Green membership takes back their Party (just) but will 2017 Class Left ride to their rescue again in 2023?

By
Martyn Bradbury
-
30
1600

Election 2023: Green Party unveils its list for October’s general election

The Green Party’s list for the 2023 election is:

1. Marama Davidson (list only)

2. James Shaw (list only)

3. Chlöe Swarbrick (Auckland Central)

4. Julie Anne Genter (Rongotai)

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5. Teanau Tuiono (Palmerston North)

6. Lan Pham (Banks Peninsula)

7. Golriz Ghahraman (Kelston)

8. Ricardo Menéndez March (Mount Albert)

9. Steve Abel (New Lynn)

10. Hūhana Lyndon (Te Tai Tokerau)

11. Fa’anānā Efeso Collins (Panmure-Ōtāhuhu)

12. Scott Willis (Taieri)

13. Darleen Tana (Tāmaki Makaurau)

14. Kahurangi Carter (Christchurch Central)

15. Celia Wade-Brown (Wairarapa)

16. Dr. Lawrence Xu-Nan (Epsom)

17. Francisco Hernandez (Dunedin)

18. Benjamin Doyle (Hamilton West)

19. Mike Davidson (Ilam)

20. Stephanie Rodgers (Ōhāriu)

21. Suveen Sanis Walgampola (Mount Roskill)

22. Dave Kennedy (Southland)

23. Gina Dao-McLay (Mana)

24. Reina Tuai Penney (Northland)

25. Nick Ratcliffe (Tukituki)

26. Dr. Alexander McNeil (Kaikōrua)

27. Richard Wesley (Wigram)

28. Neelu Jennings (Hutt South)

29. Rochelle Francis

30. Sapna Samant (Maungakiekie)

31. Kair Lippiatt

The Green Membership have been saved from themselves by the resignation of Kerekere.
TDB’s Top 5 were:

1: Chloe

2: Golriz

3: Julie Ann Genter

4: Efeso Collins

5: Steve Able

and the Candidates endorsed by The GreenLeft Network were:

  • Dr Elizabeth Kerekere;
  • Teanau Tuiono;
  • Ricardo Menéndez March;
  • Lawrence Xu-nan;
  • Francisco Hernandez;
  • Stephanie Rodgers;
  • Suveen Sanis Walgampola;
  • Gina Dao-McLay;
  • Reina Tuai Penney;
  • Nick Ratcliffe.
The wider Party membership have injected some basic sanity but the damage has been done by the new rules that allowed ‘lived experience groups‘ far too much power.

These ‘lived experience groups’ have block voted into place their identity candidates and were frantically trying to delay the vote as the wider membership looked on disapprovingly at these political stunts being played out in public.

The new constitution adopted by the party in 2022, expanded the guidelines for selecting candidates whilst allocating voting rights to previously informal interest group networks. One effect of this has been to de-prioritise talent, effectiveness and electoral appeal in the list-ranking process in favour of a kind of horse trading over how to fit in the right quota of geography, ethnicity, ability, youth & gender into the various positions on the list.

It is this new network that a far more puritanical woke clique have seized upon and manipulated to ensure their identity candidates have most influence.

Watching The Standard try to cancel Dr Bryce Edwards for pointing all this out is a reminder of how the tribal left are bound by bitterness. Their hate towards him and attempts to have him sacked from his job are driven by his exposure of class dynamics at the Parliament protest rather than agreeing with Morgan Godfrey that they were all white supremacy Nazis. The Tribal Left at The Standard hate Bryce because he reveals their hypocrisy and they hate that more than being wrong.

I have voted Greens most of my adult life and I barely recognise this current mutation.

