Green MP and former Minister of Conservation and Minister for Land Information, Eugenic Sage gave her valedictory statement in parliament this week. As always, if you want to understand green politics, listen to what the Green MPs say themselves, and this is no exception. Video below and on vimeo, and transcript here.
The speech lays out Sage’s own history. She originally stood for parliament after being sacked as an Environment Canterbury councillor,
Mr Speaker, I never intended to be an MP, especially after working in the Government research unit and then as a ministerial press secretary in the late 1980s and seeing the hours MPs worked. But Nick Smith and Rodney Hide changed that when, in March 2010, they axed elected regional councillors on Environment Canterbury, me included, to install commissioners more sympathetic to irrigation development. I was angry that a Government could so easily cancel an election, overturn local democracy, and pass legislation under urgency with no public submissions. Anger became action.
There is a good overview of parts of Green Party history too. Anyone wanting to know what the Greens have achieved on key environmental issues in New Zealand, as well as how the Greens achieve change, should listen to this speech,
One of the things I am most grateful for in the Green Party is our strong kaupapa. MPs move on, but we keep pushing on our priority issues until we get change, even if it takes years. The “dirty rivers, clean water” campaign which Russel, Catherine Delahunty, and I all worked on at different times during six long years in Opposition is just one example.
Alongside NGOs and local communities, we highlighted the damage to rivers and streams from agricultural intensification, we helped stop the Ruataniwha dam, and built the public mandate to end Government subsidies for irrigation in 2017 and for David Parker to implement stronger national direction on freshwater.
Stronger regulation is now making a difference, but cow numbers and nitrate pollution of waterways and methane emissions remain too high. I look forward to Steve Abel and Lan Pham being elected and continuing to push on issues such as tighter drinking water standards for nitrate.
There are many other examples in the speech, as well as Sage’s view on what hasn’t been achieved and still needs to be done.
The speech is full of acknowledgement of the many people Sage has worked with and been helped by.
One of the failings of our democractic system is the winner takes all approach even under MMP. Given her experience and wisdom Sage should have been the Minister of Conservation for the past 6 years, but lost her position in 2020 when Labour gained a majority. Most of us don’t vote thinking about who will be Minister, and we still largely have an adversarial approach between parties despite changes in the relationship between the Greens and Labour in the past decade. I’m imagining a time when we value and retain people beyond the confines of party politics and current parliamentary power structures.
Sage doesn’t know what she will do next, but understands “there’s no shortage of issues where people and nature need a helping hand”. All the best Eugenie, New Zealand is lucky to have you.
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