The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is one of the more visible minor parties represented in the New Zealand Parliament. In this essay, I will outline the core ideologies and policies of the Green Party
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is one of the more visible minor parties represented in the New Zealand Parliament. In this essay, I will outline the core ideologies and policies of the Green Party, outline which groups are most likely to vote for the Greens, and offer some possible reasons for these groups' support.
Ideology
The Green party focuses on environmentalism, combined with left-wing economics and liberal social ideals. The core Green ideologies are summed up in the Green Charter, the party's founding document. The charter contains four key principles: ecological wisdom, social responsibility, appropriate decision-making, and non-violence (Green Party 2005a). These four core principles are shared with most other Green parties worldwide (Miller 2006:157). In addition, the Green Charter specifies that the Treaty is the founding document of New Zealand, and that Maori are to be recognised as tangata whenua (Green Party 2005a).
What exactly is meant by these four key principles? Ecological wisdom refers to the fact that human beings are part of the natural world, and should therefore respect and care for the environment. According to the Greens, the fact that the natural world is finite means that unlimited material growth is impossible; therefore, the focus of economics should be on sustainability. The second principle, social responsibility, calls for a more egalitarian society, in which wealth is distributed justly, and calls for the end of discrimination based on factors such as race and gender. Appropriate decision-making means that political decisions should be made by those who are affected. This in part supports decentralization - decisions affecting only local communities should be made by those communities, rather than being imposed by a higher authority. Conversely, larger-scale issues, such as employment law or global warming, need to be made democratically by the appropriate national or international bodies. Lastly, non-violence is self-explanatory - the Greens reject war and embrace pacifism and peaceful conflict resolution (Green Party 2005a).
Core Policies
So how do these broad ideologies translate into specific Green Party policy? In terms of ecology, the Greens have a wide range of policies designed to protect the environment and promote sustainability. A major focus is climate change, and measures that can be undertaken to reduce emissions. The Greens therefore propose ecological taxes, in which taxes are imposed according to the level of environmental impact; greater use of renewable sources of energy; and public transport instead of new roads. The Greens also advocate laws to encourage water conservation; improving animal welfare by phasing out sow ...
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Core Policies
So how do these broad ideologies translate into specific Green Party policy? In terms of ecology, the Greens have a wide range of policies designed to protect the environment and promote sustainability. A major focus is climate change, and measures that can be undertaken to reduce emissions. The Greens therefore propose ecological taxes, in which taxes are imposed according to the level of environmental impact; greater use of renewable sources of energy; and public transport instead of new roads. The Greens also advocate laws to encourage water conservation; improving animal welfare by phasing out sow crates and battery hen farming; and keeping the environment GE free (Green Party 2006).
The Green Party's policies place it firmly on the left of the economic left-right political spectrum (Miller 2006: 157). In order to achieve environmental protection and ensure a just distribution of wealth, the Greens argue that government intervention and regulations are needed in some areas of the economy, rather than pursuing "laissez-faire" economic policies that leave such outcomes up to the market. For example, the Greens support full employment, raising the minimum wage to $13 per hour, abolishing youth rates so that young people are paid the same as adults, and promoting union membership. The Greens also aims to end child poverty, and propose introducing a universal child benefit. In terms of education, the Greens advocate addressing student debt, reducing university fees and introducing a universal student allowance (Green Party 2006).
In addition to being economically left-wing, the Greens are also the most socially liberal party currently in Parliament. The Greens emphasise the value of social diversity and toleration, and promote equal opportunities regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, and so on. For example, the Greens were the only party to have all of their MPs vote in favour of the Civil Unions bill. Other important Green social policies include the repeal of Section 59 (the "anti-smacking bill"), and the decriminalisation of marijuana (Green Party 2006). The Greens' commitment to equal opportunity and democracy is also reflected in their constitution. The party has one male and one female co-leader. The leaders are elected by party members, rather than by caucus, making the Greens the only party to operate this way. Party policy is also determined by consensus decision-making, rather than being decided from the top down (Green Party 2005b).
Who is most likely to support the Greens, and why?
Research shows that the Green Party has a number of clearly-defined areas of support. In general, the Greens attract voters who are young, well educated, and live in the main cities. The four highest-polling electorates for the Greens in the 2005 election were Wellingon Central, Auckland Central, Rongotai (Wellington) and Dunedin North (Bale & Wilson 2006: 395).
