Category: New Zealand Legislature

Source: Green Party

Auckland Central Green MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, this morning received a long awaited OIA with official advice and consultants’ reports on whether to regulate the Waiheke ferry service.

“My constituents on Waiheke are forced to use the only public transport route in the country which is recognised as integral to the network by the local authority, but not afforded the regulation and subsidies of all other public transport. Everyday, my constituents live with the legacy of dodgy decision making by the former National Government to explicitly exclude the service from regulation,” says Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick.

“Now, after years of strong local advocacy, Waka Kotahi have spent two years kicking the can down the road only to twiddle their thumbs. They conclude that the service is integral to Auckland’s public transport network but say they haven’t found enough evidence as to whether fares should be regulated.

“It’s inexcusable, circular, bureaucratic logic while my constituents suffer. They say they can’t find enough evidence that fares need to be regulated but never used that impossible threshold when regulating all other public transport fares. They have based this almost entirely on a report as to whether Fullers are making normal or supernormal profits, as opposed to any metric of affordability for the people using the service.

“Even Auckland Transport have been explicitly arguing for regulation of this service since 2019. My community will once again be deeply frustrated by this complete lack of consideration of their needs, let alone the seemingly core concern of Waka Kotahi of what constitutes ‘normal’ profits for what’s supposed to be public transport.

“I invite Waka Kotahi to come and talk to my constituents who struggle to afford to visit family members in hospital, to those with kids who don’t get the same subsidies as every other Aucklander and struggle to attend sports and cultural events, to the workers for whom this is the only, extraordinarily expensive way to get to their job. They seem to have got the wrong end of the stick and only looked at profits when the point is public service.

“I have raised this frustration with the Mayor today and will once again escalate with AT and Waka Kotahi. This isn’t good enough and I want my community to know the fight for fairness will not stop with this latest bureaucratic road block.”

Source: Green Party

The Green Party stands with ECE teachers striking for better funding and conditions.

“The working conditions of our teachers are the learning conditions of our tamariki. The Green Party is calling on the incoming Government to prioritise our teachers and address the many issues the sector faces” says Green Party education spokesperson Teanau Tuiono.

“We acknowledge that this is the first time early childhood teachers and workers have taken strike action – and they would not have taken that decision lightly.

“This is hugely significant and shows how bad the conditions have become.

“While they may be valued by many of us, they have not been valued by the Government. Nearly every one of us will remember a teacher who helped inspire us. But, the work is demanding and underpaid.

“The incoming Education Minister, whoever that may be, needs to come to the table and ensure that serious issues around funding, understaffing, and student to teacher ratios are resolved, so that every teacher is supported to teach our youngest,” says Teanau Tuiono.

Source: Green Party

The Green Party is today celebrating its biggest election result ever.

“With a larger share of the vote and more MPs than we’ve had before, Green Party will lead the ongoing fight to eliminate poverty, honour Te Tiriti, protect nature, and build a climate-resilient future for our mokopuna,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson.

“Central to this will be the biggest Māori and Pasifika caucus we have ever had. Half our Caucus is now Maori and Pasifika, which is a huge step forward for us. We are also proud to be joined by the first Member of Parliament in Aotearoa who is Vietnamese.

“It is a huge honour to be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with such a strong group of Māori and Pasifika voices who bring to Parliament a vast range of experiences, knowledge and skills.

“The Green Party will fight every step of the way to make sure the government upholds the Crown’s promise to guarantee tino rangatiratanga of tangata whenua over their whenua, kainga and taonga katoa, and supports Pacific people, communities, and cultures to thrive,” says Marama Davidson.

Co-leader James Shaw added:

“The Green Party has once again defied history. We are the only support party in the history of MMP to have grown our vote during a term in Government – and we have done it twice now. Winning three electorates is another major shift, in the same way that moving from being a party of opposition to a party of government was.

“Our campaign inspired hope, rather than fear, and focused on thoroughly thought through, long-term policy, not just soundbites.

“We set out clear solutions to the challenges people face and for a climate-friendly future that will make our kids and grandkids proud.

