Category: Labour Party

The Government is backtracking on existing commitments to do the right thing by homeowners let down by EQC (now the Natural Hazards Commission).

“We know that EQC botched repairs in Christchurch and many people are still paying the price for broken houses. Labour accepted that this was wrong and set up the on-sold programme to allow homeowners to reopen claims for botched repairs in a house that they bought,” Labour Christchurch issues spokesperson Duncan Webb said.

“David Seymour has set new unfair and arbitrary rules which will mean that people do not get the repairs that they were promised and are entitled to.

“This is a project that is only complete when the last quake-damaged house is repaired in Christchurch.

“Time limits to sign settlement agreements are unfair – especially where the costs or method of repair are not agreed; and it is not always practical to start a repair project within six months – especially if it means finding a builder, completing design, and finding a new home.

“The cap on repair costs and project management fees mean that homes will not be properly repaired, denying the entitlement people have paid for in EQC levies.

“Taking the levies to cover other shortfalls robs the people of Christchurch who were promised repairs to their homes.

“The Government should do the right thing and ensure that people with botched repairs get their houses fixed, not backtrack on Government promises to cut costs. This is yet more evidence this Government doesn’t care about the South Island.

“For a Minister who claims to be a protector of entitlements and property rights, this changing of the rules after the event is outrageous and a kick in the guts for Christchurch,” Duncan Webb said.

---

Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Nicola Willis continues to over promise and under deliver, with most families receiving only $30 a week from National’s flagship FamilyBoost flop.

“Only 1,094 households have received the full amount of the FamilyBoost payment,” Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said.

“This is after Christopher Luxon promised 100,000 families would be eligible for the payment and said $250 was up for grabs in tax cuts. Only 33,000 families have received anything at all, that’s a third of what was promised. Half of those families got roughly $30 a week.

“We have long known National wants to make it difficult for anyone to get this money – and their efforts are paying off.

“Receiving this financial help shouldn’t be a bureaucratic nightmare, but under National busy parents have to find invoices or proof of payment from childcare centres and claim back the money themselves from Inland Revenue.

“Child poverty is projected to increase and unemployment is up under National. Rents and rates are high, and more Kiwis are leaving New Zealand than ever before. This Government is failing families.

“Nicola Willis can swear she understands the needs of New Zealand families until she’s blue in the face, but when her boss is calling Kiwis ‘customers’, her colleague is calling workers ‘losers’, and she is failing to make life easier for Kiwis who are struggling, the proof is really in her severely lacking pudding,” Barbara Edmonds said.

---

Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Labour welcomes the conclusion of a trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that was restarted under a Labour government after languishing for many years.

“Given the global situation, this deal paves the way for further trade and cooperation with the Gulf States,” Labour trade spokesperson Damien O’Connor said.

“When in government, we understood that trade and export access would be a crucial part our country’s recovery from Covid-19.

“This deal is a reflection and result of the decisions we made in government to explore where we could strengthen our ties and trade relationships to help our economic recovery,” Damien O’Connor said.

---

Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

The Government should consider the outcome of an Auditor-General report into conflicts of interest before progressing the Fast track Approvals Bill through Parliament. 

“We welcome this inquiry, and call on the Government to wait until the Auditor-General reports back before going to committee stage where 149 projects will be added to the Bill and further progressed through the House,” Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said.

“The 149 companies who have projects on the fast track list get an enormous advantage by not having to comply with current laws that protect the environment.

“The public must have confidence the decision to put projects on the list was not made because a minister had a vested interest in it.

“We’ve shown that coalition parties received donations from companies such as Winton and Kings Quarry to name just two, whose projects made it on to the list.

“It’s also concerning that some of the projects on the list have been previously declined because the impact on the environment is too great.

“The whole process around the Fast Track Approvals Bill has been murky. The projects were kept secret, ministers initially would have had the power to override conditions put on projects by an expert panel, and Shane Jones wouldn’t come clean about a meeting he had with mining interests on the West Coast.

“Hopefully the Auditor-General’s inquiry can bring some sunlight to this situation,” Rachel Brooking said.

---

Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

The National Government should review its support for Gumboot Friday after unacceptable comments by its leader and champion Mike King.

“Do young people have to be hurt before Matt Doocey realises he made the wrong decision to bypass the usual process and fund Gumboot Friday,” Labour mental health spokesperson Ingrid Leary said.

“The comments made by Mike King promoting alcohol use to treat mental health issues are a sad indictment of the Government’s poor funding decision relating to Gumboot Friday.

“The comments are deeply problematic and fly in the face of well-established body of literature that links alcohol use both directly and indirectly with mental ill health, including with suicide risk.

“To continue to fund Gumboot Friday sends a message to young people that alcohol use is a recognised treatment for mental health issues.

“It must be galling for the many wonderful non-governmental organisations with safe and evidence-based approaches to providing mental health support and services to hear these comments, and know that they weren’t able to contest for these funds and help these young people.

“The Auditor General has already criticised the process that saw funding given to Gumboot Friday — today’s comments vindicate his concerns and add fuel to the fire.

“This is on top of the recently reported resignation of I Am Hope board members, which raises serious questions about the organisation’s ability to deliver,” Ingrid Leary said.

---

Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Labour is backing Christchurch City Council’s decision not to do business with firms involved in Israel’s illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories.

“It is great that Christchurch is the first council in New Zealand to take up this cause. We hope others will follow this example,” Labour’s associate foreign affairs spokesperson Phil Twyford said.

