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2:30 pm, December 8th, 2009 - 12 comments
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The Green Party celebrated 10 years in the New Zealand Parliament yesterday. Happy birthday! It was especially fitting that the anniversary coincided with the beginning of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.
In the past ten years climate change has evolved from a fringe topic into the most pressing issue of the global political mainstream. That’s why over 100 world leaders will be attending the Copenhagen leaders’ conference next week. And while the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports have done essential work on explaining the science of climate change it has been Green political parties, both locally and internationally, who have provided the essential political and parliamentary voice to the debate.
Imagine what National and Labour left to their own devises would have done for the environment without the Greens continually raising issues of sustainability, conservation and environmental protection in Parliament. As it is both of the major political parties track records on the environment have been shockingly bad in recent years. Our greenhouse gas emission rose 22% from 1990 to 2007, we have an ETS that will be bad for the environment and is likely to see our greenhouse gas outputs rise even further and National has slammed the door on such basic carbon reducing policy as fuel economy standard for cars. While John Key vacillated on going to Copenhagen the Greens published new ideas on moving towards a green economy that creates jobs and reduces greenhouse emissions.
So happy decade Greens. May there be many more to come.
– Andrew Campbell
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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Happy Birthday!
Seems their cake was average, should have got Nandor to bake it so the press gallery wrote awesome stories… although capacity to write may have been diminished haha.
Yes it obviously has Fizzer
swing and a miss
What started out as a great party for the environment, has turned into one of the most vile anti west party this country has seen.
People like Russell Norman and Keith Locke are changing what the greens should be into what they want New Zealand to be, which is very scary indeed.
Like Labour….interesting times with such lacklustre leadership not inspiring who it needs to…..2011 should be intruiging.
The class clown’s way out in front…..laughs beats zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
What started out as a great party for the environment, has turned into one of the most vile anti west party this country has seen
Can you pin point how the Greens Kaupapa has changed over the years?
We have always been a vile anti west party, sticking to our vile anti west principles since 1999
Which is, I guess that better then being a vile right wing party changing into labour lite
and abandoning its principles for mere baubles
Just take a look at some of the speeches by Green members in its first two years in parliament and now look at the speeches.
Again, Brett – “Can you pin point how the Greens Kaupapa has changed over the years?”
While we’re on the topics of birthdays, ACT celebrated its 15th birthday a few weeks ago.
I was there. A great night. Here’s to 15 more.
I’d agree that it is nice to have a place for the right nutters to go.
Fortunately I suspect that Act will drop out of parliament next election when Rodney loses Epsom, so it will be the type of clique debating society that doesn’t affect the rest of us.