“We also ran one of the biggest grassroots campaigns we have ever had. 280,000 door knocks & phone calls, 90,000 meaningful convos with voters across New Zealand, and 7,700 volunteers.

“Our promise to Aotearoa is this: over the next three years, the Green Party will be a strong and unwavering voice for climate action, for the protection of our native wildlife, and for ensuring that every New Zealander has enough to live with dignity,” says James Shaw.

Source: Green Party

The Green Party is deeply concerned about the unprecedented escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza.

We condemn the targeting of civilians by any armed group in the strongest terms, no matter the context. Both Hamas and the Israeli Defence Force have a clear obligation to protect civilians from harm.

We call on Hamas to allow the safe and immediate release of all Israeli civilian hostages, without condition.

While the attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians was unconscionable and constitutes the gravest war crimes, nothing justifies the indiscriminate retaliation upon the trapped civilian population in Gaza by the Israeli Defence Force.

Two million people – including one million children – live in Gaza and have nowhere to go to escape bombing that is destroying their homes, schools, and hospitals.

Withholding access to water, electricity, or humanitarian supplies and blocking border points, while the ongoing military assault on Gaza continues, is a clear breach of international law.  

We are concerned that ongoing escalation will have devastating consequences. The international community must stand against these crimes against humanity and prevent ethnic cleansing.

We stand with humanitarian groups, the United Nations Secretary General, Israeli and Palestinian voices for peace and an end to the occupation and the blockade.

Together we call upon Israeli leaders for immediate cessation of the assault on Gaza and opening of aid corridors and supplies. We call on the international community to unite to support a ceasefire and a durable, just peace.

The only sustainable path forward for peace in both Israel and Palestine is respect for the dignity and rights of both communities to self-determination, through an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, freedom of movement, equal rights, and a path to statehood for Palestine. The global community must take all steps to secure a lasting peace.

Source: Green Party

Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw are today wrapping up a campaign that has sought to inspire hope, rather than fear, and that has focused on thoroughly thought through, long-term policy, rather than soundbites.

The co-leaders today visited the Island Bay Marine Education Centre to make the point. 

“From the very start of this campaign, we have put forward clear, evidence-based solutions to the challenges we face. The time is now to get out and vote for it,” says James Shaw.

“All we have seen from the two biggest political parties is the kind of tinkering that leaves people with little hope that we can create the Aotearoa we need. Nowhere is this more true than with the state of our environment. 

“Critical issues like ocean protection have been largely ignored by other parties, so here we are again reminding everyone that we have everything we need to create the kind of Aotearoa our kids deserve

“Our plan would protect 30% of the ocean by 2030, create an independent Ocean Commission to advise the government, and put a Green Minister for Oceans and Fisheries in charge of making it happen. 

“If we’re in a position to negotiate, we’d get this started straight after the election by making it a top priority in negotiations to have a Green Minister for the Oceans at the Cabinet table. We simply cannot leave the future of the ocean in the hands of any other political party. 

“A vote for the Green Party is not only a vote to guarantee everyone a decent income, a warm place to live, and bold climate action – but also to protect the ocean and the benefits it provides for all. A better Aotearoa is possible. All it takes is the political willpower to make it happen,” says James Shaw.

Source: Green Party

Green Party co leader Marama Davidson spoke at a Fair Rents rally at the University of Auckland today.

“In the first 100 days of a new government, we will introduce legislation to make sure everyone who rents always has a safe, healthy and affordable place to call home,” says Green Party Marama Davidson. 

“For far too long, inaction by successive governments has forced thousands of people to pay through the roof to live in cold, damp, and unhealthy homes that are making them sick. 

“This is the consequence of decisions made by successive Governments. These decisions are disproportionately hurting the 1.4 million New Zealanders who rent in this country. 

“Expensive, unhealthy housing is one of the main causes of poverty. But the solutions are as clear as they have always been: controls on rent increases, a rental warrant of fitness, a register for landlords and thousands more new homes. 

