Green Party
2,545 posts | 8 images
The Green Charter The charter is the founding document of The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand accepts Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand; recognises Maori as Tangata Whenua in Aotearoa New Zealand; and commits to the following four Principles: Ecological Wisdom: The basis of ecological wisdom is that human beings are part of the natural world.
The Government should be reviewing its use of Westpac as the Government’s banker in light of the High Court’s finding that Westpac has illegally avoided more than half a billion dollars in tax, said Green Party Finance spokesperson Dr Russel Norman today.
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The Head of State Referenda Bill - pulled today from the Parliamentary private members’ bill ballot - will hopefully spark a national debate on our constitutional future, said Green MP Keith Locke.
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Today’s ACC announcements that reverse improvements to ACC are a disastrous backward step, said Green ACC spokesperson Sue Bradford.
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National is deliberately undermining ACC to soften it up for partial privatisation and planned cuts to entitlements, said the Green Party today.
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The fact the public is finally getting information about potentially contaminated sites is welcomed by the Green Party, however the liability for who will pay for the clean-up needs to be addressed, Green Party Toxics spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said today.
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The Green MPs’ superannuation fund will sell its two properties to give the public maximum clarity about the use of Parliamentary housing allowances, Green Party Co-Leader Metiria Turei announced today.
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Signing a memorandum of understanding with one of the country’s biggest unions shows the Green Party is firmly committed to a fair and sustainable society, Green Party Co-Leader Metiria Turei said today.
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New Zealand needs more affordable state housing not less, so it is deeply concerning that $380 million worth of state housing is on the blocks to be sold with no evidence that it will be replaced, said Green Party Co-Leader Russel Norman today.
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The Bluegreens may want to vote Green based on the National Party's list of environmental achievements, the Green Party said today.
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Government papers obtained by the Green Party show that the Government is considering allowing oil exploration in Fiordland National Park, as well as mining for gold, coal and other minerals in Kahurangi and Paparoa National Parks as part of its stock-take of our highest quality conservation lands for mining.
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There is a role for the Government in containing the ongoing damage to New Zealand’s reputation caused by the reckless actions of CraFarms, the Green Party said today.
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A growing imbalance between lending for housing versus lending for business investment should remind the Minister of Finance that he needs to address tax incentives for property speculation, said Green Party Finance Spokesperson Russel Norman today.
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New Zealand’s climate change ambassador, Adrian Macey, revealed last night that our emissions reduction target isn’t twenty or even ten percent by 2020, but much less, the Green Party said today.
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Fonterra should protect the reputation of the majority of New Zealand’s farmers by taking action against the despicable practices of Crafar Farms, the Green Party said today.
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Today’s Government decision to increase hoki quota is irresponsible, and comes at a time when global markets have the sustainability of New Zealand’s fisheries in the spotlight, say the Greens.
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The Green Party is calling for fair electoral finance rules that provide a level playing field for New Zealand’s democracy to be set up under the Government’s proposed reforms.
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Green MP Sue Bradford says farewell to Parliament in this moving press conference.
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Green MP Sue Bradford announced her resignation from Parliament today after a decade in the House, but confirmed she would remain a member and supporter of the Green Party.
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When the Prime Minister speaks at the United Nations this week on New Zealand’s commitment to a nuclear free world he will need to explain why we don’t always support one, Green Party MP Dr Kennedy Graham said today.
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Under the new Emissions Trading Scheme, (ETS), the Government will pay just one company, Methanex, over a billion dollars to increase New Zealand's total emissions by 5% over the next ten years, the Green Party said today.
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Improving economic indicators mean that the Government can look to lift incomes and reduce unemployment rather than focus on holding wages low, Green Party Employment spokesperson Sue Bradford said today.
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Bigger trucks will make at least 620,000 trips on our roads each year meaning drivers should brace themselves for more road carnage, and more road damage, Green Party Associate Transport spokesperson Sue Kedgley said today.
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Improved Balance of Payments figures released today are not a result of a structurally more sound economy said Green Party Finance Spokesperson Russel Norman today.
