FULL TEXT METIRIA TUREI’S AGM SPEECH
Our Goals, Our Achievements, Our Position
Metiria Turei
Green Party AGM, 5 June 2011
I am here for... you.
I am here for you and the many thousands of New Zealanders just like you.
I began this year in Parliament talking about my dad. I told his story, the story of an ordinary man who just wanted an ordinary life; a decent job with decent take home pay and a home where he could raise his kids. I told of his life and his early death, a death caused by a lifetime of poverty and hardship.

I asked the question: What would have given my father a better chance at a long and satisfying life? What would have made his story more like mine?

Today I am looking forward. Today I ask the question, what future will I create for my Dad’s mokopuna?

What will his moko have to look forward to?

Green Jobs through Business Incentives

Creating well paid green collar jobs for all our mokopuna is one of the best things we can do to make a better future for them.

My dad certainly had difficulty getting work especially during the 1980s and 90s. Unemployment was very high and the first to suffer were ordinary working men and women.

I want to acknowledge the address yesterday from our Co-leader Russel Norman and his recognition that the same cruel policies that locked my dad out of work are now locking out a new generation of working men and women.

As Russel, the opposition spokesperson on finance, set out yesterday, we have a plan to build a compassionate green economy that can stimulate green jobs through business incentives and government leadership.

Our solutions will result in an economic transformation that means New Zealand business thrives, creating both green collar and high tech green jobs.

The Greens in government will get serious about supporting local green jobs
When the Government gave KiwiRail $500 million dollars to build 38 new carriages for Auckland’s electrified rail network, the contract should have gone to the workshops in Hillside in Dunedin and Woburn in the Hutt Valley. That would have created local jobs - building green carriages for Auckland public transport. It was a win win.

In Dunedin, local government, the local chamber of commerce, the local union and local MPs all supported the project.

Despite all the evidence setting out the economic benefits and social advantages of building these trains here at home, KiwiRail has shortlisted firms from South Korea and Spain to do the job.

Instead of building our public transport of tomorrow here, Kiwirail is building it overseas.

Instead of creating green collar jobs for our mokopuna in my town of Dunedin, Kiwirail is creating jobs in Seoul and Madrid.

In a smart green compassionate economy those smart green EMUs would be built here in New Zealand by New Zealanders.

Giving your party vote to the Greens at this election is a vote to create great local jobs.

Make Every River Clean

Russel also talked of the importance of New Zealands clean green brand and the Green solutions to make that brand a reality, not just an increasingly tarnished slogan. Our environment is at the heart of our economy.

One step we can take is to require a small charge for the commercial use of water. Another is to control the intensification of dairying through resource consents.

But cleaning up our river is not just an economic issue. It’s about caring for some of our most treasured places, our treasured rivers.

So tell me, what is your most treasured river?

Let me tell you about one of mine.

I grew up alongside the Manawatu River. In the summer months, after work, my dad would take my sister and I down to the river for a wash and a swim, to poke the inevitable dead sheep on the riverbank and squeal about the eels that were going to eat us. Afterwards he'd drive us home, letting us sit on the open backdoor of the Kingswood stationwagon, our legs swinging off the back.

That’s one of my treasured places. It will be so for my children just as it has been for my ancestors too.

My ancestor Hau, travelled all through the Manawatu towards te Upoko o te Ika a Maui. He was on a great mission and when he came to this river, it was so wide and deep he faltered. He lost his resolve and sat on its banks desolate.

But he found his strength and he crossed those raging waters and he continued on, to cause havoc for many decades to come.

To remember his time of weakness he named the river Manawa Tutu – Stumbling Heart.

The Manawatu suffers from serious pollution and degradation. It would be easy for us to sit on its banks and feel defeated about the work we need to do to clean it up.

But are we defeated? No. Are we weakened? No. Has our resolve strengthened? Yes.

The Green Party will make every river clean enough to swim in and we will do it for our children and their children. We will do it in memory of all those who have sat on river banks and watched their children play in the water

Bring 100,000 Children out of Poverty

The first victims of an unequal society and an unfair economy are children. Around 240,000 children live in poverty in this country, that’s more than one in every five. I think that is shameful.

