imnofox continues the Green Party’s campaign in Whanganui by heading out doorknocking with a number of local volunteers

knock knock

“Kia ora, I’m imnofox, co-leader of the Green Party. How are you today, my friend?”

”Hi- I normally vote Green, but I’m really liking the look of this new TOP candidate. Their policies seem to make a lot of sense, especially their capital gains tax and rental protections ideas.”

“That’s fair enough, but a vote for TOP might be a vote for the government- you just don’t know. The Green Party introduced a capital gains tax the last time were in government, but the Liberals effectively abolished it. We’re committed to bringing it back, and it’s great to have TOP on board. If you’re passionate about renters rights, then you’ll like the renters policy we’ve been championing for years, not just the last month or two. We want to give every renter the opportunity to set down roots in their community, safe in the knowledge that they won’t be out on the street anytime soon. We’ll set a default of three years for fixed term tenancies on the standard tenancy form, of course still allowing both the landlord and the renter to set a different term length if they agree. We know that multiple year tenancies are good for renters, and especially good for families, allowing them to do better at school, giving parents better job security, and ensuring those healthy links with their communities can be developed. The Greens also promise to remove the ability for landlords to unfairly give a reduced period of 42 days when they decide to sell the property, and restore the standard 90 day notice period. We’ll limit rent increases to no more than once a year, and require that the formula for calculating future rent increases be included in tenancy agreement forms. Finally, we’ll also allow tenants right of renewal on rental agreements. That’s our comprehensive policy for renters rights- and we’re proud to have such a comprehensive policy. It’s a shame TOP’s policy lacks any detail, and is just vague words on a page. A vote for /u/hk-laichar in Whanganui is a vote for that comprehensive, evidence based policy- and is a vote for the only candidate guaranteed to hold the government to account, not join them.”

”Wow, I didn’t realise the Greens had such a solid policy on renting- that definitely beats TOP’s brief bullet point. I definitely don’t want to vote for someone who could wind up supporting the lying Liberals.”

imnofox continued down the street, pleased after such a positive encounter

knock knock

“Kia ora, my name is imnofox, co-leader of the Green Party! I’m out campaigning for /u/hk-laichar for the Whanganui by-election! How are you today?”

*”Yeah, hi, i’m well. So i’ve always voted against parties like New Zealand First and Reform, because I find their immigration policies totally offensive. I’m an immigrant myself. There’s so much choice of candidates, and I don’t know who’s the best choice to vote against the Reform candidate.”

“That’s a very valid concern, and one we definitely share. My view is that /u/hk-laichar is the only candidate who can credibly fight for the rights of immigrants and immigrant communities. The immigration policies of Reform are absolute detestable, and the Greens reject those anti-immigrant policies and all that hurtful and untrue rhetoric that they through around. The sad thing is, that the National Party are in a coalition that’s decided to slash immigration levels by a third and drastically raise English language requirements, almost creating a ‘white NZ’ immigration system. We’re already seeing the Nats adopt some of the worst of the old New Zealand First party’s policies in this campaign, and really it’s only a matter of time before they adopt the rest. The Greens are fighting hard against these terrible immigration reforms, and I know /u/hk-laichar finds this to be a very personal issue that he’s especially passionate about. There’s also the TOP candidate, who appointed /u/timewalker102, who was the longest serving Reform member, as his deputy leader. I don’t think they can have any credibility on immigration issues when half of their party participated in those very negotiations to slash immigration levels. The Greens are the only party standing in Whanganui to actually respect immigrants, value the contribution they make, and reject the loaded rhetoric slung around about immigrants in New Zealand.”

”That’s good to hear, it’s a shame the National Party has stooped so low. That really helps me make up my mind, thanks heaps!”

“No problem!”

imnofox stopped with the volunteers for some green tea on a park bench, resting their sore soles for a second, before continuing the hard work of the campaign

**knock knock*

“Hi there, I’m imnofox, co-leader of the Greens, out here shilling for our grassroots Green candidate for Whanganui, /u/hk-laichar. Have you decided who you’re voting for yet?”

”Nah, I don’t know- it never seems to change anything. I’ve been living hard in this rubbish rental for so long. Red governments, yellow governments- seems to make no change.”

“Well, a couple of terms ago, the Greens introduced real welfare reforms to ensure everyone finally had enough to live a health life. Unfortunately, due to just 1 seat, the Liberals formed government and stripped that support from so many vulnerable kiwis. That’s the difference a few votes can make.”

”Hmm, I never thought of it that way. With the media being so biased against good ideas, it’s so demoralising when all you see is that status quo rubbish of the government.”

“You might be interested in our policy to launch the NZ Public Journalism to support public interest journalism, helping to tell the important stories that aren’t commercially popular on paper, our screens, or on the radio. We also want to keep funding Radio New Zealand at a level that allows them to fulfill their charter. We lifted their funding for the first time since National last led government- and they do great work, and that needs supporting. Only a vote for /u/hk-laichar is a vote to invest in New Zealand’s public interest media.”

”Oh, that’s a great idea. I think I know who I’ll vote for then. Thank you!”

“No problem, have a great day!”

imnofox kept doorknocking until they got to the last bus stop, at which imnofox caught the next bus to his motel, and finally got some hearty sleep