The Green Party's Ricardo Menéndez March

As a part of their energy policy, the current national-led government has reopened the door to offshore oil and gas exploration and mining after it was banned under the previous government. Last week, we saw reports of the first bid under the scheme, a sign of further oil and gas projects.

Alongside this the government has put through legislation increasing the maximum amount energy companies can be fined by three times, they say, to increase accountability.

Finally, rumours swirl that the central government is about to step in to override the rezoning plan crafted by the Auckland Council once again, as the groups protest the plan enabling higher-rise buildings around transport hubs.

For this week's Weekly Catch-up with the Green Party, Wire Producer Manny spoke to MP Recardo Menendez March about the expansion of fines on energy companies and the central government's intervention in Auckland Council's zoning plans. But first we discussed the first bid in offshore oil and gas.

Yesterday, the latest six-monthly survey of housing support providers under the National Homelessness Data Project, or NHDP,  showed that homelessness in Auckland has more than doubled in the year to September. The report also found that 14 of the 21 agencies interviewed reported an increase in homelessness.

As well as this, Australia’s ban on social media for children under 16 has taken effect. And according to an interim report into social media harm, a social media ban for children in New Zealand is worth exploring further.

And last week the Government announced the replacement of the Resource Management Act, or RMA. The coalition said its replacement will slash red tape and supercharge growth.

For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the Government’s new RMA reforms and a potential social media ban in New Zealand.

But first they discussed the latest report on Auckland homelessness.

On Monday, the government announced that they’d be introducing a rates rises cap, which is expected to be legislated by the end of 2026. The cap would be a minimum of 2% and a maximum of 4% nationwide.

When talking about the reasoning for the introduction of a rates cap, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said that ratepayers in New Zealand were “fed up”.

Along with this, The Labour Party announced that if they were to be elected in next year’s election, they would offer doctors and nurse-practitioners low-interest loans to set up new practices or buy into existing ones. In their policy, Chris Hipkins stated they would hand out up to 50 loans per year, which would be up to 90% of the cost of buying into a practice, capped at $500,000 dollars. They also specified they’d be prioritising areas that had no general practitioners or practices with closed or partially closed books.

And last week, the Government announced a proposed major shake-up of local council. Where Mayors of cities and district councils would take over the duties of regional councils.

For our Weekly Catchup with The Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the Government’s regional council’s announcement and Labour’s low-interest loans for family GP practices.

But first, they discussed The National Party’s rates rises cap.

During an interview with the ‘Morning Report’, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon confirmed that orders for the homeless in Auckland’s CBD to move on were “definitely a consideration”. He later stated, that “Aucklanders don’t feel safe going into the central city”, and both Central government and Auckland Council are considering how they can move homeless people out of the CBD ahead of summer. 

This follows previous reports that the Government was considering a rough sleeping ban for central Auckland.

This news comes as Stats NZ released their annual unemployment figures this week. The results show that national unemployment has risen to a nine-year high at 5.3%, with the New Zealand youth taking most of the damage.

For our weekly catchup with The Green Party, Wednesday Wire Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March, to discuss the new unemployment figures released last week. They also spoke about the Government’s new action plan to combat methamphetamine use.

But first, they discussed what The Green Party thought about the Government’s plan to decrease homelessness in the Auckland CBD