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Green Party conference highlights divide in ideologies

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Sun, 4 Aug 2019, 10:23AM
Marama Davidson and James Shaw at last year's conference. (Photo / File)

Green Party conference highlights divide in ideologies

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Sun, 4 Aug 2019, 10:23AM

A divide between within the Green Party will be on show as their annual conference continues today in Dunedin.

Yesterday, during an address to the Party, co-leader James Shaw announced a cross-government climate action plan.

He also used his speech to party faithful at the party's annual conference to take aim at National and its leader Simon Bridges.

On numerous occasions, he referred to Bridges and his colleagues as the "new climate deniers" and accused the National leader of being desperate and dangerous.

He accused Bridges of using Trump-like tactics to spread "misinformation".

His speech came just hours after he told Newshub Nation that the Greens had ruled out any sort of coalition with National after the next election.

"I would never empower someone with as little personal integrity as Simon Bridges to become Prime Minister," he said.

Today, co-leader Marama Davidson will be announcing the Green Party's vision for fixing the housing crisis during her speech. 

The differences in focus could be a sign of a growing divide in the party. NZ Herald political reporter Jason Walls told Andrew Dickens that the party is split between the "social justice side of things and the environmental side of things".

He says that the two leaders stand for different halves of the party.

"Unfortunately for Mr Shaw, the social justice side of things is the loud part. A lot of the members have been quite vocal about how they are not receiving the Green Party side of things." 

Walls says he has spoken with one former Green candidate who stood for three elections who won't stand in the 2020 election due to the party's shift in focus. 

The party are also struggling with former Green members hitting out at the Government's policies, including former leader Russell Norman. 

"Every time the Government comes out and does something environmentally focused, he's sitting on the sideline taking a potshot." 

 

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