Category: New Zealand Labour Party

Louise Upston has revealed her diminished vision for vulnerable youth against a backdrop of snubbed advice, scrapped priorities, shifted goal posts and thousands more children projected to fall into poverty.

“Unbelievably, mental wellbeing has been deprioritised from the latest child poverty report,” Labour’s child poverty reduction spokesperson, Carmel Sepuloni said.

“Labour prioritised mental wellbeing after children and young people said it was the single biggest issue facing their generation. But today we’ve found out Louise Upston has ignored official advice and scrapped mental wellbeing as priority area.

“How the Minister can reconcile wanting to improve the lives of children without prioritising their mental health is beyond me. It is a devasting loss of data which would’ve helped us understand how young people are faring.

“She’s also scrapped food insecurity as a measure – which comes at a time when she’s going against advice to restrict food grants to beneficiaries. It’s a sad reality when her Government doesn’t seem to care that there are struggling families that may go without food because of the Government’s choices.

“This comes after the Minister previously changed Labour’s child poverty reduction targets to make them easier for her Government to achieve.

“It’s important the Minister still has material hardship is a priority; however the fact remains there are more kids living in benefit-dependent households under this Government’s watch and the Minister has made deliberate decisions that see beneficiaries with less support.  

“It is often overlooked that 55% of kids experiencing material hardship are in working households. The Government has stilted minimum wage growth and scrapped universal free prescriptions, all the while rates, rents, power prices are up. Their tax cuts don’t even touch the sides for most Kiwis.

“Preventing child harm while cutting funding to services for vulnerable children and family and sexual violence prevention programmes, also doesn’t add up.

“So far under Louise Upston’s watch, unemployment has risen and beneficiary numbers are soaring – all consequences of her Government’s choices,” said Carmel Sepuloni.

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National Government’s backward-looking climate policy has seen New Zealand fall seven places on the Climate Change Performance Index to 41 out of 63 countries measured.

The index, released overnight at COP29 in Azerbaijan, shows New Zealand is now rated as having a ‘low’ performance.

“National is failing to meet the climate challenge, and the world knows it,” Labour climate spokesperson Megan Woods said.

“Since the change of Government last year, the index says climate policy has taken a ‘significant backwards step’.

“The rest of the world can see that scrapping effective climate action, such as the oil and gas exploration ban, the clean car discount and funding to get big emitters off fossil fuels, is taking New Zealand backwards.

“Climate Minister Simon Watts just stood in front of the world at COP29 and said New Zealand is facing the challenge of climate change head on. Unfortunately, his words don’t match his actions as his policy relies on not-yet-invented technology and an Emissions Trading Scheme without New Zealand’s biggest emitters in it.

“At home, the Climate Change Commission has sounded the alarm over the Government’s policies, and points out we’re off track to meet our climate goals.

“New Zealand’s reputation as a clean, green, sustainable country and exporter is in real trouble if we don’t meet our targets as they are built into our trade agreements and our brand, not to mention our relationship with our Pacific neighbours for whom climate change is an existential threat.

“National must take a good, hard look at their policies in light of this downgrade in ranking, listen to the climate experts, and take much stronger action on climate change,” Megan Woods said.

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When the Government says it has reduced the number of people in emergency housing, what it means is it is stopping people from accessing it in the first place.

“The Government isn’t providing people somewhere to live, despite what National Ministers would have us believe. Every new Kāinga Ora house has been funded and built by the previous government,” Labour’s housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said.

“The Government hasn’t funded any more Kāinga Ora builds of its own and has drastically reduced funding to Community Housing Providers. So, to stem the flow of people needing housing it has changed the rules to make it harder to get into emergency housing.

“The need hasn’t reduced, but applications have. Last year emergency housing averaged 8,660 applications a month. That’s dropped to under 4,000 per month now. People don’t tend to apply if they know they won’t qualify under the new rules. The rate of applications being declined has also almost tripled from 3% a month in the 2023 calendar year to 10% for August 2024.

“What New Zealanders will see is more people living in cars and homelessness increasing, it’s as simple as that.

“This is just National returning to type. We can’t forget the last National Government ended up with 1,500 fewer public homes than it started with and sucked out $576 million in dividends from Housing New Zealand.

“If National delivered additional homes at the rate Labour did, we would get much closer to solving the housing crisis. Instead, they’ve cut $1.5 billion from public house building and maintenance funding, and reduced people’s ability to ask for help.

“This Government is much more interested in cutting costs than helping people into a home,” Kieran McAnulty said.

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Labour warmly welcomes the Restoring Samoan Citizenship Bill as it passes its third reading, before becoming law.

