in an interview with Lisa Owen on Checkpoint, imnofox spoke about the campaign so far and who he’s backing in Manukau

LO: “Good evening, imnofox, now, the campaign’s begun, but why should voters elect the Greens?”

imnofox: “Well Lisa, thanks for having me on. That question is the question I’m out doing my best to answer every day on this campaign trail, and it’s not a hard question to answer. Over the last two terms, the standard of living in New Zealand has continued to collapse, and at the same time, the government is stripping funding from necessary social services such as Oranga Tamariki, trying to make incomes less accessible to our least well off New Zealanders, completing neglecting our environmental crises, all while closing up our borders locking fresh talent out of New Zealand. All of this is taking a toll on our people and our planet, and with the impacts of climate change becoming more and more harmful, for both people and the environment, with every day we waste. Their inaction is setting us up for an economic collapse, and we need to start the just transition to a greener, sustainable economy urgently. The only way to do that is to elect a strong Green government, free of New Zealand First’s racist populism and the National Party’s incompetence.”

LO: “I’m sitting here today in our Auckland studio, and just north of the Manukau electorate, where the Greens aren’t standing a candidate. How do you think people should vote?”

imnofox: “It may be no surprise Lisa, but the Greens are throwing 100% of our weight behind the impressive candidacy of /u/Please_Dont_Yell from Socialist Aotearoa- because they are one of few candidates who truly understands the need to combat inequality, poverty, and the climate capitalism crisis we face. Throughout my years in politics, /u/Please_Dont_Yell’s principled and purposeful activism has been a huge driving force in many of the great movements that have lead to real change over the last few terms. His record stands so much stronger on these issues than either of her three other opponents.”

LO: “Are the Socialists not too radical?”

imnofox: “Better health services is not a radical idea. Ensuring everyone has enough to live a comfortable and secure life is not radical. Fighting against the causes of the climate change crisis we face is not radical. It’s just the right thing to do. If you want to talk about radicalism, just look who National are supporting in the electorate. New Zealand First wants to bring back the death penalty, wants to slash pensions to radically low levels, and wants to collapse our primary industries- just to list three of their policies. With the crises we face, especially when it comes to climate change, the only radical option is doing nothing- and yet that’s the modus operandi of the National-New Zealand First coalition and their ‘star’ candidates.”

LO: “But throughout much of the last term, the Greens and the Socialists didn’t sit together in the Official Opposition?”

imnofox: “Whether or not we snuggle up to each other in parliament is irrelevant- we may have slightly different approaches but we have exactly the same goals. Only a vote for /u/Please_Dont_Yell in Manukau is a vote to end poverty once and for all in Aotearoa, to eradicate the gap between the rich and the poor, and to start taking real action for our climate and for our planet. I have full faith in /u/Please_Dont_Yell and our allies in Socialist Aotearoa to fight alongside to deliver these necessary overhauls to the broken economic system we depend on.”

LO: “Thank you for your time, it’s been great having you on.”

imnofox: “Thank you!”