Around Parliament, Budget time is one of the busiest times of the year. Last week, things were hectic. A number of people were left with the impression that the Greens had voted for “the Budget”. This is incorrect. The Green Party did not – and will not – vote for “the Budget”. The Budget is […]
This week, MPs were playing games at Parliament. What’s new, you ask? Not the usual, name-calling and point-scoring political games. Instead, they played Kiwi-designed video games like Grow and Golden Threads. I was delighted to be able to organise, with Play by Play, a demonstration in the Beehive of some of New Zealand’s incredible video […]
A special joint blog from Marama Davidson, Green Party social housing spokesperson and Eugenie Sage, Green Party environment spokesperson. A Treaty settlement, environmental planning, affordable housing, threatened native species and recreation spaces are all in play in Auckland’s Point England/Te Whanake, thanks to another Nick Smith special. The National Government is pushing the Point England […]
Last week I launched two policies to support Kiwi journalism because as Bill Moyers put it, “the quality of democracy and the quality of journalism is deeply intertwined.” Journalism matters because it’s how we discover what’s happening in our world, it informs how we govern our country and at its heart, is about our national […]
Voluntary calls for Kiwisaver funds to clean up their portfolios and get out of funding weapons that cause massive suffering and fatalities hasn’t worked. The Green Party is calling for the National Government to step up to its obligations to enforce the law. Six months ago there was an outcry when it was revealed that […]
There was widespread applause when a Transparency International report rated New Zealand equal highest in the world for financial integrity, but the report was derived from a series of ‘expert ratings’ and should not used be an excuse for complacency. In our globalised world, there are huge amounts of money from organised crime, drugs, and […]
Right now, Forest and Bird are in the Supreme Court defending a challenge from the Minister of Conservation, Maggie Barry. The Minister wants to remove the protected status of 22 hectares of Forest Park land in order to allow it to be flooded for the Ruataniwha irrigation dam to go ahead. Think about that for […]
Homelessness is a disgrace. It’s ugly and dehumanising and I can’t bear to see it every day in my home town of Wellington. Unlike Sir Robert Jones, though, I’ve never thought about blaming the victims for their situation. That’s bully talk and Sir Robert should both be above that and also willing to look deeper […]
You’d be forgiven for not noticing that the Government published a new draft energy strategy this week. It’s basically the same as the old energy strategy, which they published in 2011, but with one new target around industrial process emissions intensity. In short, it’s a missed opportunity that shows a lack of bold vision and […]
The lesson from the demise of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) should have been that it is time to re-think this type of so-called trade agreement. But despite warnings from internationally-recognised experts, there are more secretive “trade” negotiations happening this week, and the risks are huge. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is being negotiated […]