Throughout the COVID-19 response, we have all relied on low-wage essential workers. Those who stack shelves, care for our most vulnerable in rest homes, and transport goods around the country have been putting themselves at risk to sustain the rest of us through lockdown.

Many of these essential jobs have been undervalued for too long, well before the pandemic, meaning many of these workers barely earn enough to live.

We believe these heroes deserve to earn a dignified wage.

Here’s our 3 point plan to help make this happen: 

1. Introduce law to enable Fair Pay Agreements for essential workers as soon as possible. These Fair Pay Agreements would set out specific minimum standards for wages and working conditions. They would create a framework for employers and unions to negotiate, and once agreed upon, would become legal requirements for all people working in that sector.
   
   
2. Extend the living wage beyond core public sector workers to include contractors and government funded not-for-profit staff. This would mean workers such as hospital cleaners, would have their wages increased to a dignified, liveable wage.
   
   
3. Set up a hospitality sector working group. This would bring employers, unions and Government around the planning table to get the industry on a more sustainable footing going forward.

Support Climate Action.
Stop funding fossil fuels!

“Ten years from now, New Zealanders will look back at the climate action their politicians took today. The Greens know we have a responsibility to that future, to do everything we can to ensure it’s flourishing.” - Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick.

The Green Party in Government has succeeded in ensuring we’re saving for a better future, by getting default KiwiSaver funds out of fossil fuels. But we know we need to go further and faster if we are going to truly tackle the climate change challenge.

We’re now proposing changing the rules for all public investment funds, so they stop bank-rolling big-money, big-time polluting fossil fuel industries.

You can get across the details on what what we’re proposing here. 

School Strike for Climate

We agree with all five of the School Strike for Climate's demands:

1. Parliament acknowledges the magnitude of the climate crisis and the damage it is causing our Pacific Island neighbours by declaring a Climate Emergency. This move will set the narrative for the urgent pace at which we need to act on climate change and must uphold our democratic values and obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
   
   We agree. We've called a motion in the house to declare an emergency, only to be blocked by the Opposition, and continue to work in Government to deliver a wide ranging action plan that recognises the scale of the challenge.
   
   

2. Parliament passes an ambitious Zero Carbon Act into law with cross-party support that puts in place a legally enforceable plan to get to net zero carbon by 2040.
   
   We agree. We have worked tirelessly to get a Zero Carbon Act in place with cross-party support and would be open to ways to bring net zero carbon into place by 2040 if the political consensus allowed.

3. The Government ceases all exploration and extraction of fossil fuels in NZ. This includes not granting any extensions of existing permits. This must be paired with Government investment in renewable energy production and sustainable transport systems to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
   
   We agree. We don’t want to see any new permits granted and we’d like current permits to be wound down in an orderly fashion.  We have championed an end to exploration and have lobbied to have existing permit extensions closed off.

4. The Government invests in building a renewable and regenerative economy now. This means immediate investment in retraining and the provision of alternative jobs in clean, sustainable industries that don’t harm the ecosystems on which we depend for survival. This must be done through meaningful partnerships with communities, Tangata Whenua and youth to ensure a just transition and that no one is left behind.
   

   
   We agree. We’re leading the government’s work on reducing waste in order to lead to a circular economy, with communities and local government as partners, and it was the Green Party that set the government’s goal of 100% renewable electricity. We’re committed to supporting new clean industries like green hydrogen and we were the first to get Cabinet to agree to be guided by just transition principles.

5. The Government honours its responsibility to our Pacific Island neighbours by ensuring its domestic climate policies align with the Paris Agreement 1.5 goal; releasing a public adaptation plan for Climate Change survivors to migrate to New Zealand with dignity; and actively supporting the regional and international diplomatic efforts of Pacific Islands Small Island Developing States to increase climate ambition and mitigate the climate crisis before it’s too late.
   

   
   We agree. Our climate action plan and legislation is geared around staying within 1.5 degrees and we have supported Pacific Islands Small Island Developing States delegations at COP. We support appropriate visa pathways for migration with dignity but we also hear the voices of our Pacific neighbours calling for the world to act faster to stop climate change, so they can stay in their homelands – that has to be the priority. We’re also proud of the 50% increase in climate aid to the Pacific under this Government.

What changes have we made in Government so far?

The Green Party is leading action to ensure our emissions are reduced, whilst supporting communities to make the necessary changes and ensuring people aren’t left behind.

