Election 2023: Green Party lays out key policies in manifesto focused on ‘people, nature and climate’

The Green Party has taken a dig at a lack of “political courage and moral imagination” in other parties as it outlined its key battlegrounds if returned to power after the election, with a focus on “people, nature and climate”.

Co-leader Marama Davidson unveiled a comprehensive 42-page manifesto on Sunday at the party’s annual general meeting (AGM) in Auckland, full of policies and aspirations that will be the basis of negotiations to form part of the next Government.

The document is a collation of existing policies, with some new directions, particularly in the climate change space, such as setting up a new ministry and expanding what can be used to account for emissions in the nature space, like wetland restorations - which some see as a pitch for the farming vote.

It also includes long-standing positions such as repealing and replacing the Misuse of Drugs Act with a health-based approach - essentially drug decriminalisation - along with boosting the refugee intake to 5000 by 2025.

It also covers recent policy announcements around reducing income inequality, along with introducing rent controls - which Labour has already ruled out - and clearing the social housing waitlist, with a commitment to build 35,000 public homes.

There are more specific climate, environment, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and health policies to be launched in the coming months.

Many of the promises hinge on the wealth tax proposal, which Davidson alluded to in her speech to the party faithful, drawing huge cheers.

“Everyone in Aotearoa will have what they need to have kai on the table, a safe place to call home and live a good life - and we will tax the mega-rich to pay for it,” she said.

“We must reduce the outrageous and immoral level of income and wealth inequality we have in this country.

“We must confront climate change with the urgency and the scale that it demands - and invest in action to protect our rivers, land, forests, beaches and oceans.

“We must uphold Tiriti justice, returning resources directly back to iwi and hapū so tangata whenua can finally have the autonomy and authority over our whenua and wellbeing.”

Davidson would not be drawn on “bottom lines”, but mentioned what would be priorities in post-election negotiations.

“A tax on the richest few that will raise money we can use to build a climate-friendly, wiser and more prepared Aotearoa that we can all be proud of.

“An Aotearoa where everyone has a warm, affordable place to call home - and food on the table.”

They also kept their ministerial aspirations off the table for now but indicated they would be seeking multiple positions inside Cabinet, provided they got a high enough share of the vote.

The party AGM was a clear display of unity for the party, with members telling the Herald they were focused on the election ahead and had put to bed leadership questions that dominated the previous year’s AGM.

Then, Shaw failed to get the 75 per cent support of members needed to be re-elected in a move instigated by members of the Young Greens and Green Left Network.

It ultimately saw Shaw reinstated after meeting with delegates across the country, but only after a somewhat messy and public affair in which then-colleague Elizabeth Kerekere considered challenging him for the job.

Then this year, Kerekere ultimately resigned after appearing to call fellow MP Chlöe Swarbrick a “crybaby” in a group chat, and other allegations about her behaviour (all of which Kerekere herself has denied).

Shaw said those issues were behind them. He and Davidson were both reaffirmed as leaders unchallenged.

“If you look at the mood in there, it’s pretty buoyant,” Shaw said.

“People are very focused on the election campaign.”

The AGM was also a chance to see off retiring MPs, including Eugenie Sage and Jan Logie, while welcoming potential new stars in Lan Pham - at number six on the ranking - and Tamatha Paul, who is seeking to replicate Chloe Swarbrick’s famous 2020 Auckland Central victory in Wellington Central and snare the seat from Labour.

Paul, a current Wellington City councillor, said she had assembled a campaign team of 280 volunteers and they had already door-knocked a quarter of the city.

The party also revealed at the AGM a push to mop up disaffected Labour voters as it seeks to increase its party vote share.

While the co-leaders said they were not worried about their current position, according to the Herald’s poll of polls, the Green Party vote share has slipped over the past year, going from hovering around 9 to 10 per cent down to about 7 to 8 per cent now.

The model predicts that share could grow as high as just under 11 per cent on election night, or drop as low as 6 per cent.

Davidson said over the past term they had seen the amount of available votes grow to 30 per cent, based on their own polling. These are voters who had considered voting Green, with many “on the fence” current Labour supporters.

Davidson said they had Labour members coming to meetings interested in pushing for more Green influence.

Shaw on Saturday accused Labour of blocking real progress on climate change due to “other priorities” - part of the Greens’ election strategy to target voters of its traditional ally disaffected with the current battle for the centre with National.

Shaw also said in his speech, focused on climate change and the environment, he believed a National-led government would be “beholden” to Act and they would together drag back climate progress 30 years.