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The Balance of Payments figures released tomorrow will likely show New Zealand’s net debt breaking the 100% of GDP barrier while the National Party drags its feet on overdue changes to the tax treatment of investment properties.
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Dr Don Brash and his productivity taskforce need to urgently advise the Education Minister that we will never catch up with Australia in wages and quality of life by treating those teaching at polytechnics with contempt, Green Party Co-Leader Metiria Turei said today.
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When confronted during question time in the House today with public concerns on Government plans to open up New Zealand’s conservation lands for mining, Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee went silent.
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TAURANGA — The serious biosecurity threat posed by the importation of palm kernel has been revealed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in response to written questions from the Green Party.
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The Government should listen to New Zealanders, admit it was wrong to dump school food guidelines earlier this year, and reinstate them,” said Green Party Food Spokesperson Sue Kedgley said today.
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Green Party Health and Wellbeing spokersperson Kevin Hague today called on Health Minister Tony Ryall to make public a clear process and deadline for the public and interest groups to have their say on the report of the Ministerial Review Group ("the Horn Report"), and for the submissions received to be made public.
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AUCKLAND — While the powerful road transport lobby will welcome today’s announcement of a $1.4 billion mixed surface and tunnel option for the Waterview motorway connection, Waterview School pupils, parents and other residents will be much less happy as many homes, parks and archaeological sites are under threat.
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The Government needs to listen to warnings about another housing bubble from the current and former Reserve Bank Governors, said Green Party Co-Leader Dr Russel Norman today.
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Further cuts in the Official Cash Rate (OCR) tomorrow will not be enough to return our economy to a more prosperous and economically sustainable future, said Green Party Finance Spokesperson Russel Norman today.
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The Government’s last-minute changes to the Resource Management Act - released today - will hasten the chop for protected trees, despite public outcry and the Green Party’s efforts to negotiate a compromise.
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AUCKLAND — The SuperCity model proposed in the Local Government (Auckland Council) bill remains deeply flawed, said the Green Party today.
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New Zealand needs to take a safety first approach to the potentially dangerous use of mercury in fillings, said Sue Kedgley, Green Party Health Spokesperson said today.
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The Government’s air quality standards have come under fire from the Green Party for not monitoring fine particle pollutants.
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New Zealanders will have a chance to speak out against mining in their national parks, marine reserves and wildlife sanctuaries through a Green Party petition announced today.
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The Government’s plan for the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will mean that ordinary kiwis will have to pay twice for their emissions, the Green Party said today.
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The Government has rejected one of the simplest and most effective ways of reducing New Zealand's carbon emissions, the Green Party said today.
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The Green Party is calling on communities to defend their local heritage sites from pillage by mining companies.
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The ‘loads of roads’ National Land Transport Programme will mire New Zealand in an outdated 1950s approach to transport and do nothing to protect us from rising oil prices, climate change, or the obesity epidemic.
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The Government's decision to defer mandatory fortification of bread sold in New Zealand with folic acid until 2011 is a prudent decision, and will give time to assess potential safety concerns around mandatory fortification, the Green Party’s Food Safety spokesperson Sue Kedgley said today.
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A Member’s Bill to define violence against children is unnecessary and dangerous, Green Party MP Sue Bradford said today.
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AUCKLAND — Starvation rations for the rail network and supersized meals for the city’s roading network are on the menu for Aucklanders.
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Green Party MP Sue Bradford congratulated Prime Minister John Key on his decision this afternoon to stick to his principles on the section 59 reform, despite pressure from those who wish to relegalise assault on children.
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AUCKLAND — It is tragic that the National Party values Rodney Hide’s opinion more than that of the people of Auckland, especially Maori, the Green Party said today.
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Fonterra is contradicting the World Bank and misleading farmers in its attempts to justify the massive use of rainforest-destroying palm kernel on intensive dairy farms.
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Palm kernel extract, a waste by-product with almost no commercial value, does not cause the destruction of tropical forests.
