The Green Party has announced Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan as their candidate for Epsom.

Having completed his PhD in Ancient History in 2017, Xu-Nan now works in education and advocates for student rights.

“I am very excited to run as the Epsom candidate for the Green Party in this election. Being one of our top ten electorates for the party vote, I am honoured to have the support and trust of the Party to stand in an increasingly progressive electorate.” Says Xu-Nan.

“Being one of the areas most affected by the Auckland flooding, Epsom has a strong need for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation advocacy.”

“We know change is not happening nearly fast enough. We need to target the real issues, like bringing down our emissions, and this is what the Green Party does best. We have always placed climate action and resilience at the forefront of our agenda and have the track record to show for it.”

As an advocate for students, Xu-Nan sees the importance of young people being part of the solutions, “We need to be supporting our rangatahi to lead. I’m proud to support lowering the voting age and access to tertiary education. Epsom has a high percentage of young people, and I look forward to working with them.”

“This election will be the turning point at a critical moment in history. Only with a strong Green presence in Parliament will we see transformational changes that will take climate resilience and equality seriously, ensuring that there will be a future for generations to come” Xu-Nan says.

The campaign will be community-oriented and Tiriti-centred in order to represent the diversity and vibrancy of the Epsom Electorate.

Notes:

This is Lawrence’s second time running as a Green Party candidate. He ran in 2020 for Pakuranga.

Lawrence is also the incumbent Policy Co-convenor and a member of the Green Party governing body–Kaunihera–alongside the co-leaders Marama and James.

Green Party electorate candidates are selected using a grassroots democracy process. This involves reaching a decision by consensus in their local branch.

The Green Party list will be published May/June 2023. Placement on the list is the outcome of a nationwide process whereby every party member has an opportunity to rank candidates.

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