28 November 2018

Green Party Bill on Country of Origin Food Labelling passes into law

A Green Party member’s bill that allows New Zealanders to know where their food comes was passed almost unanimously by Parliament today, Green Party MP Gareth Hughes has announced.

“We’ve established that people have a right to know where their food comes from,” Green MP Gareth Hughes said.

“Kiwi consumers will now have greater information so they can exercise their consumer power and choice.

“It’s a good day for New Zealanders and for New Zealand producers.

“The food covered under my bill includes vegetables, frozen fruit, seafood and meat including cured pork products such as ham and bacon.

“These are foods with one ingredient, unprocessed or minimally processed.

“This bill is a food labelling foundation and there is scope to extend mandatory labelling to cover more foodstuffs later on through Fair Trading Act regulations.

“I’d like to thank Sue Kedgley and Steffan Browning for their work on the original bill, Ministers O’Connor and Faafoi and the Primary Productions Select Committee for their constructive engagement.

“After a very long campaign, the Green Party is proud to have guided it into law”.

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Gordon Campbell: On The Government’s Smokefree Laws Debacle

The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out - for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable view is that the government was being deliberately misleading. Are we to think Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is a fool, or a liar? It seems rather early on in his term of office to be facing that unpleasant choice. Yet when Luxon (and senior MP Chris Bishop) tried to defend the indefensible with the same wildly inaccurate claim, there are not a lot of positive explanations left on the table.... More