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Revelations today about New Zealand dairy farming’s growing addiction to palm kernel feed show the immense risk of unsustainable dairying to our priceless ‘clean and green’ export brand.
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Green Party MP Sue Bradford said it is hard to draw any conclusions from tonight’s physical discipline referendum results based on such a flawed question.
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Green Party MP Sue Bradford expects it will be difficult to draw conclusions from tonight’s physical discipline referendum because of the flawed questions it asks.
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The Government has a way to go yet before it fully understands the complexities of foreign policy, Green Party Associate Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Kennedy Graham said today.
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The Green Party today urged the Government to come clean on its full plans for benefit reform.
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Swimming with sharks could be safer than eating some varieties of fish sold in New Zealand, Green Party Food Safety Spokesperson Sue Kedgley said today.
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The Tax Working Group currently toying with GST proposals needs to spend more research time looking at why New Zealand is the odd one out in the OECD over Capital Gains Tax, Green Party Co-Leader Dr Russel Norman said today.
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A Parliamentary select committee has listened to commonsense and rejected some of the Government’s attempts to weaken New Zealand’s environmental protection laws.
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Proposals to support the health needs of poisoned timber treatment workers are good but their families also need support, Green MP Catherine Delahunty said today.
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Paula Bennett’s latest moves on benefits indicate National may be softening up New Zealand for cutbacks on benefit amounts and access, Green Party Social Development Spokesperson Sue Bradford said today.
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Cadbury’s announcement that it is dropping palm oil from its chocolate shows the power of consumers to make a difference, Green Party MP Sue Kedgley said today.
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The Minister of Agriculture’s public statement that the cruel trade of exporting live sheep for slaughter won’t resume under his watch is good news for New Zealand’s reputation as a humane country, Green Party MP Sue Kedgley said today.
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The Green Party is delighted that at long last the Government is making it an offence to drive while talking or texting on a hand held phone.
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The Government wants to take the most expensive route to its emissions target, telling the world it will purchase carbon credits rather than work to reduce New Zealand’s greenhouse gases.
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New Zealand must back up its words with action against the Burmese regime - and ensure no official representatives of its military dictatorship receive training in New Zealand, said Green Party MP Kennedy Graham.
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The Electricity Market Review released today confirms the urgency of putting the smarts back into the new meters being installed by electricity generators.
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NZ’s Finance Minister is spot on when he says we need to learn from the Australian experience of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) - why New Zealand should steer well clear, said Green Party Co-Leader Dr Russel Norman today.
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Today’s Government decision to abandon the sea lion Population Management Plan leaves the species high and dry, and moves them a step closer to extinction.
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Prime Minister John Key is running from responsibility with a weak 2020 emissions target, softening our negotiating position and further undermining our clean, green brand.
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The Government’s decision today to send the SAS back to Afghanistan is an example of strategic folly based on muddled thinking, said the Green Party’s Foreign Affairs Associate Spokesperson, Kennedy Graham.
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AUCKLAND — New Zealand must seize the day and make much-needed public transport investments to create jobs and prevent transport chaos during the Rugby World Cup in 2011.
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The New Zealand public need an easily accessible national register of toxic and potentially toxic sites, said Green Party Toxics Spokesperson Catherine Delahunty.
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The sharp rise in unemployment to 6 percent shows the impact of the international recession is really kicking in, hence the need for urgent action to keep New Zealand working.
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Revelations that the highest number of animals in New Zealand on record have been experimented upon in “research, testing and teaching” are disturbing, said Green Party Animal Welfare Spokesperson Sue Kedgley.
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A confused Climate Change Minister is using a $13 billion bogeyman to scare New Zealanders about emissions reduction targets, the Green Party said today.
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New Zealand can reduce its carbon emissions dramatically and cheaply according to a study released by the Green Party today which sharply contradicts recent Government claims.
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Young people at risk of falling though the cracks deserve support, rather than being used as political footballs in an ideological battle.
