The government needs to change the overly strict requirements to be able to qualify for student allowance to make it accessible for more students who are in need of further financial support. You can't get a Student Allowance if your parents’ joint earnings, while you study, are more than $110,928.72 if you live with them and $119,202.07 if you don't live with them. These out of date limits leave many students having to give up university or live in extreme poverty. The government is responsible to create equal opportunities for all members of society. In this case, we think the government should increase the threshold for parents' incomes to help aid more students financially, to create equal learning opportunities for all.

We are calling on leaders in the Justice Sector to implement the following recommendations: For the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General and Solicitor-General and for the Minister of Justice: The Justice Sector COVID-19 Working Group must issue new guidance for bail decisions that recognises the risk of viral spread in prisons, prioritises release of people into the communities, and does not encourage criminal justice system actors to illegitimately invoke the COVID-19 context to remand people in custody or resist bail applications; The Working Group should also focus on how the Government can address the practical difficulties created by COVID-19 conditions on granting bail and handing down community-based sentences by providing accommodation and transport. This is an equity issue and likely to disproportionately impact on Māori; Where an individual is not currently remanded in custody and a custodial sentence is the most likely outcome, encourage judges to use the provisions already set out in the Sentencing Act to defer the start date of a sentence. Further, advise Judges that the current COVID-19 conditions in prisons should be taken into account in sentencing; Encourage the judiciary to consider risk to the health of individuals, their whānau and the wider community as a factor weighing against the imposition of a short term of imprisonment, and counting towards the imposition of non-custodial alternatives; Use s25 of the Parole Act to designate a “class of offenders” who have not reached their parole eligibility date who could be considered by the Board for early release, for example people with underlying health conditions that put them at greater risk of harm from COVID-19; Expedite parole hearings for all eligible prisoners; Identify and put in place temporary changes to bail requirements that could safely reduce the number of people held on remand. ‍ For the Minister of Corrections: Direct all prison managers that COVID-19 is a matter that affects eligibility for parole and ask them to consider additional people to be referred to the Parole Board, per s26 of the Parole Act. This is urgent given the implications for parole eligibility for those who have had rehabilitation programmes cancelled or deferred; Prioritise the release or transfer to alternative facilities of older people, pregnant people, and those with relevant pre-existing health conditions (including COPD, respiratory illnesses and those with compromised immunity); Ensure that people in prison have access to AVL rooms to communicate privately with legal representation and continue with steps to improve access to AVL facilities and other options for prisoners to remain in contact with family or whānau who cannot visit in person; Direct the Chief Executive to provide advice to you as to whether any legislative changes are required to ensure the safe custody and welfare of prisoners through an immediate modification order under the Epidemic Preparedness Act 2006. This advice should include the impact of the suspension of rehabilitation programmes and effective 23 hour cell lockdowns on the health and well-being of people in prisons; Deny recall to prison applications by the probation service for breaches of release conditions that do not involve undue risk to the public; Direct the Department to provide assistance in finding accommodation and transport for those on bail, community-based sentences, or release conditions, and prioritise the allocation of available accomodation (e.g motels) for these people to increase supported bail/release options for people being bailed, sentenced and paroled and as an alternative to being held in custody; Any additional capacity resulting from a shift in focus in the health sector should be directed towards providing additional mental health and addiction support to parolees and as an alternative to incarceration; Ensure that, at all times, incarcerated people have equitable access to the standard of PPE recommended by Ministry of Health guidelines; Address sanitation issues in prisons, in particular the many reported instances of poor ventilation; Provide air purifiers, prioritising prisons and blocks within prisons that have been identified to have poor ventilation; Ensure Corrections officers are not working across different units, to minimise the opportunity for spread of COVID-19 between units; Continue with efforts to ensure unvaccinated people in prisons have the information, confidence and assurances they need to accept COVID-19 vaccination when offered. ‍ For the Minister of Police: Use existing Police discretionary powers and support from AWHI to prioritise diversion over criminal prosecution, where that is consistent with public safety; Ensure additional funding is available for programmes and support services offered by iwi and hapu through Pae Oranga/Iwi Community panels as soon as they resume, to help tackle the drivers of offending.

Decline applications to take water from the Ruataniwha Basin.

