The Green Party's Ricardo Menéndez March

Last week, and less than a month after the ceasefire in Gaza took place, US President Donald Trump announced plans to administer the Gaza Strip under American control after the final stage of the ceasefire and to relocate the strip’s Palestinian population, turning the Gaza strip into what Trump has described as the “Riviera of the Middle-East”.

While lauded by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right cabinet, Trump’s proposal was unanimously rejected and condemned, both by Middle-Eastern nations in the region but also US and Israeli allies like Canada and the United Kingdom, who reaffirmed their support for a two-state solution.

However, while Aotearoa’s official policy is also to support a two-state solution to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, there has been no comment on Trump’s proposal by Foreign Minister Winston Peters, or any other government official.

For their weekly catch up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez March to discuss Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians in Gaza and the lack of a response to it from the New Zealand government.

They also discussed the government's plan to change climate reporting laws for companies, and the overhaul of the Public Works Act to compensate Māori for confiscated land.

Submissions on the controversial Treaty Principles Bill were set to close last week, when on the final few days of submissions the portal to submit suffered technical difficulties. 

Due to this, many people were unable to send in their submissions on time. Parliament made the decision to extend the submission period to make up for the issue. With thousands also handing their submissions in person. 

The bill is estimated to have had more than 300,000 submissions prior to the original deadline, making it the most highly submitted on bill in history. 

For the weekly catchup with the Green Party Evie spoke to Ricardo Menendez March about the submission process. 

They also talked about the contested Regulatory Standards Bill which has also recently come into the spotlight. 

Last week, the government’s ban on gang patches officially came into effect. Under the new law, gang insignia is now officially banned in public places and police now have the power to break up large groups in public for causing fear and intimidation and can issue orders preventing gang members from associating or communicating for up to three years.

While hailed by the coalition government as a bold step in their “Tough on Crime” approach to law and order, the law has been questioned by experts and even a number of police officers themselves, who say that a suppression approach to policing gangs is likely to push gang activity to the periphery instead of eradicating it, and that it would disproportionately target marginalised communities.

For our weekly catch up, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendedz-March about the gang patch ban coming into effect and the party’s take on it.

They also had a discussion about the fall in New Zealand’s ranking on the Climate Change Performance Index, as well as the Ministry of Health's evidence brief and position statement on puberty blockers.

A recent document obtained under the official information act has revealed that minister for Child Poverty, Louise Upston, is calling for a statutory review of New Zealand’s current 10-year child poverty reduction targets.

In the document, Upston says that New Zealand’s current child poverty reduction goals are “unattainable” and called for investment into those targets to be reduced within the current timeframe.

The review will then be sent to minister of Finance, Nicola Wilis, who will have the final say on the fate of Aotearoa’s child poverty reduction goals.

For their weekly catchup, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss the party’s take on Louise Upston’s decision to reduce child poverty reduction targets. 

They also talked about the new charter for recreational hunting and fishing, introduced by minister for Hunting and Fishing Todd McClay, as well as the Green Party’s calls to ban bottom trawling.