In practice that means 240,000 children living in cold damp homes, where colds and flus keep them home from school.

For many, it means a persistent sore throat and for some rheumatic fever, an illness that can steal decades from their lives.

It means 240,000 children go without the basics everyday; raincoats and proper shoes, a bike, school trips or glasses so they can see the classroom board.
Many of these children in poverty live in families dependent on a benefit because benefits are still so miserably low.

And many of these children have parents in work, in casual or uncertain jobs, earning the minimum wage because Labour and now National have kept the minimum wage too low to live on.

Yet despite the reality of the lives of these children and their families, National has made vulnerable families the enemy.

National has made vulnerable families into enemies and have launched their attacks; cuts in services, cuts to income, increasing the gap between those with the most and those who need the most.

And just last week John Key announced that National would campaign on the vicious recommendations of the Welfare Working Group, recommendations to cut benefits even more and to link benefit receipt to contraception.

The Green Party will not be part of this abuse of our families and children, will we?

In the next term of government I look forward to the Green Party bringing 100,000 children out of poverty. Let me tell you how.

In work tax credit for beneficiary families

The New Zealand children most in need are those whose parents depend on a benefit. If those parents have some work, they are discriminated against.
Imagine Jane, with a husband who has a job, Jane works 20 hours a week at a primary school in Westmere. She qualifies for the $60 per week In Work Tax Credit. Sarah, a single mum, works 20 hours a week at a school in Grey Lynn, but she is also on the DBP.

Sarah is disqualified from receiving the In Work Tax Credit because she gets a benefit. It leaves her and her kids struggling with $60 a week less.

The easiest way to correct this inequity is to extend the same tax support to all children whether their parents are in or out of work. That will mean at least an extra $60 per week in the pockets of families in the most need.
Labour's original, unfair policy punished children from the poorest families. National has continued to crack that whip and worse.

The Green Party will remove the discrimination in working for families and extend the In Work tax credit to every child. That alone will relieve 140,000 families and their children of the worst poverty. I look forward to doing that.

Extend the Training Incentive Allowance

And while we are at it, why don’t we make sure that beneficiaries get the opportunities they need to retrain and educate themselves?

You might have heard my story before: 22 years old, on the DPB with a small baby, no School C, no Sixth Form Certificate, no prospects. But I was able to get to university and to law school with the support of the public, your support, state support.

And because I could get a degree, I was able to get a great job as a lawyer and take care of my family ever since.

Everyone deserves a second chance. A compassionate society, a compassionate economy makes sure everyone gets one.

Making the training incentive allowance available to more beneficiaries can help another 10,000 New Zealanders improve their employment prospects at very little cost to the Government.

Those of us who use the Training Incentive Allowance move off the benefit about six months earlier than those who don’t. We are also much more likely to move into a paid job, and we are paid more when we do.

The maximum training allowance is about $4000 per year. By contrast, the savings in benefit, accommodation supplement, and Working for Families expenditure from a sole parent spending six months less on the benefit can be up to $10,000.

So let’s reinstate the Training Incentive Allowance for degree-level courses and extend it to include long-term sickness beneficiaries. Shall we do that? It would cost about $40 million per year but it would save a lot of money.

Paula Bennett used the Training Incentive Allowance to get a university education when she was on the benefit. Now she has kicked the ladder out behind her.

I used the Training Incentive Allowance and I have not forgotten. I look forward to other women just like me getting a second chance in a smart green compassionate economy.

Raise the Minimum Wage

A decent minimum wage is an idea whose time has come.

As we’ve said we’ll do for many years, the Green Party will raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour immediately and to 66% of the average wage within 4 years.

Lifting the minimum wage is good for families, the economy and good for the Government books.

Because those on low incomes spend most of their money, there is an increase in Government revenue from the goods and services tax, an increase of about $70 million per year.

And our research shows that raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would also generate an additional $100 million per year in Pay As You Earn taxes.

Plus there would be savings from the accommodation supplement and Working for Families because fewer New Zealanders would need this support.

It is also worth saying here that generally it is the larger overseas corporates who tend to pay the worst wages. Most smaller New Zealand companies do their best to look after their people and are more likely to pay them enough to get by.

