Green candidate for Auckland Central, the incumbent MP forgottomentionpeter, today began his campaigning at an event held in Grey Lynn this afternoon. Fresh off his e-bike he began his speech.

“Kia ora koutou, thank you very much for being here today. It’s only a short while since I was out and about campaigning the by-election, but it’s been a busy time since and a lot has changed. Much of the last two months has been spent getting into my roles as Minister of Social Development and Minister of Māori Affairs.”

“Last year we stepped up to the responsibility of being in government after the previous government threw in the towel. Our government arrangement isn’t exactly the most traditional but we’ve been able to make it work and we were able to achieve in just 5 days what the last government could not; passing a budget.”

“And we got a lot of important stuff done in the budget. In my area we reinstated the Working For Families Children’s Tax Credit, which is important for so many families in Aotearoa. We’ve increased funding for mental health and family planning; we reversed cuts to the Environmental Legal Assistance Fund; and we reinstated the opt-out policy for school donations. This has allowed thousands of schools around the country to get the funding they so desperately need.”

“But there’s so much more that needs to be done and that’s why it’s so important that the Greens are in a strong position to lead a government for a full term. A full term in government will allow us to get stuck in with tackling the big issues which face us like climate change, the housing crisis, education and health.”