Kiwiblog

Adam Bennett at the NZ Herald reports:

Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty has said she will resign if her party entered a coalition deal with the National Party – a call that undermines the credibility of the Green Party’s bid for more mainstream political appeal by leaving open the possibility of such a deal.

Ms Delahunty did not return calls, but Otago University politics lecturer Bryce Edwards confirmed she made the comment when responding to his questions during an interview on Friday.

“I clearly asked her: ‘If there was a Green Party MP that was a minister in a National-led Government, would you resign from parliament?’ She said, ‘Yes I would’.”

This undermines the Greens positioning considerably.

As I have said many times, let there be no doubt – if the Greens hold the balance of power they will always choose a Labour-led Government over a National-led Government. A vote for the Greens is a vote for Phil Goff to be Prime Minister.

But what Delahunty is saying goes beyond that. There could well be a scenario where National is the only viable Government, such as if National has over 61 seats. Both National and the Greens have not ruled out that in such a situation, they could possibly do a deal which sees the Greens taking up a portfolio or two. It could perhaps involve the Greens abstaining on supply and confidence.

However this is now effectively off the table, as Delahunty has said she would resign as an MP if this happens. I suspect her statement has pissed off her colleagues because what she has done is impose her unilateral view on the rest of the party – the exact opposite of things are meant to work in the Greens.

Of course you could argue they could just let her resign, but no party lightly does something which they know will lead to an MP resigning.

The chance of there being Green ministers in a National-led Government was always low, but Delahunty has now made it effectively zero, meaning her colleagues will have to wait until Labour gains office, which may be some elections away. Delahunty has also gone against the majority of Green voters, as a recent poll showed 60% of Green voters said the Greens should accept Ministerial positions in a National-led Government if John Key offered them.

At Backbenches last night, Wallace Chapman asked Green MP Catherine Delahunty what she would do if there was $100 million of gold buried underneath her private property.

Catherine’s response was that she would not mine it, but instead would plant a garden as they are sustainable.

Now I am sure Catherine was speaking truthfully. She would refuse to mine on even private land, no matter how much wealth there is underneath. This was not hyperbole, but her honest beliefs.

Some people are opposed to mining in areas with high conservation values. I’m even one of those – there are some areas which I think should never be mined. And most NZers fit somewhere on that scale – we may differ about how much land we would put into this protected category, but it is a scale. Some would advocate all DOC land be exempt. Some advocate all Section 4 land (even the parts with gorse) should be protected. Some advocate only parts of Section 4.

But the point I want to make is that some, like Catherine, are against all mining everywhere. It doesn’t matter how many jobs are created. It doesn’t matter how much wealth might be underground. It doesn’t matter that the ground may have zero conservation value. Their view is that mining is bad full stop.

I am getting confused on which Twitter accounts are parodies and which are not. Take two Green MPs.

The Sue Kedgley twitter account is a parody. The comments seem a bit too extreme, even for Sue, such as:

is off to find schools that sell kiddy killing food made by National Party supporting multinational fast food capitalists!

wants to ban anyone selling children unhealthy food. It should be like tobacco and alcohol. Kids don’t know what’s good for them! I do!

shocked that 84% of schools are still selling hot dogs, sausage rolls, hot bites or pies – no wonder kids are become fat, we need action!

is wondering if she could be elected Mayor of a Wellington supercity

Is sad that so many children were abused over Easter by the multinational chocolate capitalists that seduced their parents.

So I am pretty sure this is a parody account. Mind you Sue does go on about easter eggs a lot.

Then I saw Liberty Scott complaining about Catherine Delahunty’s twitterings. And my first reaction was that he has fallen for a very good parody.

But then I went and looked at Catherine’s twitter account, and I am not so sure it is a parody. Examples:

Gorgeous day in Te tairawhiti unless you want to appeal something to enviro court and dont have five hundred bucks just for filing fee

My mate Grant hawke has it right. Maori have been on the advisory commitee since eighteen forty enough already!

Despite the pretty words and new clothes am hoping new puppy at white house will stop killing afghanis and funding Israel wars on Palestine

Awesome Tairawhiti sunshine a good to start our own banks instead of trusting the white boy club

If it wasnt for almonds and dark chocolate I would go crazy here. As for Michael laws gang Bill who needs It?

