Russel was also in Nelson this morning. Is that him under all that fur, taking a break from being the face of the campaign?  It looks like his satchel to the left of the photo, but I suspect he’s more likely in the caravan having a cuppa tea.

Meanwhile the Greens are polling over 10 percent in Nelson according to the Nelson Mail, much to Labour Party candidate Maryan Street’s chagrin:

She expressed concern that the Green Party was “cannibalising” some of Labour’s party support, saying that while she wanted to see the Greens get over the 5 percent threshold, too much support for them risked Labour not getting enough votes to form a government.

That’s a false explanation of MMP from Street.  Voters know the only way to get a strong Green voice in government (or more Green MPs into Parliament) is to party vote Green. If Labour are prepared to take on enough of Green policies then we will consider helping them form a government. We won’t form a government with National. 

On current polling Labour won’t be able to govern without us.  That means voters have the choice of Labour-NZ First or Labour-Greens.  Given Labour’s current relationship with NZ First a party vote for Labour is more likely to lead to the first option and party vote for the Greens is the best way to get the second option. No wonder then the Green vote is growing. 

Green candidate Diana Mellor was “absolutely delighted” with her party’s showing and was optimistic of it finishing well above the 7.7 percent it won in Nelson in 2005. She said that at over 10 percent, it would return some excellent candidates, including West Coast-Tasman’s Kevin Hague and possibly former Nelson-based MP Mike Ward, number 14 on the party list.

She made “no apologies” for trying to boost party votes, even at the expense of Labour, saying it would be “even more crucial to get Green people into Parliament if National becomes the government”, to keep the environmental flag flying.

Rayna also reports that the New South Wales Greens ran a kick ass good campaign in the lead up to council elections over the weekend which won them headlines like this:

• The Australian – Greens win, Labor loses in NSW polls
• The Sydney Morning Herald – Greens spell trouble for major parties
• and the Sydney Star Observer – Greener by the vote, which wrote:

Postal votes are still to be counted and preferences calculated, but at this stage the Greens look set to grab upwards of 70 seats on councils across the state, with at least 15 of these new councillors and many in areas that have never seen Greens representation before.

The Greens have always said that they’re not just about keeping the bastards honest — but replacing them.

Having made themselves the largest party on council in Byron, Marrickville and Leichhardt (where they look set to hold a majority of councillors for the first time) they can say they’ve truly started down that road.

In a slew of others they’re now the second largest party, with the Greens either out-polling Liberals in Labor-held seats or out-polling Labor in Liberal areas.