I appreciate your views, but factually National is not extremely right wing – and I am also relatively sure I am not brainwashed, these things are always hard to tell aren’t they 😉

These issues are not quite as clear cut, and “good vs evil” as you are making out my friend 🙂

Indeedy, cheers for the comment.

Immoderate may be the wrong word – I think Labour and the Greens are being disingenuous with the trade-offs involved, and some of their designs around monetary policy concern me as they are fundamentally regressive. The left-right boundary is far to hazy for that to make sense – but that is the way.

The Green party people I’ve met I like, in fact I haven’t met anyone involved in a political party who I found annoying in person – except for one, and they will remain nameless 🙂 .

My impression is that the Greens are a party torn between individuals who care more about class based judgements of policy, and those who care more about environmental based judgements. I suppose I’m just whining as I’d like a party who is more explicit about environmental issues – and through the lens of price, rather than black and white judgements about things being right and wrong. Many people in the Greens are like that, no doubt – but as a collective I just haven’t gotten that from them, and suspect they will still only go with Labour.

I’d like to make a couple of points.

The first is that we (my wife and I) decided to vote Greens a couple of elections ago simply because of the imperative of bequeathing an environment that is – at least somewhat – fit for purpose for future generations, especially as we have a five year old to consider. Very credible scientific projections tell us that the second half of this century is when the consequences of fossil fuel burning is really going to take a toll on the human species, and at least the Greens take this seriously. It’s a very important issue, and we are not usually single issue voters.

The second is about your characterisation of the Greens (and Labour’s) economic policies as immoderate. I had a cruise through the Greens economic policies on their website and I would be willing to bet you that all or most of those policies are mainstream in some or all of the most successful economies in the world, specifically the Scandinavian economies, plus, in many respects, France, Germany, Switzerland and Israel (the latter two included because of their successful interventions to lower their floating exchange rates). And bear in mind that your support of UBI would be seen as immoderate by any conservative ruling party 😉

But overall, we are on your side in wanting effective environmental policies alongside sensible fiscal and monetary policies. So this is our advice. Join the Greens. Engage in their debates. Give them the benefit of your economic expertise. Be passionate. Make a difference.

Dirty old, I will give it a watch at some point. Reinforces my priors that the “blue-greens” in National don’t have much sway – this is disappointing.

I suspect that such a party could be popular – but I can’t really see where it will come from. Perhaps National will split into liberal and conservative parties after the next election, who knows random guessing is fun!

Indeed, good points!

First link is a clip of three Ministers’ statements. Or here: http://hot-topic.co.nz/lip-service-nz-government-infested-with-climate-denial/

The clip is better for context.

Second above is historical.

Groser does well, though.

Collectively, those two effects mean that the political landscape changes only very slowly. So, the most ‘efficient’ outcomes, in terms of a parliament that reflects the preferences of the population, doesn’t happen.

What I’d really love to see is a highly socially liberal, environmentally aware, economically centrist party. That would be a party I’d actually want to vote for. I don’t know how many others there are like me in this – but I’d guess there must be at least 5% of the population who would want to vote for such a party.