Make the sale and display of Nazi memorabilia illegal

We the undersigned are writing to address the crisis facing our young people.  Aotearoa New Zealand is in the grip of a fuel crisis driven by conflict in the Middle East. Petrol prices have surged past $4 a litre in some parts of the country, and the consequences are being felt most acutely by families who cannot afford bus fares, let alone drive their children to school. Students who rely on public transport to reach university and higher education campuses are also feeling it.  This Open Letter is grounded in the Government’s own words and commitments. The Prime Minister, Minister of Education and Minister of Transport have all spoken clearly about their determination to protect education during this crisis. We are simply asking them to match their words with urgent action, for every child and young person in this country, whether they live in a city, on a farm and everywhere in between. The solution is simple: Free Fares for all children, young people and under 25’s Therefore, we call on the Government to respond to this crisis by: • Immediately reinstate free public transport for all children and young people aged 5-18 on buses, trains and ferries across Aotearoa for the duration of the fuel crisis and beyond. • Immediately reinstate free or half-price public transport for all young people aged 19-25 enrolled in tertiary education (university, polytechnic or any other approved provider of higher education).  • Restore all rural school bus routes that were cancelled or amended in the 2024 Ministry of Education reviews and impose a permanent moratorium on further cancellations until a full community-led review of rural transport is completed.  • Lower the eligibility threshold for government funded rural bus services from eight students to four, as recommended by Federated Farmers, to better reflect the realities of rural communities.  • Guarantee that school bus operators are resourced to continue running rural routes despite rising diesel costs, by classifying school transport as an essential service and ensuring diesel fuel is prioritised for school buses in any future fuel rationing phases.  • Work with NZTA and regional councils to rapidly implement free urban fare changes. • Commit to making free fares for under 18s permanent policy beyond the immediate crisis, as long-term investment in the education and well-being of New Zealand’s children and young people. The Government has said, in its own words, that it will take ‘every step necessary” to keep children in the classroom. We are calling on Ministers to take the most obvious and proven steps available to them: restore free and subsidised fares, restore cancelled bus routes, and fund the school buses that rural children depend on. “We do not want to see children outside the classroom as occurred during Covid. We do not want to see children forced to learn from home. We think maintaining access to schools through all of these phases is essential, and the Ministry of Education are working actively on plans to ensure that. This generation have already had years of learning disrupted by the Covid experience that had a marked impact on their achievement, and we will be taking every step necessary to keep kids learning in the classroom.” - Finance Minister Nicola Willis, ‘Government Fuel Crisis Rationing Plan Announcement’, 29 March 2026 (RNZ/Scoop). “I just want to be clear: kids are going to school, they are not sitting at home. This is not Covid, this is about a fuel crisis.’ -  Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, 27 March 2026 (RNZ). These are strong and unambiguously clear commitments. But promises alone will not get a child onto a bus. The Government must now provide the practical means to back these promises up and free public transport is the most direct and effective tool available. 

Dear House of Representatives We ask that Parliament review and change the criteria of the residential care home subsidy, by: * Increasing the threshold for income and asset testing including the timeframe that these amounts are considered within. In particular for applicants that are single, and may have been for a certain time period. • Flexibility within the criteria to consider the current and future financial situation of the applicant in alignment with their current and future medical condition. In particular the reasoning for any gaining and gifting of assets and "income". • A decrease from the current 5 year period and increase in the threshold, prior to application, of any gifting that the applicant has made as part of their financial means assessment. • Shortening the 5 year stand down period if the applicant is denied the subsidy due to the asset and income thresholds. • A new process for applicants and their families to state and explain their individual circumstance and needs upon request by the applicant. This may include the wider whānau/family financial situation, the medical condition that has resulted in the need for the applicant to be placed in a residential care home.

We call on Porirua city council to declare a climate emergency and urgently address climate breakdown through new policy initiatives and specific deadlines. We call for united action from our political representatives to acknowledge and address this challenge to be able to transition our present harmful economics to nurture the planet and look after the people. Sign this petition to urge the Council to urgently declare a climate emergency so it can make decisions and allocate resources to protect our future.

We call on the Tasman District Council to declare a climate emergency and urgently address climate breakdown through new policy initiatives and specific deadlines. We call for united action from our political representatives to acknowledge and address this challenge to be able to transition our present harmful economics to nurture the planet and look after the people. Sign this petition to urge the Council to urgently declare a climate emergency so it can make decisions and allocate resources to protect our future.

We call on Gisborne District Council (GDC) to declare a climate emergency and urgently address climate breakdown through new policy initiatives and specific deadlines. We call for united action from our political representatives to acknowledge and address this challenge to be able to transition our present harmful economics to nurture the planet and look after the people. Sign this petition to urge the Council to urgently declare a climate emergency so it can make decisions and allocate resources to protect our future.

We call on Hastings District Council to declare a climate emergency and urgently address climate breakdown through new policy initiatives and specific deadlines. We call for united action from our political representatives to acknowledge and address this challenge to be able to transition our present harmful economics to nurture the planet and look after the people. Sign this petition to urge the Council to urgently declare a climate emergency so it can make decisions and allocate resources to protect our future.