The first Samoan member of parliament in Victoria!
Most people like Greens, as they care for the planet. But often people don’t vote for them, as they think that their vote will be wasted. Recently, England elected 4 Green MPs who thankfully are in government, to help stop the terrible policies that Labour are about to enact, ripping up the countryside to build more homes by relaxing planning laws, even though there is plenty of brownfield land to build on. Chris Packham is appalled, as should all of us be.
If you feel that we’re always going to be left with the same political landscape, know that in Australia and New Zealand, things are far more hopeful. Often due to different voting systems (but sometimes simply because people vote differently), there are many Greens in government, often in the Cabinet.
Say ‘G’day Mate’ to the Australian Greens!
Australian Greens have been popular for years. A few years back, one MP went to court to try to save a Tasmanian forest from logging. He lost the case and all his money. So the general public actually kind of ‘crowdfunded’ his legal fees to keep him financially afloat. Can you imagine that happening in England?
The Aussie policies here are pretty similar to ones in England (stop climate change, better animal welfare, world peace, affordable housing etc). It has other more local issues like stopping live exports of lambs and goats to the Middle East, along with obvious urgency on issues like wildfires.
It has many federal and state MPs, who together are making a real difference. Leader Adam Bandt is a former industrial lawyer, whose mother is a teacher originally from England. Deputy leader Dr Mehreen Faruqi is a Pakistani-Australian former engineer, who recently led her Green colleagues in a Senate walkout, protesting the Albanese government’s refusal to call for a Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
Say ‘Kia ora’ (Māori for hello!) to NZ Greens!
Due to fair voting systems, New Zealand now has 15 Green MPs (getting towards 10%) of parliament. During the COVID pandemic (which New Zealand handled better than most countries with far fewer deaths), the party created thousands of ‘nature jobs’ and has also made huge progress in laws – from ending new offshore oil and gas explorations to changing the rules, so renters get fairer deals.
Many of the MPs are of Māori descent (their ancestors arriving from the Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki over 1000 years ago). One Green MP is a former Minister of Climate Change (our equivalent last Conservative minister recently received campaign donations from oil and aviation companies).
The politics in New Zealand is younger, fresher and more uplifting. There’s an optimistic mood about the future, in stark contrast to the depressing nastiness of UK politics.