Those born in Samoa on or after 13 May 1924 and before 1 January 1949, and whose citizenship was revoked by the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill, will be able to apply to have their New Zealand citizenship restored.

“This is a significant day for our Samoan communities who can be proud that their strong advocacy has resulted in a historic win,” Labour’s Pacific peoples spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni said.

“In honouring the spirit of the Government’s formal apology for the dawn raids and doing right by our Samoan communities, Labour has staunchly supported this Bill all the way through.

“Fa’afetai tele lava Teanau Tuiono for bringing this Bill to the table and to our Samoan and wider Pacific communities for advocating strongly over the course of this year.

“We know how much this means for our people and their aiga. Our Labour Pacific Caucus takes seriously the aspirations of our communities and will always work with others to make sure our people’s best interests are served.

“However today, as my fellow Samoan colleague and friend Barbara Edmonds has said, it’s ‘685 to the world!’” Carmel Sepuloni said.

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The Minister of Education has shown complete disregard for rural communities and their school bus routes in Question Time today.

“Erica Stanford and the Transport Minister Simeon Brown used an opportunity when being questioned about rural school bus route cancellations to talk about how great it was that students can take public buses in Auckland,” Labour’s education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said.

“New Zealand doesn’t end at the Bombay Hills. How do changes to public transport in Auckland help children in Hawkes Bay and West Coast who are losing their rural buses?

“It might be news to National, but public buses aren’t an option for many Kiwis.

“For working parents in rural areas school buses are essential. They’re now facing hours out of their day to get their young people to and from school – or even longer if they have children in both primary and high school.

“Rural school bus cancellations and changes are leaving families scrambling to find alternatives. These cuts are hitting rural communities hard and making access to education even more difficult, while the Government claims to be focused on attendance.

“Rural kids and rural schools matter. The Minister must take this issue seriously and stop the cuts to school buses,” Jan Tinetti said.

National’s repeal of Labour’s smokefree legislation has taken New Zealand further away from achieving a Smokefree 2025 and a smokefree generation.

The NZ Health Survey shows both smoking and vaping rates have increased in the last year, with the number of daily smokers increasing from 284,000 to 300,000.

This follows more than a decade of consistent decreases in the number of adults smoking.

“One of the first things the National Government did was overturn laws that were helping kiwis get off cigarettes and preventing young people from taking up smoking in the first place,” Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said.

“Scrapping our legislation was done to advantage the tobacco companies and retailers, not to protect New Zealanders’ health. Now we’re seeing the results of that.

“The Government should never have repealed the groundbreaking laws that we passed in government, which would have created a smokefree generation.

“Instead, National and its coalition partner New Zealand First agreed to side with the tobacco industry and stub out those laws in favour of tax cuts.

“There is a mountain of evidence that smoking is harmful, that it is New Zealand’s leading cause of premature death. And yet the Government chose to put tax cuts ahead of health and protecting our kids from harmful tobacco.

“Just last month, Christopher Luxon said his associate health minister Casey Costello is very focused on lowering smoking rates, and that he was “comfortable.” However, rates are up and it’s clear Costello hasn’t delivered.

“The only thing she has delivered is a $216 million tax break to tobacco company Philip Morris flog its heated tobacco product which will make no difference to smoking rates and won’t reduce the harm of tobacco for users,” Chris Hipkins said.

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Parliamentarians from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have written an open letter to their respective Prime Ministers calling on them to recognise Palestine.

More than 100 members of Parliament from nine political parties say it is time for their governments to follow Ireland, Norway, Spain, Slovenia and Armenia who recently joined the 146 nations that recognise Palestine.

Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese (Australia), Justin Trudeau (Canada) and Christopher Luxon (New Zealand) have come together three times over the last year to make joint statements on Gaza but not yet recognised Palestine diplomatically.

The MPs who organised the open letter say they hope the three governments will together decide to announce recognition to signal the urgent need for a negotiated peace that includes the establishment of a viable Palestinian state.

“New Zealand’s foreign affairs minister said recognition was a matter of when not if,” New Zealand Labour’s associate foreign affairs spokesperson Phil Twyford said.

“Surely the ongoing slaughter in Gaza, and Israel’s refusal to heed repeated international calls for a ceasefire, mean it is time for this move by countries like New Zealand.”

The open letter cites the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) recent advisory opinion that declared Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories to be illegal, and says Israel’s devastation of Gaza has accelerated the urgent need for diplomatic recognition.

Canadian MP and NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson said the conditions for a two state solution are increasing threatened by illegal settlements and state-sanctioned violence – it is urgent that Canada recognize the State of Palestine before it is too late.

The MPs note the ICJ’s ruling that all states are under an obligation “to ensure that any impediment resulting from the illegal presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to the exercise of the Palestinian people of its right to self-determination is brought to an end.”

