Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is tired of election talk about “the two Chrises” - Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and National Party leader Christopher Luxon.
Kicking off the Green Party’s election campaign in Wellington on Sunday, Davidson said the Greens would stick to purpose-driven kaupapa.
“This campaign cannot only be about the two major political parties and who out of the two Chrises gets to be Prime Minister. This campaign must be about all of us. It must be about what we can do together to improve the lives of millions of people,” she said.
“Green Party campaigns are driven by purpose, not the pursuit of power for the sake of it. Whereas most political parties see power as something to win, we think about it as something to share, because we know there is so much more we can accomplish working together.”
Davidson laid out where the Green Party would put its focus this election.
“Ending poverty, faster climate action, hoki whenua mai [land return], and nature protection. These are the solutions we will take into any post-election negotiations. So if people want to give us the strongest possible hand in those negotiations, then they need to vote for the Green Party.”
“The time is now,” Davidson said, ending her kōrero with the party’s new election slogan.
James Shaw, the party’s other co-leader, added that “small steps” towards change simply wouldn’t cut it.
“We are proud of what we have achieved over the past six years in government. We’ve always known that lasting change wouldn’t come quickly or easily. It never does. But we simply cannot afford another term of small steps. Small steps don’t get you very far, and they certainly don’t end poverty or tackle climate change.
“It is only with more Green MPs and Green ministers around the Cabinet table that we will achieve the urgent change that our communities need right now. That is what we mean when we say the time is now,” Shaw said.