Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
| Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand | |
|---|---|
 
|
|
| Party leader | James Shaw and Marama Davidson |
| founding | May 1990 |
| Place of foundation | Wellington |
| Headquarters |
Level 2, 17 Garrett St Te Aro Wellington |
| Alignment |
Green politics , environmental protection |
| Colours) | green |
| House of Representatives |
8/120 |
| International connections |
Global Greens , Asia-Pacific Green Network |
| Website | www.greens.org.nz |
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand (German about: Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand) is a green party in New Zealand . Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand, the double name was chosen deliberately to indicate the bilingual nature of the country.
The main political theme of the party is environmental protection , it also represents left-wing , progressive positions.
The party has been represented in the New Zealand parliament since 1996 . Long-time co-party leader Jeanette Fitzsimons resigned on February 10, 2010 after 13 years in parliament. In June 2009 she had already handed over her role as co-party chairman to Metiria Turei . Russel Norman , who had served as co-party chairman since 2006, stepped down from office on May 29, 2015 at the party's general meeting in Auckland . He was followed by James Shaw in the election on May 30, 2015 . Metiria Turei resigned as co-chair on August 10, 2017. She was followed by Marama Davidson , who was elected co-party chairman at the party conference on March 8, 2018 with 110 out of 144 votes.
politics
The Greens mainly focus on environmental issues. Recently, they have expressed particular concern about genetic engineering , which they are strongly opposed to. You have also sharply criticized the United States' military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan .
They emphasize sustainability or sustainable management and fair trade as the basic principles of their economic policy . They also say that economic success should be measured by the resulting quality of life rather than by hard economic indicators.
Charter
The following points come - freely translated - from the founding charter of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand :
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand accepts Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand. It recognizes the Māori as Tāngata Whenua Aotearoa of New Zealand and is committed to the following four principles:
-
Ecological wisdom
The basis of ecological foresight is the fact that humans are part of the natural [environment]. This world is finite, so unlimited material growth is impossible. Ecological sustainability is the top priority. - Social Responsibility
Unlimited material growth is not possible. Therefore, the key to social justice is the equitable distribution of social and natural resources, both globally and locally. -
Appropriate decision-making
For the implementation of ecological wisdom and social justice, decisions are made directly by those affected at an appropriate level. -
Nonviolence
Nonviolent conflict resolution is the means by which ecological wisdom, social responsibility and appropriate decision making are enforced. This principle is applied at all [decision-making] levels.
history
Origins
The Greens trace their origins back to the Values Party , which is sometimes even referred to as the world's first nationwide environmental party. The Values Party was founded in 1972 at Victoria University of Wellington . However, while it gradually gained public attention, it did not manage to get seats in parliament due to the electoral system of the time. Therefore, the Values Party increasingly lost support and thus its importance.
founding
In 1990 the Values Party merged with a number of other environmental organizations to form today's Green Party . This triggered a resurgence in support. In the parliamentary elections in the same year, the Greens received 6.85% of the vote from scratch, making them the third-strongest party. Nevertheless they could because of the majority electoral system no deputies to the New Zealand House of Representatives ( House of Representatives ) delegate.
The "Allianz" years
In 1991, the Greens were founders of the so-called The Alliance , a group of left parties to Jim Anderton 's NewLabour Party . In 1993 and 1996, the Greens ran as part of the Alliance in the parliamentary elections. By changing the electoral system (since 1996 a mixed system of majority and proportional representation has been used that is comparable to that in Germany ), Allianz won 13 seats in the House of Representatives, three of which were occupied by the Green MPs Jeanette Fitzsimons, Ron Donald and Phillida Bunkle .
In 1997, the Greens decided to send candidates who were independent of Allianz back into the race for the next election. They felt a little suppressed their political identity in the alliance. While most of the members of the Greens left the alliance, some decided to stay, for example MP Phillida Bunkle . Conversely, some alliance members who previously belonged to the alliance via other parties also joined the Greens (for example, the two current MPs Sue Bradford and Keith Locke , who came to the Greens via NewLabour ).
