imnofox travelled to Hamilton to tout the Green Party’s record

“Kia ora tatou, thank you all for being here today as we kick off the January 2020 election campaign. You know, we’re all going to be seeing a lot of visions promoted over these few weeks, but at the end of the day we also have to look at every party’s record in government. Last term was a confronting example of the contrast between the Greens and the National Party. We watched the National Party falter at every challenge, we watched infighting and chaos at the expense of taking Aotearoa New Zealand forward, and it took the Greens to step up, find common ground with other parties, to finally deliver a budget for New Zealanders at the tenth hour, against all odds.”

“We can’t have another term of this chaos, we can’t let careerist politicians put themselves and their ladder-climbing ahead of the New Zealand people. In less than a week, the Green Government, led by the impressive ARTB, delivered a budget that put New Zealand back on track as a progressive nation, and as a nation that cares about its regions.”

“That budget meant over 95% of taxpayers now keep more money in their back pocket, while the most vulnerable families have their Working for Families Children’s Credit restored. That budget meant our schools and our teachers and our support staff. We’re putting education first so that every child on our shores gets a well-rounded and transformational education to set them up to thrive in their future.”

“We did what National failed to do, which meant pressing issues could actually be addressed. Our ambulance services were facing revenue forced cuts, as donations failed to cover the full costs of ambulance services. Thanks to the Greens in government, we saved our ambulance services by fully-funding our ambulance services in the budget. This is actually a restoration of funding, after the National Party and the Coalition of Cruelty Likewise, up and down the country, including in this area, our three waters infrastructure is collapsing due to disrepair, earthquakes, and increased pressures. Just look at Wellington, with sewage pipes failing all around the city to great inconvenience and cost. It’s that cost that’s let them fall into such disrepair, and that’s why we created a multi-million fund, administered by the Department of Internal Affairs, to provide contestable grants to Regional Councils for three-waters infrastructure repairs. Resilience must be a priority for any government, and that’s what our investments ensure.”

“The Green budget also ratcheted up investment in our mental health services, especially in rural areas, finally appropriating funds to match the scale of the crisis. We put an extra $25 million towards mental health services, with an additional $5 million siloed just for rural services, because we know that provincial New Zealand is suffering in a way that is all the more difficult to address but equally important and urgent.”

“Despite all this progress and more made in the last few weeks of the last term, this pales in comparison to our full vision and agenda for New Zealand. We need a Green New Deal on the scale of those proposed in the United States and the United Kingdom, but one that not only addresses the social inequalities and the environmental crises but actively decolonised our politics and our institutions and this country in a way can only be unique to this whenua.”

“With a strong Green majority in parliament, we can begin to reverse the Coalition of Cruelty’s cuts to benefits and superannuation, leaving thousands of New Zealanders and their families living in poverty. With a strong Green majority in parliament, we can push an internationalist agenda that puts peace and co-operation ahead of narrow-minded nationalism and militarism. With a strong Green majority in parliament, we can invest in our communities and our regions, not wasting billions upon billions of dollars on vanity projects with no business case, like Kiwi’s infamous racetrack. With a strong Green majority in parliament, we can transform transport so that everyone has easy access to free buses and trains, with safe cycling infrastructure, such that cars become a thing of the past and our planet remains habitable for many more years to come.”

“This election you have the opportunity to elect a strong, stable, reliable, and transformational government with the Greens, or yet another term of chaos with Chretien’s Coalition of Cruelty. Don’t take the chance, don’t take the gamble. Vote Green this election.”