James Shaw's surprise promise to farmers, as he seeks the Green faithful's support
James Shaw focused on climate change, talking up his efforts to create a relatively less bad future, while facing questions himself about his future as the Greens co-leader yesterday. The Green Party election year conference kicked off in Auckland on Saturday, with a speech from Shaw that predicted dire outcomes for the environment if emissions reductions dont suddenly improve. He said there was much more to do, and blamed Labour for blocking Green climate policies but he told the Green members a National and ACT coalition would undo the entire Green Party legacy if elected. Coupled with observations about recent climate-exacerbated catastrophes, such as the Nelson fires, Auckland floods, and Cyclone Gabrielles devastation on the East Coast, the speech was sombre. However, Shaw insisted it was actually an enthusiastic event. The mood seemed quite buoyant from where I was standing, he said. At the same time, party officials were counting votes from delegates who had been asked as they are each conference if they supported the current co-leaders. The membership did not immediately support Shaw last year, but he was eventually re-instated as co-leader after a drawn out process. He said, given it was an election year, he did not expect a repeat of that performance. During his speech, he honed in on environmentalism the Green Party foundation. In recent months, the party has focused heavily on its plans for a wealth tax, tax cuts, and rent controls. Those consumer issues about wealth redistribution and housing have energised the Green base, while the party has toured university campuses and social service providers in an attempt to draw Left voters away from Labour. The party has promised tax cuts to everyone earning under $125,000, plus more for families. The Greens hope that by positioning the party to the Left of Labour, it will be able to grow its vote with people who have been left disappointed by Labours progress as a majority government. But so far, the Green vote has not increased significantly in any major polls. It sits around the same place it did at the 2020 election (8%), sure of its return but not comfortably in double digits. This is despite Jacinda Arderns resignation and the arrival of Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who moved to stall or cancel a bunch of Green-aligned policies when he became leader. Shaw did not focus on those Leftist policies during his speech, but co-leader Marama Davidson promised she had more in store ahead of her keynote speech today. During her speech, the party planned to unveil its 2023 election manifesto. That document would canvass a range of issues, from environmentalism to the more socialist focus of the Greens welfare and equity-minded supporters. The only major surprise to come from Shaws speech was his promise to farmers and landowners. He revealed Cabinet had recently approved work to investigate how they could be rewarded for private conservation efforts. He said it wasnt a political campaign to try and win farmers votes, but that it had come about after meetings with farmers involved in the Governments work to try and price agricultural emissions. One of the things that has been a real problem in He Waka Eke Noa has been the frustration that a lot of farmers have felt that there are scientifically valid forms of sequestration of carbon dioxide that are happening on their farms that they could do more with, he said. Green Party supporters in Auckland were generally upbeat yesterday. Theyve had a week of events, with a series of two-tick campaign launches and pre-conference events, designed to enthuse the faithful and convince them to volunteer for the campaign.