As the Greens stall in the Polls, the wider political question is will the class Left ride to the aid of the Greens in 2023 they way they did in 2017?
In 2017, as the implosion of Metiria’s confession of taking a benefit she wasn’t entitled to (without actually sorting it out and paying it) self mutilated the Greens, Chris Trotter and the Class Left launched a campaign to save the Greens by Party voting for them.
It was enough to keep them above the 5% threshold.
Will the Class Left do that for the Greens this election as the Greens barely mange to poll above their 2020 result.
I think the answer is no.
The Greens have transitioned from an Environmental Party focused on climate change  and Economic Inequality into a middle class identity politics obsessed party virtue signalling the Holy Trinity of Woke Dogma:
In the name of the nonBinary Mother, the nonBinary Sister and the monthly Ghost;
Every white person is an irredeemable cross burning racist;
B-EL-I-E-V-E every woman that every man is a rapist;
and Anyone defending Free Speech is a uniform wearing Nazi who hates the Trans Community.
Remember, there ain’t no wriggle room in that Holy Trinity of Woke Dogma, and this decides policy in the Green Party now.
The naked reality for genuinely progressive voters concerned with the horrific inequalities caused by neoliberal capitalism now is to force the Labour Party into being actually Left wing by a minor Party forcing them to.
Labour is still hostage to the exact same neoliberal straightjacket that National is and if we want to get Chippy and Grant to pass Left legislation, it will be by forcing them to do it.
The problem with the Greens is that they are so feckless that they will fuck up any post negotiation and flip flop around. Their entire strategy of taking vacant baubles in the form of powerless Ministerships tells us they are so incompetent they couldn’t;t get laid in a monkey brothal wearing Banana costumes.
Don’t get me wrong, misuse a pronoun and they will cut you from society, they managed to gerrymander sexual assault laws so that anyone accused of rape are found guilty and passed extreme legislation to imprison a person for 5 years for praying gay ghosts away.
Half a decade in jail for praying to a God that doesn’t exist about gay ghosts that don’t
exist. Hilariously no one has used the law yet, despite attempts by the HRC to drum up some business for them to try and advance a case, so 5 years in prison for praying to a God that doesn’t exist, about gay ghosts that don’t exist for victims who as of yet also don’t exist.
That’s a remarkable amount of effort for very little actual gain, which in of itself sums up the Greens.
The woke are great when it is a Vegan Militant Cycling Mummy Blogger Free-the-nipple rallies or mob violence using the thugs veto to shut down gender critical feminists in public spaces, not so good at challenging the neoliberal hegemonic structure.
Chloe will win Auckland Central and they will probably take Wellington Central as well, so even if they slip below 5%, they will be Green representation, so the Class Left don’t need to ride to the Greens this election because they are getting in anyway PLUS they just don’t fucking deserve it.
If the Class Left want real change this election, they should consider voting for the Maori Party.
The difference between the Greens and John Tamihere, is that when John Tamihere says he will take GST off food and tax the rich, you fucking know he is.
When Marama and James went to beg Jacinda for crumbs, Marama had a piece of paper with the question ‘why not’.
JT is going to roll into that room, kick arse and take names.
If we on the Left want real change, not the woke garbage the Greens have spent 3 years harvesting and not the incremental slow death of Labour’s caution, then a vote for the Maori Party to remove GST off food and tax the rich would do more to help the poorest and generate the revenue we need for our social and physical infrastructure than anything else.

 

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30 COMMENTS

    • There’s no way Greens will drop below 5% as at least 6% of voters are politically retarded

    • “no white knight is riding to save them”
      White Knights are a symbol of the heteronormative-cis-white-male-righthanded-neurotypical-called-mike patriarchy and must be cancelled. There is no free ride from the oppression of horses.

  2. Te Pati Kakariki will still poll over 5%,they do cater to the woke in fact that’s all they cater for.

  3. It would be a shame to lose their voice in Parliment but I would hate to see the have any real control especially if it was in bed with the Maori Party as back up to the Labour Party

  4. In present state they are just a lap dog for Labour anyway. Unless they can make them selves a blue/ green party and be able to have policy wins with Nat’s also.

  5. Greybeard pundits and tory blokes may hate the Greens with a vengeance, but the fact is the brand is strong and they will be back in Parliament on current figures.

    A lot of what Martyn says is correct, but nonetheless strategically and tactically Greens need to be there to keep the nasty Natzos, and deadly spawn of the Chicago Boys and Douglas–ACT–well away from Parliamentary office.

    If the Parliamentary right can be squashed this year they will not be back in a hurry as time waits for no one.

  6. So I take it you’re still gonna vote for them Martyn?

    As long as they die in this election. Life is good. Everyone should rejoice and relax before the impending election post Octobers election.

  7. ” The Greens have transitioned from an Environmental Party focused on climate change and Economic Inequality into a middle class identity politics obsessed party virtue signalling the Holy Trinity of Woke Dogma: ”
    I have ” transitioned ” away as well Bomber.

    No current parties in parliament represent me and so many others in the community who are marginalised and barely surviving yet all of them will come out in a few months once again asking for our votes , saying they care but have no intention of changing the status quo.