“Christchurch City’s decision is in line with the recent International Court of Justice ruling on the illegal settlements, which said the international community should not ‘aid or assist’ the settlements.

“Labour has called on the Government to direct the Super Fund and ACC to divest from any companies on the United Nations list of companies complicit in building or maintaining the illegal settlements, and use its procurement rules to ban any future dealings with those firms.

“New Zealanders want to see an end to Israel’s slaughter in Gaza, and a political solution that allows the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“Unfortunately, since the Oslo Accords in 1993, Israel has deliberately set out to colonise the Occupied West Bank with settlements housing more than 700,000 Israelis, designed to scuttle any hope of a two-state solution.

“It is time for the international community to take action against this breach of international law,” Phil Twyford said.

---

Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

The Government has created a hostile environment for companies seeking to build offshore wind farms.

News that offshore wind developer BlueFloat Energy is packing up operations and leaving Taranaki comes weeks after it was announced that a previously declined seabed mining project was on the Government’s fast track development list in the same area.

The seabed mining project, developed by Trans Tasman Resources, was previously declined as being too destructive to the environment.

“The Government has once again chosen to go backwards, by backing a destructive project that communities have fought against, over a renewable energy project that would have created jobs, provided 900 MW of electricity and helped New Zealand transition to a clean energy economy,” Labour energy and climate spokesperson Megan Woods said.

“The Government has also twiddled its thumbs on developing a consenting regime for wind projects.

“BlueFloat leaving New Zealand is a huge loss for Taranaki and our country and tells other offshore wind developers not to bother coming here.

“The offshore wind industry was projected to create 12,000 jobs and contribute $50 billion in GDP.

“It’s not a surprise to me that BlueFloat has made this decision, as we’ve got a government that has dragged its heels and put in the slow lane any work on what is needed to stimulate offshore wind in New Zealand.

“More than that, its decision to include the Trans Tasman Resources project in its fast-track bill is a clear message to the offshore wind investment community that they are not seen as a priority in this country,” Megan Woods said.

---

Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

The Government has gone back on its word and cut the full school lunch programme in primary schools after saying it wouldn’t.

“Teachers, parents and principals across the country were so relieved to hear primary schools would be able to continue serving lunches to their students, despite the ACT Party’s plan to scrap the programme,” Labour’s education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said.

“Now David Seymour has managed get Cabinet to agree to not only downsize lunches for secondary students, but to do it for all students from years 0-13.

A March Cabinet Paper told the Government changes to the school lunch programme would risk achievement, attendance, nutrition and wellbeing of children, as well as having wider impacts on reducing child poverty, and it has made these changes anyway.

“Naenae College reported it won’t be able to deliver the programme next year because the supplier was unable to provide meals under the new per-meal budget.

“The Ministry of Education also earlier told the Government that $3 a day is not sufficient to feed secondary kids properly.

“It’s baffling as to why Erica Stanford is letting David Seymour go ahead with these changes, given the evidence, reports from teachers, parents and principals about the benefits of the school lunch programme and all their talk about improving attendance.

“A full tummy can make a real difference to a student’s learning and whether they are turning up to school.

The Government is subverting parliamentary process on laws the evidence already shows don’t work.

“The Justice Select Committee has not reported back, and yet the Government is making changes based on what it claims that committee heard and the public has said,” Labour’s justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said.  

“We are yet to even receive a draft of the select committee report, and released submissions so far show overwhelming opposition to the bill.

“The proper process to have input is through the select committee, not a selection of private emails to the Minister.

“The fact Minister Nicole McKee is jumping the gun and making these changes shows she is not interested in evidence or good process.

“They are beating the tough on crime drum to cover for wider government failures and misbehaviours.

“The first three strikes bill was a failure and the proposed changes to this bill will only make it worse,” Duncan Webb said.

---

Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

The Government’s decision to award a $216 million tax break for Philip Morris’ heated tobacco products reeks of tobacco industry interference and needs to be thoroughly investigated.

“This $216 million tax cut appears to prioritise the needs of the tobacco industry, rather than New Zealanders’ health. Treasury advised the policy would likely only benefit Philip Morris and yet Cabinet signed it off,” said Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said.

“The tobacco industry influences Government to avoid regulation all over the world, and it appears New Zealand is not exempt.

“Philip Morris wrote a plan to get this tax break by influencing New Zealand First and working through the Taxpayers’ Union, and the contents of that plan appear to have come to pass.

“Casey Costello has tried to hide documents from the public and claim she had independent advice on the effectiveness of heated tobacco products as a smoking cessation tool. She also brought other proposals to Cabinet that would have benefited Philip Morris but denied she knew it would. She has consistently prioritised the tobacco industry’s bottom line over the health of New Zealanders.

“Casey Costello wouldn’t be in this position if she was transparent in her handling of documents and straight in her answers to questions in Parliament. 

“New Zealanders have a right to know if tax breaks are being dished out to harmful industries because of back room deals. This is crucial for New Zealanders’ trust in government. 

“We are seeing the same tactics the tobacco industry has used worldwide here in New Zealand. This includes the revolving door that exists between New Zealand First and the tobacco industry, and the use of front organisations like the Taxpayers’ Union.

“I am taking this action because the Prime Minister has refused to hold Casey Costello to a reasonable standard of behaviour when it comes to transparency,” said Ayesha Verrall.

---

---

Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.