MEDIA RELEASE
22 February 2017

Kauri Tree Sitter to Stand for The Greens

Michael Tavares, the 34 year old who occupied a threatened West Auckland kauri tree in March 2015 has put his name forward to be a candidate for the Green Party in this year’s election in the Auckland electorate of Northcote.

A long term campaigner on environmental and social issues, and a party member of over 5 years, Michael will head to the Green Party’s conference this weekend, where members begin the process of forming their party List for the general election.

“I’m honoured to be able to work towards the next government having a Te Tiriti based environmental party as a core player.”

“The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand was founded by outspoken campaigners like Rod Donald and Jeanette Fitzsimons. They built the kaupapa of our party, and my roots are in that kaupapa.”

‘’I honour the work of tireless activists like outgoing MP Catherine Delahunty.”

Michael was part of a successful environmental campaign in Tasmania, Australia, which saw 148,000ha of native forest converted from logging land to World heritage National Park.

Michael believes that the time is right for the Greens to be in government.

“I believe that the Greens, together with Labour, are best placed to fix the mess left by eight and a half years of National’s mismanagement.”

“To get homes built, to start to deal with the state of our unswimmable rivers and lakes, to make sure no child goes hungry in this land of plenty, and to start to address climate change in a meaningful way.”

“The times are uncertain, and people are looking for change as the recent Brexit and Trump votes have shown, but the Greens show values-based leadership, with practical and effective solutions that work towards a fairer and stronger Aotearoa New Zealand.”

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