Aotearoa and the world are at a crunch point of a climate and biodiversity crisis. Te Tiriti ō Waitangi has been trampled on. The good news is that we can still turn it around.

But pivotal to this, is a functional environment and planning system.  

Our resource management laws set out the boundaries that guide decisions on things like  where housing can be built, when water can be taken from a stream, and when native plants or the homes of our native species can be destroyed so the land can be developed.  

These laws have been difficult to navigate for some time, and were in need of reform. However, it’s important we get this right. These laws are the first basic protection for the things we all need and all care about to live good lives – our freshwater, our nature, and all the critters who live in it.  

Our goal during the submission period is to get the basics right. In order to do that at Select Committee and improve these laws, we need YOUR HELP!  

Make a submission to urge the Government to ensure our planning laws protect people and planet.  

The basic areas that need improvement are: 

1) Stronger environmental bottom lines  

2) An overarching ‘maintain or improve’ goal 

3) Securing the role of Māori in the new system 

4) Ditching ‘regulatory relief’ - which sees councils paying to protect biodiversity 

5) Keeping and strengthening the positives of the proposed laws 

Please submit on the new Resource Management laws and have your say. 

When you make your submission, the website asks whether you would like to do an oral submission to the select committee. Please  do click yes- you can always change your mind about presenting but it shows you care.

You will then be asked to make 'comments' and 'recommendations'. You can also choose to upload a written submission.

Below, we have set out suggestions to help you craft your submission. Use the sentence starters and reasons we have given to help you write yours.

1. The need for strong environmental bottom lines 

What 

• The new resource management bills set out a framework for environmental limits, including environment bottom lines. These limits will be set for human health at a national level, and for ecosystem health at a regional level by councils. These ‘limits’  can be set for things like the amount of nitrate pollution in water, or the amount of pollution allowed in the air. Bottom lines will be set at a national level for human health, and councils will set levels at a regional limit for ecosystem health. 

Why this matters 

• While there are some potentially good features of the environmental limits framework, there is a lot that can be improved and needs securing. We have not seen any detail on what these limits will be and guidance for councils on how to implement these limits is light on detail. Councils will be required to weigh up environmental protections against economic development when setting limits. At a national level, councils can have limits weaker than set, if they simply ‘justify’ it.  

Starters 

• I support having strong environmental limits at a national level, that cannot be made less stringent by councils. 

• I think councils should receive more guidance on how to set limits, and how to manage conflicting goals between the natural environment bill, and the planning bill. 

• I support environmental limits having legal consequences, so that these limits are not breached, and where they are there are consequences. 

• I support having a strong monitoring and compliance framework, to ensure limits aren’t breached and that human and ecosystem health is protected. 

2. The need for an overarching ‘maintain or improve’ goal 

What 

The new Natural Environment Bill sets out goals that all people performing functions under this Bill must follow. These are:  

(a) to enable the use and development of natural resources within environmental limits: 

(b) to safeguard the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil, and ecosystems: 

(c) to protect human health from harm caused by the discharge of contaminants: 

(d) to achieve no net loss in indigenous biodiversity: 

(e) to manage the effects of natural hazard associated with the use or protection of natural resources through proportionate and risk-based planning: 

(f) to provide for Māori interests through— 

(i) Māori participation in the development of national instruments, spatial planning, and natural environment plans; and 

(ii) the identification and protection of sites of significance to Māori (including, wāhi tapu, water bodies, or sites in or on the coastal marine area); and 

(iii) enabling the development and protection of identified Māori land. 

However, these goals don’t say specify that we should maintain or improve the health of our environment. We think this needs to change and that the direction of environmental improvement, rather than degradation, should be clear. 

Why 

We think these goals should include a target to ‘maintain and improve’ our environment. This would mean that things like freshwater pollution or the loss of indigenous habitat cannot get worse, but must be kept at current levels, or improved. This would provide absolute clarity that we do not support further degradation of te taiao. 

Starters: 

• I support including a ‘maintain and improve’ goal in the Natural Environment Bill, to clarify that further pollution or degradation is not acceptable, and that so-called trade-offs such as concepts like ‘no net loss’ for biodiversity are not taken advantage of to permit the destruction of rich, healthy biodiversity for lesser value green-washing. 

