12 October 2013

"Green sweep" in the best ever local Government results for Green Party

A "Green Sweep" of all Green candidates in Wellington topped off the best local Government result ever for the Green Party today.

"Every single Green candidate for Wellington City and the Regional Council was elected today, with the city's Green mayor Celia Wade-Brown re-elected alongside new Green councillors Sarah Free and David Lee and sitting Councillor Iona Pannett," Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said.

"They''re joined by Green Councillors Paul Bruce and Sue Kedgely who were elected to the Wellington Regional Council.

"The fantastically successful Wellington team is joined by record numbers of new Green Councillors and community board members up and down the country.

"Dunedin gets its first Green Councillor in Aaron Hawkins, Five Green people have been elected to community boards in Auckland, other Greens are on boards in Christchurch, and Gisborne Greens will be a force for their community with record representation in that region this year.

"Today's local body election results are a victory for smart, green compassionate ideas and a victory for communities who want representatives with brains and with heart.

"This is a brilliant result for the Green Party. The National Government should take it as a sign that the Green tide is coming in.

"This really goes to show that, despite The National Party's attempts  to erode the role of councils and take the local out of local Government, communities really do want representatives who care about people and the environment.

"You can see that in the kind of people who've been elected mayors up and down the country - progressive compassionate mayors like Len Brown, Lianne Dalziel, Steve Chadwick and Nick Leggett.

"If I was John Key I'd reflect long and hard on the signs being sent by today's results.

"The results are a clear signal that New Zealanders want representatives at both local and central Government level who care about people and who care about the environment," Ms Turei said.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On The New Government’s Policies Of Yesteryear

Winston Peters is routinely described as the kingmaker who decides whether the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded, but equally important role as the scapegoat who can be blamed for killing taxes that his senior partners never much wanted in the first place. Neither Ardern nor Robertson for example, really wanted a capital gains tax, for fear of Labour copping the “tax and spend“ label they ended up being saddled with anyway. Usefully though, they could tell the party faithful it was wicked old Winston who killed the CGT. More