So a $15 minimum wage means about $3000 more each year for a working woman or man. It means $170 million more per year for the Government.

And I say to John Key: it is hypocritical to oppose an increase in the minimum wage on the basis that some may lose their job when just last week his Government announced plans that could see thousands of public servants lose their job. Those are crocodile tears.

These are just a few ideas on how we can help mind the inequality gap in New Zealand: raise the minimum wage, increase support to families and support beneficiaries into education.

We have a very serious problem with inequality in New Zealand. And it’s our children who pay the price.

We can choose to bring 100,000 children out of poverty. We can create a smart green compassionate economy that every family can look forward to.
Keep MMP
So at this election I’m looking forward to voting for this transformation and so are you!

And you will have two opportunities to do it. This is a two vote campaign!

First you will be giving your party vote to the Greens. And, just as importantly, you will be voting to keep MMP.

Who is looking forward to voting to keep MMP?

By voting to keep MMP, you are voting for a fairer society where everyone’s voice is heard.

We know just how good it has been for NZ democracy. MMP has delivered genuine change and has made a difference: a third of our MPs are women; legislative achievements include Kiwibank and paid parental leave. These would not have happened without MMP.

A fair voting system helps us towards a fair society. It means that every voice is heard and represented. It means a government that has the support of a majority of New Zealanders.

A majority of New Zealanders know this, and will be voting to keep MMP in November. But we can’t be complacent.

A fair system for a fair society is under attack from a tiny group of ACT and National party supporters and extremists. They will be formally launching their anti MMP campaign soon.

It will be filled with lies and misrepresentations. The first one we have already heard is that SM – Supplementary Member – is a proportional system.

That is a lie we will hear over and over again. SM is a “first past the post” type system and will lead to the concentration of political power into the hands of a small elite once again.

The anti-MMP campaign aims to restore their version of ‘strong decision making’ ignoring the views of New Zealanders and threatening our achievement in the representation of Women, Māori, young people, Pasifika and Asian peoples in Parliament.

The Greens however believe that every voice is entitled to be heard, every vote is equal wherever you live in New Zealand Aotearoa. I look forward to voting to keep MMP.

Achievements

And I am looking forward to more good Green change under MMP. The other parties fight for position. We fight for change.

For a decade now, we have shown that we can make change as an independent party in Parliament. In this term alone, we have opposed the Government and won.

When it came to mining in our National Parks, we were the political voice for hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who said ‘love it protect it’ and we won.

Through our human rights champion Keith Locke, we took on the SIS over spying on Members of Parliament and we won.

Through our animal welfare champion Sue Kedgley, we took on the cruel practice of sow crates and we won.

Sue and Keith – these are just your most recent achievements. Thank you. We will miss you next year.

Together with concerned Kiwis around New Zealand, we challenged the madness of factory farming in the McKenzie Basin and we won.

We fought for a Disabilities Commissioner and we won.

We fought for the right to be present at your own trial and we won.

We took on all the other political parties to make public MPs’ expenses and perks and we won.

We have also found some common ground with the Government this term and worked with them through a formal Memorandum of Understanding.

That agreement has helped make New Zealanders safer from toxic sites around the country including nearly $10 million additional funding to clean up the Tui Mine in the Coromandel.

That agreement has seen us help turn the New Zealand cycleway into a practical, sustainable piece of tourism infrastructure, with $50million of funding to build a network of 18 great trails throughout New Zealand.

That agreement has launched a $4 million pilot project that aims to protect New Zealand's forests and native species with better pest control.

That agreement has seen us make more than 100,000 New Zealand homes warm and dry through better insulation and more efficient heating. It is a $347 million scheme and it will improve another 80,000 homes before it’s done
These are some of our most notable achievements so far this term I am looking forward to more good Green change this year and after the election.

Political Position

So how will we make change in the next term of Government?

Let’s be clear that the Greens are an independent and distinct political party.

We have succeeded as an independent party.

We have achieved because we are an independent party.

We have kept the blighters honest because we are an independent party.

We have stayed true to our values and our voters throughout a decade in Parliament.

