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imnofox returns to his roots, doorknocking in the suburbs of Porirua
âKia ora, my name is imnofox, just out here talking about the Green Party and tomorrowâs election. How are you?â
âOh, Iâm alright. My names Dave.â
âHi Dave. May I ask who youâre planning on voting for tomorrow?â*
âYeah, well. Iâm kinda torn between the Greens and TOP. Both present those kinds of ânew ideasâ to old problems, or just new problems really. Iâm quite a fan of the current government, you see.â
âWell Dave, let me say this. While the Greens are committed to comprehensive climate action, including ending offshore oil and gas exploration, National arenât at all. And unfortunately, TOP could go either way. After all, both parties support the further privatisation of state assets, both oppose ending offshore oil and gas exploration against all evidence, and both want to weaken the Resource Management Act. So weâve got to way these things up. Do you want to vote for a Greens-led government like the one we have today, or do you want to leave it up to chance?â
âHmm, thatâs a compelling argument. Tell me more about this offshore oil and gas exploration ban. Iâve heard that itâs useless.â
âItâs only useless if you rely on some foolish assumptions. Numbers cited by National and TOP assume that globally, countries do no more to reduce emissions than they have already started doing, and that fossil fuels are an infinite resource, neither of which are true. For every 100 tonnes of CO2e we stop, globally we reduce emissions by 50 to 75 CO2e. Thatâs a good deal, and a necessary deal for the prevention of further climate breakdown.â
âOh, interesting. Wonât some people be impacted? I heard this will cost 11,000 jobs?â
âWell, thatâs the spin from PEPANZ, the oil industry lobby group, stretching out the definitions and the numbers, first counting direct jobs, then indirect jobs (those employed in supplying inputs), induced jobs (those employed to provide goods and services to meet consumption demands of directly and indirectly employed workers like hospitality staff) and then added âfeedstockâ employment on top of that, industries like Methanex and Fonterra that use gas in their production. So if we look at the numbers that really matter, itâs just 2,630 people that need retraining, and businesses employing about 4,000 people whoâll just need to revise their business direction. So thatâs about half the number given by PEPANZ, and nowhere near all of them have their jobs at risk.â
âWhat about those who do need new employment.?â
âWeâve got that covered. The Regional Investment Corporation ought to be expanded with a mandate to invest in affected regions, ensuring that retraining is available and that these regional economies still thrive. A key part of our vision is ensuring nobody is left behind, the just transition.â
âWow, youâve got a pretty solid plan. Alright, Iâm sold- youâve allayed my concerns. Iâll get out there and vote two ticks Green tomorrow!â
âGood to hear it, have a good one!â
imnofox walked down the street, dodging a runaway football, before knocking on the next door
âKia ora, my name is imnofox, former local Green MP, out here campaigning for the Greens once more. How are you?â
âOh! I remember when you were our local representative. Good times. Iâm quite excited to vote a Green back into Wellington once more.â
âGlad to hear it, I donât need to ask who youâre voting for then!â
âOh yes, Iâm definitely ticking the Green Party off tomorrow. I did want to ask though- who will you be forming government with?â
âAhahaha, well. Obviously we will always be forming coalition with our good friends in the Labour Party. Whether or not we continue to work with TOP and United Future, whether in coalition, confidence & supply, or not at all will obviously depend on the results and negotiations. But I can assure you, unlike TOP and United Future, we definitely wonât be working with National or ACT. That would just be irresponsible.â
âGood to hear it. Seems like some of these centrist parties are holding us back, seems these two parties have been trying to cozy up to National and distance themselves from the government. Quite surprising if you ask me.â
âYeah, well, if they think thatâs in their self interest, thatâs their problem. Iâm focussed on getting the Greens and Labour back into government. That really is the goal.â
âWell thank you, Iâll make sure to vote two ticks Green tomorrow. Good chat!â
âYes, have a good one!"
imnofox jived down the street some more, pressing the doorbell at number 64
âKia ora, my name is imnofox, out here hoping to get your vote for the Greens. How are you?â
âYeah, Iâm alright. Nameâs Judy, by the way.â
âHi Judy. So do you mind if I ask who youâre voting for tomorrow?â
âIâm stuck between National and Greens. Iâm a bit of a blue-green, you see.â
âWell, unfortunately, National isnât an environmentalist party. When they were in government, they halved the Department of Conservationâs baseline budget, their predator control funding, and funding for Predator Control 2050. They also scrapped funding for waterway cleanup projects, instead using this money to buy new toys for the military, which they just donât need. The term following that, they made just 5 simple promises for the environment, and achieved not even one. It took the Greens in government to restore all this funding and take real action for the environment, including ending mining on conservation land, creating the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary and the South Taranaki Bight Whale Sanctuary, and introducing the first real protections for our threatened indigenous freshwater fish. On top of that, they want to repeal the plastic bag ban we introduced! So I donât think, unfortunately, they can ever claim to be an environmentalist party.â
âOh, thatâs so sad. Well, I am a little bit concerned about this oil and gas ban- some say it will actually increase emissions?â
âWell, it would under a National government. See, it would increase emissions if we assume that the world wonât take any further action to reduce emissions than countries are already doing, which frankly is the most ridiculous assumption, but of course thatâs really all National has planned. So for every 100 tonnes of CO2e we stop, global emissions would drop by 50 to 75 tonnes of CO2e. Thatâs a win.â
âWow, that is a silly assumption! We really do need to be more careful than to just accept oil industry spin, I guess. Thanks for clearing that up. Well, Iâm not a hundred percent sure yet, but I think Iâll probably vote Green tomorrow.â
âThanks Judy, thatâs good to hear. Iâll let you get on with your day, donât want to keep you!â
imnofox continued doorknocking in the Porirua suburbs throughout the rest of the day, pushing hard for the Greens and ARichTeaBiscuit
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