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MAPUA — A public meeting to discuss the results of an audit commissioned by the Ministry for the Environment into the clean-up of the contaminated Fruit Growers Chemical site in Mapua left questions unanswered - literally, said Green Party Toxics Spokesperson Catherine Delahunty.
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Any decision on whether New Zealand Special Forces should return to Afghanistan must be postponed pending an inquiry into whether there was mistreatment of prisoners the NZ Special Air Service (SAS) handed over to American forces in an earlier deployment, said Green Party MP Keith Locke.
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The decision of New Zealand supermarket chain Foodstuffs to charge for plastic bags from Monday is a welcome move that deserves Government support, Green Party Co-Leader Russel Norman said today.
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It is dangerous for the Government to allow fresh onions to be imported from China when they pose a risk of bringing in a range of new diseases and pathogens that could infect a wide range of New Zealand crops, said Green Party MP Sue Kedgley.
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Two Members’ bills on the topical issues of benefit review and international non-aggression have been picked in the Parliamentary Ballot today.
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Green MP Sue Kedgley is calling on the government to take immediate action to regulate the sunbed industry following confirmation by the International Agency for Research on Cancer that they are carcinogenic to humans.
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With MPs’ expenses now public the next step is to look at how costs to the taxpayer can be kept at a reasonable level, said Green Party Co-Leader Metiria Turei today.
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The National Party rejected its own Bluegreen vision today when it refused to support a Bill designed to ensure our marine animal protection laws work properly, said the Green Party tonight.
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A guarantee that biofuels in New Zealand are good for the environment moved a step closer today as a Member’s Bill from Green Party MP Jeanette Fitzsimons passed its first reading in the House with widespread support.
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Today in the House the Green Party slammed the Government for contracting out surgery to private hospitals when operating theatres in our public hospitals are sitting idle.
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In Parliament today the Green Party has criticised the Government’s outsourcing of surgery to the private sector as a move to undermine the public health system.
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National’s attitude to people who dare to speak out on benefit issues is reminiscent of the worst of 1990s beneficiary-bashing, Green Social Development Spokesperson Sue Bradford said today.
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The National Cycleway is an inspired project which the Green Party are very happy to be involved in and I appreciate being able to work with the Prime Minister to get the most from it, said Green Party Cycling spokesperson Kevin Hague today.
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AUCKLAND — Auckland’s proposed new super-city is likely to end up as a super tanker - a huge, remote monolith that is too big, too inflexible, and too distanced from the community to be effective, or to solve the myriad of challenges facing Aucklanders, Green Party Local Government spokesperson Sue Kedgley said today.
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The Green Party today called for the Government to create infrastructure bonds for New Zealanders to invest in rather than raise financing via the failed public-private partnership (PPPs) model.
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The appointment of five lawyers from firms that make money from overseas investment to advise the Government on rewriting overseas investment rules is a blatant conflict of interest, said Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman.
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Green Party MP Sue Kedgley welcomed the Pork Industry’s decision to investigate labelling pork so that consumers can work out whether pork products are free range or have been intensively farmed.
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Heavier, longer trucks will inevitably lead to more crashes and deaths on our roads and will undermine our rail freight network which is better suited for moving heavy freight, Green Party Associate Transport spokesperson Sue Kedgley said today.
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Green Party MP Kennedy Graham today challenged Prime Minister John Key to lead the way on climate change response in the Pacific.
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The Green Party is calling on Fonterra to apply financial penalties to New Zealand’s most infamous dirty dairying group after it was once again convicted of polluting the environment.
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Recent events in the banking sector demonstrate the immediate need for an enquiry, said Green Finance Spokesperson Russel Norman today.
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The Green Party is calling on the Government to get serious about addressing crime and look at real solutions rather than implementing “getting tough” rhetoric that doesn’t work.
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Green MP Sue Kedgley said there is no Australasian standard requiring New Zealand to fortify bread with folic acid.
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Shifting the focus of the National Cycleway to a network of iconic rides will now deliver significantly greater economic benefits for the $50 million invested, said Green Party Cycling spokesperson, Kevin Hague today.
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