Frogblog

National’s constitutional quagmire - by David Clendon

The High Court has ruled that the courts can look at whether prisoners should be allowed to vote. ‘Jailhouse lawyer’ Arthur Taylor took up the issue of prisoners’ voting rights and wanted a declaration that the current law, which bans all prisoners from voting, was inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act (BORA). However, the […] read more
July 16, 2014 2:07 pm - No Comments
Coromandel meeting rejects TPPA - by Catherine Delahunty

Last night more than 50 people crowded into a little hall in Tairua on the Coromandel and listened to global food and fair trade activist Andrea Brower from Hawaii and myself talking about food and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). Andrea has written columns on these themes in both “The Huffington Post” and “Common Dreams“. […] read more
July 15, 2014 4:47 pm - 1 Comment
Enough to live on? - by Jan Logie

Paula Bennett reckons people have enough to live on, and is trucking out averages as if it proves something, http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1407/S00203/lisa-owen-interviews-paula-bennett.htm but on the ground, it’s not enough. Here’s some of the stories I’m hearing: A woman moved from out west to South Auckland because she’d found a house that met her needs for $100 less […] read more
July 15, 2014 12:02 pm - 5 Comments
Rape Culture - by Jan Logie

So there has been a bit of discussion over the last few weeks about whether we have a rape culture in NZ or not. Paula Bennett the Minister responsible for sexual violence denied rape culture in NZ “I wouldn’t say that we’ve got a rape culture or a sexual violence culture in New Zealand. Actually […] read more
July 14, 2014 1:09 pm - 3 Comments
Tau Huirama- speech at launch of Green’s clean rivers policy - by frog

Tau Huirama, co-convenor Te Roopu Pounamu speaks at the launch of Green’s clean rivers policy Banks of the Waikato River, Hamilton 13 July 2014 I would like to start my speech off with this thought…let’s think about how we can “replenish the source”. Replenish the nutrients in our waterways; replenish the spiritual dimensions in our […] read more
July 14, 2014 12:11 pm - No Comments
Israel-Palestine Round 2014: Mutual Assured Destruction not the correct recipe - by Kennedy Graham

Israel-Palestine Round 2014: Mutual Assured Destruction not the correct recipe The latest round of violence in the Israel-Palestine saga reinforces a few timeless truths. They are: attempts at mutual slaughter achieve nothing but mutual slaughter; persisting with a politically-biased external mediator returns nothing but frustration; and an unreformed United Nations wringing its hands on the […] read more
July 11, 2014 3:46 pm - 16 Comments
“Reckless” Abbott loses on carbon tax - by Kennedy Graham

Today was a good day for the climate, but not such a good day for John Key’s counterpart across the Tasman. Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s controversial attempt to repeal Australia’s carbon tax failed in a 37 to 35 vote in the Senate. This is a carbon tax that’s working. It has helped reduce emissions in […] read more
July 10, 2014 4:27 pm - 5 Comments
TDB – More mining our protected places - by Gareth Hughes

This is yet another example of National’s disregard for our treasured places, along with permitting drilling and seismic testing in the Maui’s dolphin sanctuary, and logging and mining in our conservation estate read more
July 10, 2014 3:29 pm - 18 Comments
National’s last term, a review of domestic and sexual violence in numbers - by Jan Logie

The Green Party, along with community organisations and the media, has put domestic and sexual violence on the political agenda. I have asked 7 questions in the House and made 27 speeches on these topics. I may be a bit like a stuck record but these problems cause so much unnecessary harm. Obviously we are […] read more
July 7, 2014 5:34 pm - 5 Comments
Animal cruelty systemic in factory farming - by Mojo Mathers

On Sunday I was shocked by the follow up story to TVNZ Sunday’s investigation into pig factory farms in New Zealand. A link to the video can be found here. The footage aired was obtained by FarmWatch, who set up a surveillance camera on a random farm in the North Island. This was a different […] read more
July 7, 2014 2:20 pm - 4 Comments
Public funding for schools, and donations - by Catherine Delahunty

The Green Party welcomes Labour’s announcement to provide $100 per student to schools who choose not to ask parents for donations. The burden of donations needs to be lifted from parents in a public education system and the lower decile communities and schools just don’t need the pressure. This policy will see more money going […] read more
July 4, 2014 10:53 am - 1 Comment
Climate Change and Storms - by Catherine Delahunty

There have always been massive rainstorm and floods on the Coromandel, it’s part of our history and geography. Cyclone Ita was the first huge event for some years and even then the effects were limited to certain areas of the Peninsula. But seeing the impact of this storm on the landscape of the northern Coromandel […] read more
July 2, 2014 6:25 pm - 2 Comments
Govt backs Green plan for a second internet cable - by Gareth Hughes