Work in parliament
After just overcoming the five percent hurdle in the 1999 parliamentary election with 5.16% , the Greens were able to send seven members to parliament. The party chairman Jeanette Fitzsimons even managed to win the Coromandel constituency and thus move directly into parliament. It is said to be the world's first directly elected green parliamentary seat. However, the Greens had to tremble for a long time about the result, because the final entry into parliament was only certain after ten days after the so-called special votes had been counted . Meanwhile, a center-left coalition of Labor and The Alliance had already formed, which the Greens had not invited to talks because of the delay. In retrospect, however, it was agreed that the coalition could count on support from the Greens on certain issues. In return, the Greens were given a certain say in budget planning. The Greens developed a good working relationship with the government and were able to introduce some legislative initiatives.
In the 2002 election, the Greens succeeded in increasing their share of the vote to 7% and thus sending nine MPs to the House of Representatives. Jeanette Fitzsimons lost her direct seat in the Coromandel constituency to a National Party candidate. During the election campaign there were tough clashes between the Greens and the Labor Party . The Greens sharply criticized the Labor plans to phase out a moratorium on the use of genetic engineering . With a view to possible support from the Greens that the Labor Party might need, they wanted to make it clear that extending the moratorium was a non-negotiable issue. After the election, a coalition of the Labor Party and Jim Anderton's Progressive, led by Jim Anderton , formed . The coalition chose to rely on the support of the United Future New Zealand party , which upheld strict Christian values. The Greens were thus back in opposition.
Although the Greens no longer had any direct influence on the state budget, they still maintained a close working relationship with the government and thus remained involved in the legislative process. The government often had to rely on the support of the Greens when it came to legislative votes because they were not approved by the conservative United Future Party . The government earned praise from journalists for “juggling two diametrically different parties”.
Because the moratorium on genetic engineering has now expired, the Greens are trying to influence legislation under the new government in order to prevent the genetic modification of animals and plants from being allowed under the given legal circumstances. Genetic engineering continues to be one of the main themes of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand .
In 2005 the Greens, although they suffered losses, managed to get into parliament again with 5.3% and were thus able to send six MPs. They have now been completely expelled from the Labor government after United Future and New Zealand First refused to support a government with green participation. Sue Bradford, Sue Kedgley, Keith Locke , Metiria Turei and Nandor Tanczos (replacing Ron Donald ) sat in the House of Representatives for the Greens .
In 2008, the Greens achieved 6.7% and came back to parliament with nine MPs, in which they formed the third largest party, but remained in the opposition. Metiria Turei became the new party leader .
In the 2011 parliamentary elections, the party won 11.06% of the Simmen, received 14 seats and, as the third strongest party, continued to focus on opposition work. In 2014 the party was able to defend its 14 parliamentary seats with 10.7% of the vote. In the parliamentary elections of 2017, the party slipped to a share of only 6.2% of the vote, but was able to join the government under Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern from October 2017 due to successful coalition negotiations with the New Zealand Labor Party .
Party leader
| Period | 1st Co-Chair | Period | 2nd co-chair |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-2009 | Jeanette Fitzsimons | 1995-2005 | Rod Donald |
| 2006-2015 | Russel Norman | ||
| 2009-2017 | Metiria Turei | ||
| since 2015 | James Shaw | ||
| since 2018 | Marama Davidson |
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Greens-elect new co-leader . Otage Daily Times , May 30, 2015, accessed June 1, 2015 .
- ^ Marama Davidson's landslide win as new Green Party co-leader . New Zealand Herald , April 8, 2018, accessed April 9, 2018 .
- ^ The Green Charter . Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand , May 30, 2015, archived from the original on July 4, 2008 ; accessed on February 3, 2018 (English, original website no longer available).
- ^ Fitzsimons to Pass Co-leadership Torch in June . In: Scoop Parliament . Scoop Media , February 23, 2009, accessed April 14, 2019 .
Rod Donald (1995–2005) • Jeanette Fitzsimons (1995–2009) • Russel Norman (2006–2015) • Metiria Turei (2009–2017) • James Shaw (since 2015) • Marama Davidson (since 2018)