3. Securing the role of Māori in our environment and planning laws 

What 

Many iwi and hapū have established practices, relationships and experience with the current Resource Management Act. The new legislation introduces an out-dated and token ‘consultation’ role for Māori within the resource management system.  

To truly provide a fit for purpose 21st century environmental management system, the bill must provide for strong roles for hapū and iwi alongside the protection and implementation of Te Tiriti, including treaty settlement rights and crown obligations. The bill currently fails to do so, and therefore fails at the most fundamental level in delivering a functional system. 

Starters: 

• I do not support the role of Māori being reduced to consultation only. 

• I support iwi and hapū having strong decision making roles within the resource management system, as kaitiaki of Aotearoa. 

• I want to see Māori interests protected as an enforceable goal in the legislation to uphold Te Tiriti obligations, not as just an objective 

• I support strengthening the treaty clause beyond just ‘recognising the crown’s responsibilities’ – as currently drafted, the Bills have a weaker commitment to te Tiriti and Māori than the Resource Management Act had. 

4. Ditching ‘Regulatory relief’ 

What is it? 

• Regulatory relief is a new idea being introduced to our resource management law. It could mean that if councils seek to protect significant natural areas, indigenous biodiversity, or sites of significance for Māori, and that impacts on private landowners, then councils may be forced to ‘compensate’ these landowners. Compensation can take the form of cash, rebates on rates, or bonus development rights. 

Why we want it removed 

• This is problematic, because it could lead to councils avoiding any new environmental protections because they may have to compensate private landowners. It could overwhelm councils and lead to increased time and resources spent in court. This will be made even worse by the Government’s proposal to cap rates, meaning councils won’t have resources available to them to be able to respond to the required regulatory relief. 

Starters: 

• I am opposed to the introduction of the concept of regulatory relief for private landowners where councils seek to adopt environmental regulation or controls.  

• In an environment where councils are already finding it tough to fund things infrastructure and services, and where the Government is proposing to cap rates, I am concerned that regulatory takings will discourage councils from making environmental rules, out of fear of being taken to court or being forced to give up already limited resources for simply protecting indigenous biodiversity or outstanding landscapes 

• I think indigenous biodiversity, significant natural areas, and outstanding natural landscapes should be protected as part of the public good for all people in Aotearoa. Requiring councils to pay private individuals for protecting biodiversity does ? 

5. Keeping and strengthening the positives:  

Here are some additional sentence starters you can use to show what you like about the new Bills- these would fiit well under the 'make a comment' section: 

• I support keeping and upholding Water Conservation Orders. They are the highest level of protection available for lakes and rivers and an important tool for environmental protection. 

• I support the reduction in the number of plans. There are currently a lot of different plans across Aotearoa made by a range of different councils and local authorities. Simplifying the number of plans without losing the integrity of the community-agreed environmental protections will help make resource management clearer and more effective. 

• I support stronger compliance and monitoring of the environment, and stronger enforcement tools and consequences for those who pollute the environment or breach environmental bottom lines. 

• I support protecting our outstanding natural landscapes. Aotearoa is home to unique habitats and natural history and these must be protected. 

Thank you for taking the time to submit on this vitally important piece of legislation. Please do share this page with anyone you think may be interested in submitting to protect te taiao.

New Zealanders move overseas for many reasons - for whānau, for work, for study, for experience and much more. Almost all retain links to Aotearoa and most plan to return at some point in their lives. Many have studied and have a student loan.

In April 2025, the government raised the interest rate on student loan balances for overseas-based New Zealanders to 4.9%. Originally this was scheduled to rise to 3.9% in line with inflation, but the government arbitrarily added an additional 1% on top.

Unlike student loan repayments for those living in Aotearoa, those repaying from overseas pay a lump sum. It is not a proportion of their income. This means many New Zealanders living overseas are at risk of being stuck in vicious debt cycles where they can barely pay off the annual interest.

