculture. It’s disappointing we couldn’t get something across the line but remain committed to a long-term solution.

“The Government must demonstrate how they intend to get to net zero by 2050 and release the emissions implications of their wilful neglect of climate action,” Jo Luxton said.

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Tens of thousands of people showed up to have their voices heard and march against National’s unpopular Fast Track Approvals Bill in Auckland over the weekend.

“It was so heartening to see people of all ages take to the streets and show how much they value transparency, democracy and nature,” Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said.

“Around the country, communities are worried about how damaging this reckless legislation will be for our precious environment and future generations.”

The Fast Track Approvals Bill concentrates power by giving three Ministers the final sign off on large projects, instead of an independent panel. One of the Ministers responsible for sign-off, Shane Jones, has repeatedly stated he has little regard for the impact on threatened native species and their habitats. Shane Jones has said “if there is a mining opportunity and it’s impeded by a blind frog, goodbye, Freddy”.

Among the companies invited to apply for fast track consenting were some that had made campaign donations to National, ACT and New Zealand First. There are also increasing concerns the Bill would allow ‘zombie’ projects to be revived: for example, mining projects that have been previously declined as they were deemed too destructive or risky. There are also questions about the ramifications for partnership under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, as the legislation could exclude local hapū and iwi from being meaningfully involved in decision-making.

The Fast Track Approvals Bill is going through the select committee process, with the Government receiving 27,000 public submissions – the overwhelming majority of which are against the Bill. Labour is calling on the Government to release the list of projects which could be rushed through under this legislation, so the public can understand exactly what they’ve been asked to give feedback on.

“Alongside the thousands of public submissions opposing the bill, the sheer number of people who attended the March for Nature shows just how unpopular this legislation is,” Rachel Brooking said.

In Government, Labour sped up the approval and reduced the cost of consenting projects like school building projects, housing, clean energy projects and green areas to absorb water in a flood. These projects were approved by independent panels and strongly considered how to work with nature, rather than against it. 

National’s first Budget also revealed over $2.9 billion of cuts to projects solving and adapting to climate change, saw funding halted to Jobs for Nature, key climate research deprioritised and hundreds of job losses at the Ministry for the Environment.

In the coming weeks, Labour will be standing with our communities and putting increasing pressure on the Government to respect our native species and improve transparency around the legislation.

“We’ve heard a clear message from New Zealanders around the country who understand there’s no healthy economy without a healthy environment,” says Rachel. “It’s time for the National Government to front up and start listening to our communities and their valid concerns around this Bill.”

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Reversing the ban on oil and gas exploration is a disaster for the climate and will take New Zealand’s climate action backwards.

Oil and gas must stay in the ground as we decarbonise our economy,” said Labour climate spokesperson Megan Woods.

Reversing the ban gives fossil fuel companies free rein to exploit the environment and continue to delay the much-needed transition away from fossil fuels, which are the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate change minister Simon Watts signed New Zealand up to an agreement to transition away from fossil fuels at COP28.

Reversing the ban on exploration of fossil fuels is hypocritical and irresponsible.

The National Government has cut funding for climate solutions by at least $3 billion showing they have no meaningful plan or vision to take New Zealand forward to net zero 2050.

The Government must demonstrate how they intend to get to net zero by 2050, and release the emissions implications of their wilful neglect of climate initiatives in the Budget and,” said Megan Woods.

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“The Government needs to provide leadership for New Zealand’s mental health sector, which appears to have lost out in the Budget despite the promises Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey made on the campaign trail,” said Labour mental health spokesperson Ingrid Leary.

“The National Party’s election manifesto included a commitment to increasing the number of psychiatric registrar places to 50 a year, up from 37. Minister Doocey has been exceptionally silent on his progress in this area. Despite these promises, mental health was not a priority in this Budget.

“The Minister has had six months to develop a workforce plan and create a targeted recruitment campaign to attract specialist mental health workers, but cuts to services and the hiring freeze at Te Whatu Ora will have made this difficult.

“It’s not surprising our mental health workforce – and those we hope to attract from overseas – are being enticed to Australia, with offers of better pay and better working conditions. New Zealand’s workforce shortages should be addressed with urgency by the Minister.

“Minister Doocey barely acquired enough Budget funding to keep the lights on for mental health, let alone meaningful investment for New Zealanders with mental illness,” Ingrid Leary said.

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Read more about Budget 2024.

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