“Our guarantee to renters is that in the first 100 days of a new government, we will introduce a new Renters’ Rights Bill to give effect to these changes. Any party that stops short of promising to make everyone’s home healthy and affordable, is actively choosing to make life harder for thousands of people.

“Renters deserve better than the status quo. The time is now for a government that puts the interests of people before those of wealthy landlords. 

“Together, with the Green Party’s Income Guarantee, which will ensure no one’s income ever falls below $385 per week after tax, the Pledge to Renters will end poverty in Aotearoa,” says Marama Davidson.

Source: Green Party

The Green Party is today welcoming the Government’s announcement that there will be six new marine reserves on the South East Otago coast.

“This is a wonderful step forward and shows what can happen when the government, community and iwi work together for the health of the moana. We particularly acknowledge Kāi Tahu for their leadership and role as kaitiaki of this coastline and in managing the new marine reserves,” says Green Party oceans and fisheries spokesperson Eugenie Sage.

“The Greens also acknowledge the massive mahi of the South-East Marine Protection Forum which recommended this network of marine reserves. It is disappointing that the Forum’s recommendation for five additional Type 2 marine protected areas with restrictions on fishing have not been finalised.

“The Green Party has been consistent in calling for action to protect marine life, habitats and ecosystems for years. What the Government has announced today is good progress but we need to be much more ambitious.

“Last year, the Government signed up to a target of protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030. The Green Party would make sure this is achieved by putting the target into law.

“Our proposed Healthy Ocean Act commits to protecting 30% of our oceans by 2030 through a new framework that upholds Te Tiriti, and turns around our dismal record of protecting only 0.4% of the seas around New Zealand.

“It has been a decade since the South-East Marine Protection Forum was established. The time it has taken to create these new reserves shows the need to overhaul the Marine Reserves Act to create better and more timely ways to protect the ocean.

“The Green Party’s plan to establish a network of marine protected areas will help Aotearoa implement the Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy and meet our international commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

“Tackling climate change and protecting our oceans also go hand in hand. Warmer and prolonged marine heatwaves contribute to mortality events for marine life. The oceans have absorbed most of the excess heat and carbon from burning fossil fuels, and play a big role in regulating the climate.

“The Green Party will make it a top priority in negotiations to have a Green Minister for Oceans and Fisheries at the Cabinet table, so we can give this the urgency it deserves,” says Eugenie Sage.

Source: Green Party

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is visiting The Commons Project at Housing First Ōtautahi, which helps vulnerable whānau connect and engage with services.

“Everyone deserves to have a safe, warm, dry place to call home. The Green Party will ensure this by clearing the public housing waitlist in 5 years and building 35,000 new warm, affordable, public houses over the next five years,” says Green Party co-leader, Marama Davidson.

“Under this Government, with the Greens’ support, Kāinga Ora is building more new public homes than it has for over a generation. But there is much further to go.

“The current state of housing in Aotearoa is no accident. It is because of the decisions of successive governments that have not prioritised people, and instead let the rental market more closely resemble a game of monopoly than a public good – and it is landlords who hold all the cards.

“Because of this, those on the lowest incomes spend too much of their income on rent. Many families also struggle to put down roots in communities because they have to constantly move to manage rising rents. This isn’t good enough in a country as wealthy as Aotearoa.

“Only the Green Party has shown the political willpower to do something about the state of housing in this country at the scale needed to give everyone a decent home. If we are around the table with Labour, Green Ministers would be setting out a plan for 35,000 new homes delivered with more funding, dedicated manufacturing sites, and secure long-term contracts.

“The solutions are as clear as they have always been: much more housing, controls on rent increases, a rental warrant of fitness, and thousands more new public and community sector homes in places people want to live. In the first 100 days of a new government, we will introduce a new Renters’ Rights Bill to give effect to these changes.

“Any party that stops short of promising to make everyone’s home healthy and affordable, is actively choosing to make life harder for thousands of people. Everything we need to make life better for people in Aotearoa exists. What’s missing is the political willpower to use it,” says Marama Davidson.