We have not been bought off by the baubles of office.

We have not compromised our core beliefs or lost touch with our constituents because of some unholy alliance.

We are principled, we are patient and we have built a powerful political voice as an independent party. Alongside our principled independence sits ambition. Our ambition is to look after our land and all our people.

We are also bound by a sense of urgency. The economic, environmental and social challenges facing New Zealand need urgent action.

A mix of this belief and desire has shaped our discussions as a Party over the last several months. We have talked collectively, we have thought individually and finally we have decided on our political position for the 2011 election.

I can formally announce today that, after the election, the Green Party will consider support for a Labour-led Government ahead of a National-led Government.

It is highly unlikely we could support National on confidence and supply but we have not ruled it out entirely and we could certainly work with them again like we do now, with an agreement delivering more than $400 million worth of good Green change through home insulation, more protection for our forests and native species, safer natural health products, tourism infrastructure and better toxic site management.

Let’s be very clear that more Green votes means more gains no matter what the make up of Parliament, no matter what the coalitions or the confidence and supply agreements.

If you want more good Green change, then party vote Green because we have a track record of leading change in Parliament.

If you want more good Green change, then party vote Green because we are a party that can work with National or Labour without losing our integrity.

If you want more good Green change, then party vote Green because we have been staunch in our opposition under both and we have made gains with both.

We can get stuff done and I can promise more wins with either National or Labour if you give us your Party vote.

We are an independent political party in Parliament with a good track record of policy wins and we will continue to make gains from inside or outside Government.

Conclusion
I am looking forward to more good Green change in the next term of parliament.

I am looking forward to creating a future where my dad would have thrived and lived a long and satisfying life.

He did not live to see the shift that is happening right now – the shift to smart green compassionate economics. He was sacrificed to dead end economic ideas. I wish he had, because smart green compassionate economics does not demand the sacrifice of our environment. It does not demand the sacrifice of our people. It would not have demanded his.

I am looking forward to creating a future where his mokopuna and yours will thrive and live long and satisfying lives.

I am looking forward. To Party Vote Green. How about you?

FULL TEXT POLITICAL POSITIONING REMIT
A: REMIT WORDING "That this AGM:

1. Overall political positioning
Agrees that, until such time as we are in a position to lead a government, the Green Party will campaign on the basis of the following political position:

(i) The Green Party is an independent and distinct party, which in order to urgently advance Green Party policy goals, will attempt to work constructively with, and challenge, whichever party leads the government after an election;

(ii) To enable any party or parties to form a government, we would need significant progress on Green Party environmental, economic and social policies and initiatives that would give effect to the Green Party Charter.

2. 2011 election positioning
Agrees that for the 2011 general election, the Green Party, as an independent party, will campaign on the following political position:

(i) Based on current Labour and National Party policy positions, the Green Party has a preference to consider supporting a Labour-led government in the right circumstances, ahead of a National-led government;
(ii) The Green Party could work with a National-led government to progress particular Green Party policies as we have over the last three years; but based on current National Party policy positions and track record it is highly unlikely that we could support a National-led government on confidence and supply.

3. Post-election process
Agrees that the following process will apply to post-election negotiations by the Green Party after a general election:

(i) a Negotiating Team, jointly chosen by the Parliamentary Caucus and the National Executive, may enter into post-election negotiations with a view to reaching an agreement on policies and processes that will advance the Green agenda;

(ii) in addition to the negotiating team there will be a Negotiating Consultation Group consisting of five members nominated by Caucus and five members nominated by National Executive. The Negotiation Consultation Group does not directly participate in the negotiations but is to receive daily briefings from the Negotiating Team during the course of the negotiations;

(iii) all decisions concerning the negotiations (including what agreement, if any, would potentially be taken to a Special General Meeting (SGM)) are taken by the combined Negotiating Team and Negotiation Consultation Group;

(iv) any agreement with one or more political parties that includes confidence and supply votes will be referred to an SGM, unless the National Executive agree that an alternative method of consultation is sufficient ;

the National Executive will start the process of forming the Negotiating Team and Negotiating Consultation group following the AGM in election year and will tentatively schedule an SGM once the election date is known.

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