Julienne Dickey, the Green Party's candidate in Napier at the General Election to be decided on October 14. Photo / Supplied
Julienne Dickey, the Green Party's candidate in Napier at the General Election to be decided on October 14. Photo / Supplied
The Green Party has named Julienne Dickey as its general election Napier candidate in the absence of 2020 hopeful James Crow who last month withdrew from the race for this year.
She’s one of six now standing in the electorate, which includes Wairoa and which will have a new MP, following 2014-2023 MP Stuart Nash’s decision to stand down.
It completes the Greens’ team across three general electorates in Hawke’s Bay, with fellow first-time candidate and London-born Nick Ratcliffe in Hastings-based Tukituki (No.25 on the party list), and former Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, of Carterton (No.15), standing for a second time in Wairarapa, which includes Central Hawke’s Bay and Dannevirke.
Dickey, who lives in Havelock North but has spent most of her daytime in recent years in Napier, has been a member of the party about three years and says it aligns with long-held concerns for people in both the natural and social environments.
She says it is the only party sufficiently committed to the climate crisis, and she’s “campaigning hard for the party vote”.
Dickey grew up in Auckland, taught in Blenheim, and moved to the UK, where she managed not-for-profit organisations in mental health and learning disability fields, before becoming a management consultant with Investors in People Scotland.
Returning to New Zealand nine years ago, she spent six years at EIT, from where she recently graduated with a Masters in Professional Creative Practice.
She also had three years managing the Napier SPCA op shop and is on the boards of Creative Arts Napier and Age Concern Hawke’s Bay.
She says that in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, Hawke’s Bay understands the urgency of real climate change action.
“It fills me with hope that by taking proper measures we can do our bit to avert it,” said Dickey, who has already been to three meet-the-candidates meetings.
“The Green Party also has the answers to the challenges facing us in housing and public services. Over the decades I have been involved in working with marginalised communities I’ve seen the effects of poverty, lack of opportunities, and discrimination.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” she said. “I love Hawke’s Bay, it has everything it needs to allow nature to flourish and to provide everyone with the resources for a good life - as long as the right political choices are made.”
Ratcliffe, raised in Seoul, Hong Kong, and then Kent, UK, moved to New Zealand in 2013, after completing studies in sustainable land management, and has worked in agriculture, hospitality, retail, landscaping, native habitat restoration, and construction.
Nick Ratcliffe, the Green Party's candidate in Tukituki.
Ratcliffe, raised in Seoul, Hong Kong, and then Kent, UK, moved to New Zealand in 2013, after completing studies in sustainable land management, and has worked in agriculture, hospitality, retail, landscaping, native habitat restoration, and construction.
“As an immigrant to this beautiful country, I have a personal commitment to learning te reo Māori and upholding Te Tiriti and He Wakaputanga as the founding documents of New Zealand,” he said. “I want to ensure that the privileges and rewards of being a Kiwi are shared by everyone, not just the top 7 per cent.”
“This is why I joined the Green Party,” he said. “We fight for positive change, for a better deal for the 93 per cent.”
Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 50 years of journalism experience in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