The Green Party surveyed over 400 New Zealanders in 23 countries:

• 78% did not think they were making meaningful progress on repaying their student loan
• 82% percent were worried or extremely worried about their student loan.
  

You can read the report here.

In 2011, student loan debt overdue from overseas-based borrowers was $289 million. In 2025 it is $2.193 billion.

In 2011, the number of overseas-based student loan borrowers with overdue payments was 52 percent. In 2025 it is 71 percent.

The system is not working for anyone and needs reform. We are asking for an inquiry to be opened to investigate this issue, with the voices of overseas-based New Zealanders included. 

Read the Overseas Student Loan Report.

[Petition Begins]  

Tēnā koutou Education and Workforce Committee,

We are calling for a cross-party inquiry into the student loan repayment scheme for overseas-based New Zealanders. The system is unsustainable. Debt is ballooning. Borrowers are being stuck in debt cycles and our relationship with our overseas-based New Zealanders is being stretched to breaking point.

A scheme that sees overdue debt balloon from $289 million to $2.193 billion in less than 15 years is clearly not working. There has to be a better way. It is in the government’s interest to find one.

An inquiry should investigate what has gone wrong with the current scheme and to investigate and propose alternatives that offer equitable outcomes for all our overseas-based New Zealanders, regardless of their means or personal circumstances. Their voices should be at the heart of this inquiry. Any repayment scheme should sustain and nurture the relationship between the government of Aotearoa and our people living overseas. 

We are calling on you to:  

• Open a cross-party inquiry into the student-loan scheme for overseas-based borrowers
• Ensure the voices of overseas-based borrowers are at the heart of this inquiry.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

[Petition Ends]

Reference: Student Loan Scheme Annual Report 2023-4

Tena kōe Your Worship, Mayor Andrew Little, 

We hope this open letter finds you well. 

We are writing to share our views on the Future Fit Pōneke Report released by the Wellington City Council on 24 November 2025. 

Wellington has experienced first-hand the impacts of the National, New Zealand First and Act’s slash and burn cuts to the public service. We have long been a proud public service city which shows up to work every day for the hardworking people of Aotearoa. 

Wellingtonians know that we cannot cut our way towards a productive modern economy, and that cuts degrade, not enhance, the capacity of the public service. The morale of public servants, including those who are now jobseekers, is extremely low and dispirited. Empty shopfronts, shuttered businesses, and tens of thousands of jobseekers are the direct result of this Government’s reckless austerity agenda. 

We share concerns outlined by the Public Service Association (PSA) about the flaws of the Future Fit Pōneke report. We agree with the PSA that the Wellington City Council provides services that other councils do not, and that Wellington City Council service an extra 22,000 people that come to the city for work that do not necessarily make up the ratepayer base of the city. 

The report suggests reducing the workforce by hundreds of employees. This could be fulfilled in a number of ways – for example, outright redundancies, or through managed vacancies. We want to emphasise that managed vacancies can be just as harmful as outright redundancies if it places the burden of increased workload on those who remain. This approach is what the Government is doing in the health system which Labour and the PSA have been opposed to for obvious reasons that we agree with. 

We also agree with their critiques about the flawed assumptions around the use of unproven technology to replace human labour. ChatGPT cannot pick litter up at a park or provide authentic human support that librarians provide – only humans can.  

 We call on you to: 

1. Publicly commit to ruling out implementing any of the outlined cuts proposed in the report. 

2. Work with the staff and the unions to improve critical services in a public-centered way. 

3. Stand up against the ongoing public service cuts that have caused so much devastation in our city. 

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to working with you on this issue. 

Kind regards, 
Francisco Hernandez MP, Green Spokesperson for Public Services 
Tamatha Paul, MP for Wellington Central and Julie Anne Genter, MP for Rongotai.

Kia ora,

We believe in a country where our natural beauty, biodiversity, and cultural heritage are not sacrificed for the short-term profits of the few. A future where economic development builds our country up, rather than tears it open. Where every community must have a stake in building a liveable, sustainable future.

That’s why we have announced that a Green Government will commit to revoking any fast-track consents or permits for coal, gold and seabed mines handed out under the fast-track process.