    No plan no vision no hope unless you belong to the monied classes and its their vote that they will fight over every three years.

    The real tragedy is the former Green party had IMO the best policies of any party in dealing with inequality and environmental issues but they were never strong enough to advocate for any of it especially now.

    Realising now how rigged the entire system is and it took me a while I will not support any of the current parties in parliament or Peters Jones for the first time in 36 years come October.

    It feels good Bomber you should try it.

    • Whilst living in Tamaki Makaura I was always angry that the three poorest electorates in the country got nothing, absolutely nothing from their Labour MPs and nothing from the Labour party people continued to vote for them.

      You seriously should consider voting for Te Pati Maori one of the things they are going to insist on is that the richest people in the country actually pay more tax. If they pay more tax that will be more money for those on the margins. More money for health and education… this can only be a good thing for the most deprived in our country. As a 73 year old white woman I joined te Pati Maori last year and will be actively campaigning for them.

      I was a member and green voter at the last election getting more and more disillusioned.

  8. Having neither co-leader standing for an electorate is not a good look for democracy. It might be interpreted as a face-saving admission they are so toxic to the electorate that no one will vote for them. List-only candidates from all parties should be viewed with utmost suspicion as their position is based on supporting party ideology rather than democratically representing real voters, and both leaders being list-only seems wrong.

    • What has the Greens done for the country What have the members done for their electorate especially Chloe whom was voted in with much fanfare.

  9. Martyn – Chloe should win Auckland Central…but, the party vote will be below 7% at this stage…

      • Bob the first – She has done nothing for Auckland Central…however, both Labour and National will not host strong candidates…Labour because they need partners, and National because Auckland Central is now unfriendly towards them.

      • The people of Auckland central don’t elect parliamentarians to sort out Auckland infrastructure. Those people are way smarter than your petty questions.

      • Nothing and I don’t see how she’s going to win considering how angry everyone in Auckland central are and the appalling state of the cbd…. a liberal nat might pull a Nikki Kaye tbh

  10. I don’t think you understand the ‘Conversion Therapy’ law. It was sort of sold as stopping Christians from trying to convert gays back to normies, but it’s real intent it to force parents and the state to push kids to transition through the ‘gender affirmation’ approach so popular in the US i.e. kids says they are confused about their identity (especially when you push it in the curriculum at school) so immediately push them to transition with drugs and surgery, and if someone says “wait a sec, lets talk about your issues” – well that’s hate speech, and against the law.

    BTW this affirmative approach has been discarded across the EU now because of:
    1. anything up to 75% of trans presenting kids having serious mental health problems that aren’t being addressed before pushing them into transitioning
    2. very high rates of kids presenting as trans after seeing tiktok, school brainwashing etc, who subsequently if nothing is done, go on to lead normal lives and are often gay
    3. the incredibly serious lapses in care at the Tavistock centre in the UK where kids were pushed into drugs and surgery at very young ages (10+) often after one visit, and no effort made to deal with their underlying mental health issues or even do basic followup.

    Don’t fall for the trans-activist propaganda – this is a Trojan horse law designed to push kids into transitioning, no matter what.

  11. The entire Green Party Movement internationally is headed in the same direction as The Greens in Germany — an assortment of rabidly pro-war, pro-N.A.T.O, anti-socialist, Third Way liberals dressed up in multi-coloured woke leisure suits.

    J.T. won’t be able to attract broad support either, due to the divisive racialist nationalism that his entire party is based on.

    This should be an election where local independents begin to emerge (both Corbynite and Trumpian), but apparently the country is far too brain-dead (and brainwashed) for that to happen.

    • @Kristoff R. Agreed, modern progressive politics seems to have become a fashionable activity for urban middle class. Having voted Labour/Green since I could vote, I’ll be sitting this one out. With their focus on economic issues, if TMP dropped the woke identity politics (which is not the same as championing Māori issues) I could vote for them, but for now they are too enamoured with the intersectional bandwagon.

  12. People vote for their brand – hardly for their ability to ever go through with any policies.

  13. I wont vote for the greens. No way. To use one of martins sayings…… “They” (greens) “can fuck right off.”

  14. The greens are so far removed from environmental roots that they can’t even manage environmental policy when it’s handed to them.

  15. No voting Green is doing what?What do they stand for?
    They have tarnished their brand beyond repair.

Comments are closed.