The Public Service Association - Aotearoa's largest union - says that while there are some good things in the Government's Emissions Reduction Plan released today, ultimately it's not enough.

"We agree with the Government’s focus on equity - right now, everyday New Zealanders are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. The ERP was a chance to break away from a system that has put the economy over people", says National Secretary Kerry Davies. "But it’s missed the opportunity to truly transform our economy and address historic inequality."

"Targeting EV initiatives to lower income earners, investing in improving working conditions for bus drivers, and working with communities on a transition for an equitable transition are all positive, and we’re pleased to see that addressing distributional impacts is one of the criteria for making decisions on CERF funding.

"But the good in this plan falls short of the level of social and economic transformation we need to be seeing to respond to the climate crisis.

"The amount being committed in the ERP sounds like a lot - but only a fraction of what the Government has invested in our COVID response and recovery.

"A lot of what’s in this plan - like the $219m for decarbonising the public sector - is actually just restating things that have been previously announced. And much of it is a series of plans to make more plans.

"The ERP has also missed significant opportunities, including to make public transport affordable and attractive for more New Zealanders. We’re still holding out hope that we’ll see an announcement about this on Thursday as part of the Budget announcement.

"In the ERP, the PM and Minister for Climate Change talk about how preventing the climate crisis from worsening "presents the single greatest opportunity we’ve had in at least a generation to develop our economy into one that is truly productive, sustainable and inclusive." So far the government isn’t making the most of the opportunity."

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