Consents for destructive mining could be pushed through under fast track in Taranaki, Coromandel, Tākaka, Otago, Northland and on the West Coast. Some of the areas at risk are among our most precious, worth far more than being torn up for the short-term profit of the few.

We are asking you to share your stories, pictures, memories and hopes for these places with us, to help us share why it is so vital that we draw a line in the sand.

Please tell us your story about why we need to protect our valued spaces from fast-tracked mining destruction.

Please be patient, the form takes a second to load.

Your participation in this survey is voluntary. The information you provide will be used for research on public opinion. Your responses will be anonymised and kept confidential. The data will be stored securely and will be reported in a way that does not identify you, in compliance with the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.

People across Aotearoa deserve thriving, regional polytechnics that meet the needs of learners and the wider community.

Government cuts to vocational education and training have reduced classes, teachers, and support for people trying to build their skills. This means less opportunities for people and even less hope for those struggling under the cost-of-living crisis.

Our campaign is for the Government to properly fund our polytechs, end the cuts, and make a plan with communities to establish thriving polytechs across Aotearoa New Zealand.  

We've made a pack to support the "Save our Polytechs" campaign in your own communities. Fill in the form below to download your free pack! 

Communities across Aotearoa deserve thriving, regional polytechnics that can help meet the needs of learners and the wider community.    

Our polytechs provide people with opportunities to upskill, retrain and meaningfully contribute to communities - but our polytechs are in crisis.  

The Government’s cuts to vocational education and training have resulted in a reduction of classes, teachers, and support for people trying to build their skills. This means less opportunities for people out there and even less hope for those struggling under the cost-of-living crisis.    

The Green Party is calling on the Government to properly fund our polytechs, end the cuts, and work with communities to create a real plan to establish thriving polytechs across Aotearoa New Zealand.   

Sign our petition today and join us in calling on the Minister for Vocational Education, Hon Penny Simmonds, to do just that. 

[Petition Begins]  

Tēnā koe Minister Simmonds, 

Communities across Aotearoa deserve thriving, regional polytechnics that can help meet the needs of learners and the wider community – but our polytechs are in crisis. 

Across the motu we are seeing an extensive wave of staffing cuts, course disestablishments and even campus closures. Campuses across the country from Tokoroa to Wellington have been planned for closure, and staff and courses have been cut from Northland to Otago.  

This is the direct result of the Government’s Vocational Education and Training reforms. These directives for Polytechs to make cuts—just so they look financially viable on paper--are a poor choice.  

Decisions like these directly harm our communities.  

Our communities are already struggling amidst a dire cost-of-living crisis. From Northland to Otago, cuts mean a loss in jobs and opportunity.  

What we need now is support, not a reduction in classes, teachers, and investment in people trying to build their skills and enter into the workforce.  

We need to save our polytechs so they are able to provide people with opportunities to upskill, retrain and meaningfully contribute to communities.   

We are calling on you to Save our Polytechs, by:  

• establishing proper funding 

• committing to no further cuts 

• working with communities to create a real plan to establish thriving polytechs across Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Sincerely,  

The Undersigned.

[Petition ends] 

Open Letter to Minister Chhour 

To: Hon Karen Chhour, Minister for Children 

Kia ora Minister Chhour,  

We are writing to you today with a deep concern for the wellbeing and safety of tamariki across Aotearoa. 

Every tamaiti in Aotearoa, whether in the care of whānau or the state, deserves to grow up with safety and stability, wrapped in aroha.  

However, right now, far too many tamariki are being failed by a care system that is under-resourced, disconnected from whakapapa, and lacking a focus on preventing harm before it happens. 

Social workers are overwhelmed, facing dangerously high caseloads. Community providers are dealing with funding cuts and funding uncertainty every year. Independent oversight recommendations are constantly ignored. Far too many children in our care system are not having their fundamental rights met.  

As Minister for Children, you hold responsibility to ensure this system upholds the rights and dignity of every child in Aotearoa. 

That is why we are asking you to commit to a ‘Duty of Care’. A set of seven core promises that speak to the fundamental system change required protect tamariki, put them at the heart of government decision making and deliver a system that truly serves children. 

