TVNZ’s Verian Poll on Monday had the Greens at 12%. If that holds on election day, it’s close to 15 Green MPs in parliament. It would also be the most MPs the Greens have ever had in parliament. The Greens are saying it’s because of political courage.
Here’s what 15 Green MPs would look like, from the Green Party List,
That would be 7 existing MPs and 8 new ones, not a bad renewal for a party growing its support.
No reason why it couldn’t be more. You can read about the new people on the list at the Greens’ 2023 candidate page. For those not a fan of the social justice side of green politics, environmentalists feature heavily. Whether the Greens are in government, or on the cross benches, we desperately need more and stronger green voices in parliament, pushing us in the right direction on the climate and ecology crises.
The other great thing about 15 or more Green MPs is that if we get a Labour-led government, we will get more Green Ministers. That’s the other way that change happens, leading in specific areas and developing policy deep within government.
Also in the Verian Poll was this: Do Kiwis want wealth tax for universal free dental care?
Unsurprisingly, yes.
The poll asked eligible voters if they would support or oppose a wealth tax on the assets of New Zealanders with more than $2m in assets if having the wealth tax meant everyone got free dental care.
A majority – 63% – said they’d be in support of it, while 28% were opposed. The rest didn’t know or refused to say.
This is excellent work by the Greens. If the left get to form government, and the Greens have 15 MPs, there is a strong chance of getting major change to dental services in New Zealand. Might not happen exactly how the Greens wrote their policy, but I would expect it to be a high priority in post-election negotiations.
Voters, the more Green MPs we have, the more progressive policy like this will get through.
And whether the left gets to form government or not, this solid work on wealth taxes over a number of years means that New Zealanders now consistently poll as being in favour of a wealth tax. In May 53% of people in a Newshub/Reid poll that they support the Government introducing a wealth tax, while a few weeks ago 47% said the Prime Minister shouldn’t have ruled out a wealth tax. (only 39% thought he was right).
In the wealth tax to pay for universal dental care poll, this is pertinent,
Those more likely to support a wealth tax in the poll were Green Party supporters (88%), Labour Party supporters (81%), and women aged 18 to 34 (74%).
Those more likely to oppose a wealth tax were ACT Party supporters (54%), those with an annual household income of more than $150,000 (43%), men aged 55+ (42%) and National party supporters (41%).
This is the Overton Window on social security shifting, being shifted, by politicians doing the mahi and leading the way. Thanks Metiria, and all those who have been working on the long game. Change can happen from developing fair policy and presenting it to the electorate.
It also opens the door to a conversation about universal services generally, whereby access for all citizens to core services provided by the state redresses inequity, pushes back on poverty, and prevents more people from becoming poor. Universal services sit alongside income guarantees and job guarantees. Let’s shift the Overton Window on these too.
How cool that 63% of respondents believe these two things:
Of course translating that percentage into votes on the day is a harder challenge, but we should take heart from this poll that New Zealand does have the potential to become more socialist again.
Meanwhile, Labour.
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