Our Climate Action Plan

Change is already underway, and includes:

1. Driving down emissions by fixing the Emissions Trading Scheme.
2. Ensuring major polluters pay by phasing out their free allocation of carbon credits.
3. Establishing an independent Climate Commission to advise the government.
4. Government funding for innovation, research and redevelopment into low emissions technologies.
5. Establishing a Green Investment Fund that encourages private investment into low carbon technologies.
6. Making large companies report on the financial risks they face relating to climate change.
7. Setting a fair price for agricultural emissions.
8. Making clean and electric cars more affordable with a clean car discount and clean car standard.
9. Government funding for electric vehicle chargers.
10. Investing in clean transport infrastructure like trains, buses, and bike lanes.
11. Making it easier to build new clean electricity generation like windfarms and solar.
12. Working with major industrial coal users to help them transition to cleaner alternatives, including biomass.
13. Phasing out the government’s own coal use, such as to heat schools and hospitals.
14. Working with local councils to reduce waste going to landfill.
15. Establishing “one stop shops” for farmers to get rid of agricultural waste like chemicals and silage wrap.
16. Updating the Building Code to encourage environmentally friendly building materials and techniques.
17. Setting stronger energy efficiency standards for new buildings.
18. Encouraging more medium density, affordable housing instead of urban sprawl.

These are all part of our cross-Government action plan to tackle the climate challenge.

We will continue to advocate for further and faster action.

Show your support to end housing inequality

New Zealand’s housing market is becoming increasingly divided between people who own their own homes and those forced to rent for life with no chance of ever buying a home.

Here’s how the Green Party plans to end housing inequality: 

1. We’ll introduce our rent-to-own policy as part of the KiwiBuild Reset. Our rent-to-own policy will offer a pathway to those locked out by student debt, high rents, low wages, high housing costs, and high costs of raising a family. We’ll be offering a pathway to home ownership for anyone who has enough money to pay their rent, but not enough money to save a deposit.

2. We'll focus on those most in need of support with a plan to end homelessness through the Housing First programme, increasing incomes, and radically increasing state housing as an essential part of public infrastructure. 

3. We’ll reform the Residential Tenancies Act this term, to end no-cause terminations and ensure everyone has a secure home to live in. 

4. We’ll continue pushing for a Rental Warrant of Fitness, to ensure minimum standards for rental properties so that New Zealanders who are renting can have confidence that their house is dry, warm and healthy to live in, no matter what. 

A binding referendum has been confirmed for 2020 on legalising and regulating recreational cannabis. Sign up today to show your support and stay in the loop on this sensible drug law reform.    

"We're proud of our democratic MMP system, we need to secure equal access to it and protect against corruption"
- Golriz Ghahraman MP, Green Party spokesperson for electoral reform.  

You can find more detail of the changes we're proposing here.

Families are living in poverty thanks to unfair sanctions and low payments.

It’s time to change all that and put aroha and compassion back into how we support our most vulnerable. Are you in?

Here’s what the Green Party is calling for:

1. Increase baseline benefits
Our social support system shouldn’t leave the most vulnerable people living in poverty. No matter who you are in New Zealand, you should have enough to live with dignity.

2. Remove sanctions
Sanctions punish people for being poor. Kiwis know it’s about time we offered support for those trying to find work, rather than making things harder for them.

3. Change the benefit reduction threshold
Right now, benefit reduction thresholds are so low that people are often put a worse financial position than if they didn’t work at all. We want to increase this threshold, so no one is worse off for finding casual or part-time work.

4. Combine the In Work Tax Credit & the Family Tax Credit
Every child deserves a great start in life, but the In-Work Tax Credit only goes to some families – punishing people who can’t work. Let’s combine it with the Family Tax Credit, so all children benefit.

5. Moving towards a just system of individual needs
People are penalised for falling in love. We need to move towards a just system of entitlements based on individual need so that people can be in relationships of mutual support without fear of losing their financial independence.

Show your support and sign on to our plan.

Sign on to show your support for an Independent Commissioner for Animals so we can give animals a voice and end cruelty.

Aotearoa New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world to teach so little about its own history in the core curriculum.

Parihaka is just one of many historical events not taught regularly across our education system.

Students in schools around Aotearoa are missing out on the important history of Māori, Pākehā and Te Tiriti - Treaty of Waitangi.

Today’s education needs to include place based education which affirms tangata whenua experience of history, and helps us all understand who we are and where we come from. Learning about colonisation and what happened for Māori is good for all of us.