These duties of care are based on the voices and lived experience of care-experienced young people, whānau, community providers, Māori leaders, and the recommendations of several inquiries. They reflect the values of te Tiriti o Waitangi and the rights guaranteed under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Detailed below, these duties of care  are backed by clear, achievable policy commitments: 

The seven duties of care 

1. Every child’s whānau and whakapapa must be centred 
   Tamariki Māori remain disproportionately effected in a colonial state care system. We call for legislative reform to embed whānau and hapū leadership in decisions about tamariki and to re-centre care around whakapapa guided by mana enhancing processes.
2. Every child must be free from poverty 
   Poverty is a key driver of harm. We call for bold income support reforms including a universal payment and a simplified Family Top Up scheme to ensure every child grows up with the resources they need to thrive.
3. Every child must be supported, every step of their journey
   Children often fall through the cracks of the systems designed to protect them. We call for long term investment in prevention, trauma informed care and strong transition pathways, ensuring that funding and support follows the child across government service providers at all stages of life.
4. Every child must be heard, respected, and placed at the heart of decision-making
   Tamariki are still too often excluded from the systems meant to protect them. We call for the full incorporation of the UN children’s rights into domestic legislation, safeguarded funding for independent advocacy and mandatory child impact assessments in all government decisions. 
5. Every child must be protected
   Oversight without binding recommendations is not enough. We call for strong, independent, enforceable oversight of the care system including full implementation of all 138 recommendations of the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care. 
6. Every child must have a stable, nurturing home
   Too many children face multiple care placements once in the Oranga Tamariki care system, and as such, lack the secure relationships they need. We call for a professional caregiving accreditation model, strong support for caregivers and clear accountability between the state and care providers.
7. Every child is cared for by a well-supported workforce  
   Workforce shortages, high caseloads and a lack of trauma-informed training undermine care quality. We call for equitable and fair pay, manageable workloads and targeted workforce development that prioritises community providers.

Join us. Sign below to demand a care system that finally puts children at the heart of Government decision making. 

Christopher Luxon’s Government has intentionally increased homelessness. They were warned their changes would increase homelessness, they went ahead, and homelessness increased.

They must make different political decisions to stop the growing problem, and instead ensure that everyone in this country has access to a safe, warm, dry, and affordable home.

We are calling on the Government to:

• Reverse their changes to emergency housing eligibility criteria, which are worsening homelessness
• Ensure emergency homelessness responses are fit for purpose by:
  • Introducing ‘Duty to Assist’ legislation, which would require the Government to proactively help people - especially our young people - with the support they need, instead of putting up barriers
  • Ensuring emergency housing assistance is continued until someone has access to suitable housing, without putting people into debt
  • Adequately funding wrap-around support and community organisations that support people with mental health, alcohol and other drugs, budgeting, food and the basics necessary to transition into stable housing
• Invest in long-term solutions to the housing crisis by:
  • Reinstating the state housing building programme, instead of cancelling over 3,479 new homes
  • Repealing no-cause evictions and strengthening renters’ rights

Our vision is for an Aotearoa where everyone’s health is taken care of, no matter who we are or where we come from. Achieving this vision requires strong health services that acknowledge and work with our differences – not a one-size-fits-all approach. 

Unfortunately, the Government’s proposed changes through the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill unwind that acknowledgement, and risk locking in the same one-size-fits-all system that has failed so many of us. 

Read our guide below, and then 

Submissions close at 1pm on Monday 18th August 2025.

One-size-fits-all doesn’t work because we don’t all start from the same place. This is most visible through Māori average life expectancy, which is 7-8 years less than non-Māori.  

We can remedy this – but it takes an approach that prioritises equity – treating each person according to their needs, in order to reach an equal outcome - not by treating everyone the same. 

What is the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill, and why does it matter? 

The Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill removes equity principles from the Act, which will have an impact on how Te Whatū Ora, our public health provider, delivers services.  

It also removes Te Mauri o Rongo – the New Zealand Health Charter, the guiding star that requires health workplaces to be physically, mentally and culturally safe, while working towards Pae Ora at every level of the system. 

