by frog
Green Party Co-Leader Russel Norman talks about today’s Jobs Summit, jobs in general and the Green New Deal.
Published in Economy, Work, & Welfare | Video by frog on Fri, February 27th, 2009
Tags: green new deal, jobs, politics, Russel Norman, summit
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
I’m definitely a proponent of a green new deal in New Zealand. Investing in insulation makes especially good sense – it pays for itself over it’s lifetime. Sorry for being a bit spammy, but I wrote a blog post about the need for a green stimulus package in NZ: http://howdystranger.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/green-stimulus-package/
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Good position, Russel.
I like the Green New Deal branding coming here – can’t let the yanks get all the fun outta that slogan!
The paper is definitely worth a read, and makes very cogent and sensible recommendations to the summit.
http://www.greens.org.nz/node/20632
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Wow that John Key!: a cycleway down the country as an unemployment project! He’s sooooooooo Greeeeeeeeeen!
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From the Hand Mirror gals:
http://www.kiwipolitico.com/PayEquityFax.pdf
to send to Tony Ryall in his capacity as Minister for State Services, after the cuts to the roll-out of pay-equity programmes across the public service.
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Definitely a lot of good ideas here. I think we definitely need to propose some good, big projects that could help out big time here. I think John Key does have a soft-spot for the insulation bill the Greens previously proposed (he even brought it up in a Campbell Live interview a few weeks back) so there should be a big push on that one. Similarly for public transport, the Greens should push for a commitment to funding Auckland’s CBD rail loop and the link to the airport. While these projects aren’t quite “ready to go”, there would be a fair number of jobs created in the planning/design process as well as in their eventual construction.
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Great Russell, these are green Green initiatives. So refreshing to see you espousing real greenery as a solution.
Remind me just why it was you couldn’t be in government with Key?
Perhaps the cycle lane could be down the middle of the railway line!
;^)
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samiam Key isn’t THE Government he is the leader of the National Party and the Prime minister of a National ACt Maori Party government, who maliciously and gleefully repealed every Green initiative gained from the previous Labour lead government under urgency before Xmas indicating their utter contempt for the democratic processes of this country. Repeal of the ETS, insulation scheme , energy efficient light bulb scheme etc etc ring any bells ????,you need to check out their proposed gutting of the RMA as well . No Green Party worth the name would seriously contemplate getting into bed with this pack of idiots! Cycleway !! It would be laughable were it not woefully inadequate . Kinda sums the the new Prime Minister up.
Cheers Russel and keep up the reality check.
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And, as per ACT & Maori parties, you would be quite entitled to vote against policies you didn’t agree with. But at least they are at the table (with only half the votes) and the Greens are not.
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The Maori Party must adhere to collective responsibility in all policy areas where they are involved with the Nats, including Health, Social Development, Employment, Maori Affairs, Corrections and Education. This means they cannot even speak out, let alone vote against. An example is the tax bill passed under urgency in December that raised taxes on most of their constituency. Poor Hone was on House duty and was squirming with embarrassment as Labour taunted him. They have gambled that their access in the process will pay off, but final decisions are made in Cabinet where they have no representation, but must still toe the line, whatever it is.
The Green Party worried about such a relationship with Labour, let alone National.
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Cool, that means they’ll have to upgrade the bike path along the motorway between Wellington and the Hutt Valley. Long overdue!!!!
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Many thanks Valis for the detailed clarification of the Maori Party’s coalition with the NACT government .I’ve always been a big picture gal myself with a well developed BS detector and instinctive ability to sniff out sh**house rats.
samiam The summit had the Greens ideas for 2 weeks before it was held,and every idea has been IGNORED. Do you see a pattern here? or is that too much to hope for? Your time would be better spent reading the informed comments of the many knowledgeable contributors on this blog, ( I do not include myself in that remark)than banging on with your single worthless idea on every thread . Smacks of trolling. That way you might actually learn something !
Can’t agree with your comment on Hone Valis .Having lived in his electorate for more than 2 decades I think it’s nothing less than he deserves for the farcical Hui that he ran and the unseemly haste with which Mrs Turia was prepared adhere to in the coalition negotiations in order to have her prestigious moment in the limelight before she retires. She squandered her Party and the Mana of her MPs for personal gain. And remember folks the Maori Party does not represent the majority of Maori.
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orowhana, my comment on Hone was just a statement of what happened on the day. I didn’t mean to imply anything further. It is interesting to hear your experience and perhaps he does deserve his lot. But he’s considered the most Green friendly of the MP caucus and I don’t think is very happy with the current agreement, not that he can avoid all responsibility of course. As for Tariana, I think she (and Pita) genuinely think they’ve made the best choice for their constituency, not to deny they would be enjoying their positions too. Only time will tell.
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Russel if you hadn’t been so hasty to cut your Party out of the government you may have been able to present your paper to the jobs summit yourself
John Key is a “pragmist’ look it up and learn from it and you may one day get into a position of real power !!!!!
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whoops now I feel a bit silly
pragmatist !!!!
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Orowhana, I don’t go around insulting you, or anyone else, on this blog. I’d appreciate if you would play the issues and not insinuate a lack of intelligence on my part. I return to this blog to both learn and contribute. What is your contribution?
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samiam: ahm except to recommend a sex change for a certain individual, who would never stoop that low himself.
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So I’ve just spent the last few weeks, with a few more to go, up north in the bush building a house out of untreated oldman pine and macrocarpa and its bloody hard work and I’m working well under a city wage… but its a good thing isn’t it?
Anyways I got caught on the north shore last friday, before getting into town and absolutely loved watching empty buses zoom up and down the new side lanes while we in cars were crawling bumper to bumper.
This is the trouble with initiatives; whether it be building ECO homes in the bush or building up public transport systems. They generally seem to be a complete waste of time and effort when they are implemented but over the years they become viable as the paradigm shifts to suit the growing awareness of their real suitability.
My question is this. Does the paragigm shift because these changes are made and are seemingly wasteful and needless at the time or does it shify because of a gradual shift in the way we look at the planet intellectually?
If the shift occurs because of physical changes we make now to somehow be in support of this world to come then the new green deal or green new deal is a good idea. But if the second intellectual premise is the case then maybe the physical approach we make now is actually putting off the eventual paradigm shift because it is brewing resentment in the current status quo.
By all mens I think the ideas expressed in the green new deal are good and needed but I think they are the wrong response to the nature of the current political and economic situation. They would seem to be what the green leadership hold to be true and faithful to the green dogma but they may quite possibly be seen as unrealistic and overly idealistic to the vast majority of New Zealanders.
If you guys and gals want to retain a semblence of respect through what may turn into a major event, which you must realise because your hinting at the saving grace of a previous one, then your going to having to come up with something that doesn’t cost anything and does alot to change the way we view ourselves and how we live in this world. Getting good food on the table might be a better place to start.
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