Several trends can be drawn from these results. Firstly, it shows that the Greens attract strong support in urban areas, particularly in the inner-city areas of the largest cities. Secondly, Green voters appear to be well-educated - the electorates in which they polled highest were among the best-educated in the country. Lastly, age is important - Wellington Central has the highest proportion of 20-29 year olds in the country, and North Dunedin has a high student population. This is also indicated by the fact that the Greens perform strongly in the special votes, of which young voters form a significant proportion. However, there are some exceptions to this age-related trend - Coromandel, the first (and so far only) electorate won by a Green MP has the lowest proportion of young people in the country (Bale & Wilson 2006: 396). Additionally, the Greens also poll strongly among women - 60% of the party's supporters in 2002 were women, the highest proportion of any party represented in parliament. (Levine & Roberts 2003: 327)
The Greens also appeal to those who don't fit into "mainstream New Zealand" or who feel alienated from the political process, such as marijuana users, refugees, ethnic and sexual minorities, unemployed people, and so on. Indeed, Nandor Tanczos has stated that "I see my constituency very much as young people, and those people who have been alienated from the political system" (Tanczos 2003: 140).
So why are these particular groups - young people, urban dwellers, the well-educated, non-religious, women, Maori, and other minority groups - more inclined to support the Greens? Firstly, the fact that the Greens attract large numbers of well-educated and relatively affluent voters is often explained by the idea of "post-material" values. Over the last few decades, New Zealand has seen a decline in class-based voting; people now vote on more than just the traditional "material" issues relating to the distribution of wealth among the classes (Wood & Rudd 2004: 223). This is often explained by the increase in GDP; as people become wealthier and have their material needs satisfied, they are more likely to turn their attention to these other, "post-material" issues, such as environmental protection, peace, foreign aid, the rights of minorities, and so on (Miller 2006:157). Therefore, the Green policies on these issues are likely to appeal to affluent and educated voters.
The Greens also attract strong support among women. A large part of this is likely due to the party structure of the Greens; they strongly support equality of the sexes, as shown by the rule about having one male and one female leader (Green Party 2006b). Additionally, the Greens attract strong support among middle-class mothers, who may be concerned with such issues as healthy food for their children and the state of the planet for future generations (Bale & Wilson 2006: 396).
One of the main Green constituencies is young people. One reason why young people are more likely to vote Green may have to do with the "post-material values" factor; today's young people tend to have been brought up in a wealthier society than previous generations, and therefore may be less concerned with material or class-based issues. The Greens' policies on education and student debt would also be very attractive to young voters (Green Party 2006). Additionally, many young people are fairly alienated from traditional politics; the Greens offer an alternative to the traditional political parties, which consist largely of "old white guys in suits" (Tanczos 2003: 142).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Green Party is the only party that places environmentalism as its central focus, but it also has a range of liberal and left-wing social and economic policies. The Greens tend to attract support from particular areas in society, such as young people, women, and well-educated people living in urban areas. There are a number of theories suggesting why these groups are more likely to vote Green, of which the idea of "post-material" values is particularly significant. Since environmental and post-material issues are likely to keep increasing in importance over the coming years, the Green Party is likely to continue to attract increasing support.
Bibliography
Bale, T., and Wilson, J. (2006) "The Greens", in: Miller, R (ed), New Zealand government and politics, fourth edition, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand (2006) "Green Party Policy Index", http://www.greens.org.nz/docs/policy/default.asp. (Accessed: 2007, August 16).
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand (2005a) "The Green Charter", http://www.greens.org.nz/about/charter.htm. (Accessed: 2007, August 16).
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand (2005b), "Constitution of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand". http://www.greens.org.nz/about/constitution.htm. (Accessed: 2007, August 16).
Levine, S., and Roberts, N.S., (2003) "Consistent Patterns and Clear Trends: Electoral Behaviour in 2002" in: Boston, J, New Zealand Votes: The General Election of 2002. Victoria University Press, Wellington.
Miller, R. (2006) Party politics in New Zealand, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.
Tanczos, N. (2003) "Being a Green Candidate", in: Boston, J, New Zealand Votes: The General Election of 2002. Victoria University Press, Wellington.
Wood, G.A. and Rudd, C (2004) The Politics and Government of New Zealand: Robust, Innovative and Challenged. University of Otago Press, Dunedin.