This will, in turn, impact all communities which suffer inequitable health outcomes, including Māori and Pasifika, migrant, rainbow and Takatāpui whānau. 

The original Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act implemented the recommendations from the Wai 2575 Waitangi Tribunal Report into Māori health, which found successive Governments had failed to bridge the equity gap between Māori and non-Māori health outcomes.  

Pae Ora was to bring us towards health equity by putting legal responsibility on Health New Zealand  Te Whatū Ora to bridge equity gaps. Removing this legal responsibility means Te Whatū Ora is effectively being told not to bother. 

Under the misleading guise of “equality”, this Government are attacking equity from all sides.    

First disestablishing te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority, which was tasked with achieving equitable health outcomes and monitoring Māori health.  Then, they stripped Māori and Pasifika of early bowel cancer screening, something that would have saved lives and evened the playing field. Now they’re re-directing our biggest healthcare provider away from equity, and towards the same one-size-fits-all approach that got us into this mess in the first place.    

What you can do today is make a submission against this Bill, and tell the Select Committee how important health equity, and specially designed services are for you and your community! Submissions are open until 1pm on Monday 18th August 2025.

Key things the Bill does  

• Removes the Health sector Principles and Charter from the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act, which contain principles of equitable health outcomes 

• Weakens the role of Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards in decision-making on health services, instead consolidating power for the politically appointed Hauora Māori Advisory Committee 

• Removes the requirement for tikanga and mātauranga knowledge on Te Whatū Ora’s board, and removes requirements for cultural safety  

• Emphasises out-sourcing care to the private sector 

• Changes the title of the Act from Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) to Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) – this will have no material change, and requires the title to be altered in 40 other pieces of legislation. It’s little more than a dog whistle, and a waste of time and money. 
  
  
  

Make a submission  

When you’re ready, click here to make your submission.   

Try to use your own words as much as possible and tell the Government to abandon the Bill.   

Your own words and point of view are enough. Your submission can be as long or as short as you like. Only have one minute? It can just be a sentence saying you oppose the Bill.   

If you want to go into more detail, below is a basic structure your submission could follow, and we’ve linked more information below.  

Start your submission with:   

[I oppose the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill] and ask the Select Committee and recommend the Government abandon this Bill.]   

Make your recommendation:  

Tell the Select Committee why you OPPOSE the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill.  

We recommend putting this in your own words and making it your own.  

If you have experience receiving healthcare from kaupapa Māori services, Pasifika services, services designed for rainbow and Takatāpui people, or the migrant or whaikaha community – tell the select committee your experience and why you value these services.  

Providing these safe spaces, specifically designed for your community, is equity in action, and it’s important.  

Then you could say for example:    

• The Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill takes us further away from where we need to be in terms of health equity.  

• The Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill undoes the work towards meeting the recommendations in the Wai 2575 Kaupapa Inquiry on Health Services and Outcomes, and therefore continues to breach te Tiriti o Waitangi, as successive Governments have failed Māori health.   

• The Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill undermines tino rangatiratanga by making Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards whānau voice only; Māori should have an active decision-making role alongside the Crown for Māori health.   

• The Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill emphasises out-sourcing care to the private sector. Increasingly relying on the for-profit health sector will undermine the capability of our public health system to deliver the care that people need. 

• The removal of a focus on equity will impact my community, because it could result in less funding for services specifically designed for rainbow people and our needs.  

• The removal of the requirement for culturally competent care concerns me, because I often don’t feel listened to or believed in regular primary care settings.  

• I really value the hauora service that takes care of me and my whānau. The practitioners took the time to build a relationship with us, and we have a high level of trust we weren’t able to have with other health services.  

Then tell the select committee your recommendation: 

This is where you make recommendations for changes you want the select committee to make. We suggest you include here that you recommend the select committee to abandoning the Bill.   

This can just be sentence saying you recommend the select committee abandons the Bill.  

If you wish to expand on this, you can speak to key areas of the Bill you are concerned about, and connect those to the recommendation to abandon the Bill. This should be written in your own words.  

• e.g., “In light of the shortfalls and failings outlined above, I recommend the select committee abandon the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill.”