I’m cautiously optimistic of news that the government-owned company Research and Educational Advanced Network New Zealand Ltd (REANNZ) has signed a $65 million anchor tenancy contract with Hawaiki Cable Ltd for its proposed new second internet cable. We announced in December 2012 our plan to fund a much-needed second internet cable. The Green Party plans […] read more
July 2, 2014 3:54 pm - 19 Comments
Christchurch cycleways heading in the right direction - by Eugenie Sage

There was a sense of relief in the Christchurch Green Party office when word came through that the City Council changed their mind on the timeframe to complete the major cycleways project. It started off as a three year project, and then expanded to five years, then to eight years, and now it is back […] read more
July 2, 2014 9:47 am - 1 Comment
Holly Walker to step down from party list - by Holly Walker

With real sadness, I have decided to withdraw from the Green Party’s list for the 2014 general election and not seek a second term in Parliament. I will stay on as the Green Party candidate for Hutt South to campaign for the Party Vote in my community I am gutted to be leaving so soon […] read more
June 30, 2014 1:01 pm - 3 Comments
Whakatane waste minimisation - by Denise Roche

I was pretty taken with the colourful collection of re-upholstered chairs which are testament to the organisations ability to add value to material that would otherwise end up in landfill. read more
June 27, 2014 5:24 pm - 2 Comments
Tukituki Plan decision bad news for Government’s weak water quality rules - by Eugenie Sage

Yesterday’s release of the Board of Inquiry’s final decisions on the regional plan provisions for the Tukituki River and catchment as part of the Ruataniwha dam project confirms that National’s favoured approach to bottom lines for water quality will not help our rivers. The Board of Inquiry for the Tukituki Catchment Proposal rejected the Government’s […] read more
June 27, 2014 9:28 am - 2 Comments
Animal Welfare Amendment Bill: The good, the bad and the ugly - by Mojo Mathers

The Bill has just been reported back from the Primary Production Select Committee. Like most bills it contains a mix of things that we agree with and those that we don’t. It has mostly been a missed opportunity to get it right for animals experiencing the greatest suffering in NZ which is in animal testing […] read more
June 26, 2014 12:48 pm - 1 Comment
Double win for Greens in economics this week - by Russel Norman

National has finally relented to years of Green Party pressure to put the Government’s banking contract to competitive tender. This banking contract – the largest, most lucrative banking contract in the country – has been held by Australian-owned Westpac Bank since 1989 and has never been retendered since then. In 2010, we disclosed this cosy […] read more
June 26, 2014 12:00 pm - 2 Comments
Guest Post – Cr Paul Bruce – Don’t Scrap the Trolleys - by Gareth Hughes

Lets be clear about this – the scrapping of the trolley buses is nothing to do with age of the fleet and power supply…it has nothing to do with the standard of the overhead wiring…it has nothing to do with the performance of the power stations or under powered trolleys…it has nothing to do with the age of the chassis – they were new 7 years ago. The decision to scrap the trolley fleet is based on prejudice and the... read more
June 26, 2014 11:31 am - 2 Comments
Equal pay will require a change of government - by Jan Logie

Today EEO Commissioner Dr. Jacqui Blue joined previous commissioners in calling on all political parties to set targets to close gender and ethnic pay gaps. In the past two years there has been no change in the public sector gender pay gap in the 29 core government departments. The gender pay gap in the public […] read more
June 25, 2014 5:35 pm - 1 Comment
Net Conservation Benefit - by Catherine Delahunty

The Government has a strategy to avoid protecting the environment, especially land set aside for its conservation values. It’s called “net conservation benefit” and the poster child of this disingenuous piece of spin is the Bathurst Resources agreement with DOC at the Denniston Plateau. As DOC is increasingly required to commercialise and mining is promoted, […] read more
June 25, 2014 1:23 pm - 1 Comment
Is Canterbury all right? - by Eugenie Sage

Last week the fantastic ‘All Right?’ campaign in Christchurch released results of their ‘Are we all right?’ project – their latest research into how Cantabrians are doing. The ‘All Right?’ campaign is a brilliant local initiative that reminds us to check in on how we and the people around us are feeling. They’ve used creative […] read more
June 25, 2014 9:23 am - No Comments
Peria School in Northland proving John Key wrong - by Russel Norman

According to John Key, solar PV systems “never pay for themselves, let alone reduce energy bills, or make money”. That was his response when we launched our Solar Homes policy earlier this year. Well, Peria School in the far North is about to prove the PM wrong. I was up there on Monday cutting the […] read more
June 25, 2014 8:25 am - 2 Comments
Public interest on UN bid says – ‘Show us the money, John’ - by Kennedy Graham

Under the John Key Government, New Zealand has recast its reputational integrity, losing traditional hues of national colour to which the Prime Minister is congenitally blind. This current Government has practised, to an art form, the statement of principles to govern the pursuit of stated objectives, in eloquent words of surpassing meaninglessness, whilst proceeding under […] read more
June 24, 2014 8:29 am - 2 Comments