Australian Labor MP Maria Vamvakinou said only self-determination for the Palestinian people can bring stability and peace to the region.

“Recognising a Palestinian state should happen as a part of a two state solution process, it should not necessarily come at the end of the process,” said Ms Vamvakinou.

The open letter says recognising Palestine will benefit both Palestinians and Israelis: “The recognition of Palestine as a state is a step towards restarting rights-based peace talks and will reinforce the moderate voices on both sides who seek a peaceful and political solution in line with the requirements of international law.”

Attached: Open letter to Prime Ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

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Te Whatu Ora’s bill for contracting and consulting staff has ballooned by nearly 20 percent under the National Government, breaking a promise they made during the election campaign to cut contractors.

“While Te Whatu Ora has been ordered to make $2 billion in cuts and has frozen hiring to front line roles the bill for contractors has soared. At the same time key support staff are being offered redundancy and hospital builds are downgraded,” Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. 

Data released under the Official Information Act shows that costs for contractors and consultants at Te Whatu Ora have risen overall by 18 percent between Q4 2022/23 and Q4 2023/24. But this is minor compared to the eye-watering increase in People and Communications functions, the bill for which grew from $8.5 million to nearly $30 million – an increase of 243 percent.

The Prime Minister has said, “We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors”, but the opposite has happened under his watch.

“His government has cut vital support staff, which means stressed front line staff like clinicians are tied up in paperwork. Their solution is increasing contractor spend to cover the shortfall, taking total spending on contractors in last financial year of $680 million. 

“An $84m year-on-year spike in contractor and consultant costs demonstrates that this Government relies on desperate short term fixes for long term problems – an approach that will leave New Zealanders poorer and sicker in the long run.

“It’s galling that Health New Zealand has spent more on communications contractors while being less transparent in their communication with the public. They have not published their turn around plan, a workforce plan or the statutorily required Health Plan. 

“There is nothing normal about the increased contractor costs in hospital and specialist services. The hiring freeze has resulted in greater use of more expensive locums.

“The Government’s cuts are taking our health system backwards,” said Ayesha Verrall.

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The newly released Section 7AA Repeal Bill’s select committee report is further evidence that the Government should scrap it.

“The Government should just come clean, admit they got it wrong and stop work on these unwarranted and unwanted changes,” Labour’s children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said.

The Government is feeling the pressure, with the select committee recommending an aspect of 7AA relating to the Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki’s obligations to maintain strategic relationships with Mãori should be retained. But worryingly, crucial parts of 7AA, including the Treaty principles, and the requirements of the Chief Executive to reduce disparities and report on mokopuna under their care will still be removed.

“Make no mistake this is still a large breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Government members of the select committee ignored officials’ advice that there is no evidence to push forward with this Bill, but are feeling the heat so are watering it down in an attempt to make it look more palatable.

“This Bill takes us backwards. The Minister cannot provide any evidence for removing 7AA and submissions have stated the repeal of section 7AA carries a real risk of causing actual harm to vulnerable Tamariki.

“Just like the Treaty Principles Bill, it’s crystal clear that Christopher Luxon is helpless to stop David Seymour’s ideological attacks on Mãori and vulnerable tamariki.

“If the Prime Minister was truly concerned about the risk of harm to Mãori tamariki, then he would not be allowing the ACT Party to tamper with the protections in place.

“The Government should not take us back down a path where children have been harmed before.

“Following the Royal Commission of Inquiry report, they have chance to do the right thing for our vulnerable children and we urge them to heed the warnings and scrap this harmful Bill,” Willow-Jean Prime said.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today.

Instead of furthering the partnership between Māori and the Crown, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is failing to show leadership and allowing the Treaty Principles Bill to be introduced to Parliament.

Let’s be clear: this bill is divisive, a waste of money, and has no support from any other party in Parliament.

We didn’t need to have this debate, but Christopher Luxon didn’t have the guts to kill the bill. Even after more than 15,600 of you joined us in calling on the Prime Minister to kill the Bill.

You can show the government that when Māori thrive, Aotearoa thrives. Stand against this attempt to paddle the waka backwards.

Since 1975, a set of principles based on the English and Māori versions of the Treaty have been set into law. Over time, the principles have evolved and strengthened, and they will continue to do so through mature, informed, and respectful discussion.

But the Treaty Principles Bill ignores this. It seeks to have the principles of the Treaty replaced with David Seymour’s interpretation of them. We must stand up for Te Tiriti, even if the Prime Minister won’t.  

The Treaty Principles Bill will cost taxpayers millions, divide our country, and ultimately take New Zealand backwards.

Together, we can stand up and tell the government they cannot divide us.

 

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