Those QPEC people defending public and free education are awesome and palmy north was balmy today

I think it might be genuine.

The Sunday Star-Times says:

GREEN PARTY co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons is about to announce her resignation from the post. She will stand down to allow a new co-leader time to make her mark before the 2011 election.

The veteran Green, co-leader since 1995, is expected to serve out the parliamentary term as a list MP.

No real surprise, but earlier than expected. Seems weird to announce your retirement just weeks after the election. I guess if she had become a Minister, it would have been delayed.

Fitzsimons’ departure will leave a difficult problem for the party. She is a widely liked and admired politician, with appeal across the political spectrum.

Yep. You very very rarely hear a bad word about her.

The SST looks at her possible sucessors:

Neither Bradford nor Turei has similar appeal. Bradford, once a fiery Marxist radical, has softened her image, but her sponsorship of the anti-smacking bill drew much flak.

Turei has the progressive appeal of being a Maori woman, but she may be seen as too radical to have wide appeal.

It is not known if Catherine Delahunty, elected to parliament at last year’s general election, will be a candidate for the co-leadership. Her lack of parliamentary experience could count against her.

Oh please please please let the Greens select Catherine Delahunty as co-leader. If she stands, I urge all Kiwiblog readers to join the Green Party and vote for her

Sue Bradford is a very competent and hard working MP. She impresses on select committees. But her anti-smacking law has (rightfully) tainted her public image, and she is not from the environmental wing of the party. Bradford would be a risk – a Bradford/Norman leadership coudl look like the Greens had turned into the Alliance.

I think Metira Turei is their best bet. She is very smart, and while she is a radical (former anarchist), she has been pretty restrained as an MP.

The final maiden speech was given yesterday by new Green MP Catherine Delahunty.  It is online here. Some extracts:

Mr Speaker, Te Tiriti o Waitangi is like a rope between us, the indigenous manawhenua and the Tangata Tiriti. We, Tangata Tiriti hold on to the rope because we need it most. At our end the rope is made of the bones and tears of migrants – many of whom left cold islands on the other side of the world hoping desperately for a better life. And that better life came to pass through systemic violence, theft and denial. Te Tiriti, a frayed and stretched arrangement is the tie that binds us to this place and to the hope that violence, theft and denial need not be the basis for our bonds in the future.

A nice cheerful start.

We enjoy ongoing colonial privilege, but we have an opportunity to take responsibility for this and work for a justice-based peace. This justice is desperately needed from Ruatoki to Gaza.

Hmmn I think she just compared the Urerewa Raids to the conflict in Gaza. Well who knows, what she really meant.

But first I thank my mother for her vital lesson that a background of privilege and racism need not distort the human heart

So is she saying her mother came from a racist background?

Despite that healthy suspicion towards institutions I embrace this new chapter with all the illusions of a maiden. Last time I was a maiden was 40 years ago. It’s refreshing to revisit that time of passionate conviction, when it was our unique duty to resist the system while wearing a lot of black clothing.

Umm, was she a cat burglar?

The person who pushed me into this was my partner Gordon Jackman who lives issues of justice every day. They say that behind every great man is an exhausted woman, or behind every great woman is a man trying to slow her down, but I say: beside this ordinary woman is an extraordinary and totally supportive man.

So it is just all the other men who are slowing down great women?

When I first marched on Parliament it was in a pushchair, protesting against nuclear weapons. At 10, I stood with my sisters on those steps of Moehau granite as we protested against troops being sent to Vietnam, and at 16 I led the first union of high school students to those same steps.

Wow she was a political activist as a two year old. Obviously her parents believed in letting her form her own views.

And, to my friends of the last decade – the educators for social change and social justice – these years have been ones of learning, so much richer than any unit standard or university essay. We have travelled a road that is made by walking and we have met with inspiring community activists and workers along the way. Thanks to the Treaty educators, the disability activists, the Women’s liberation and gay rights workers, the environmental campaigners, the unemployed rights activists, community development leaders and young unionists, the collective gardeners and all the other targets of SIS and Threat Assessment Unit time wasting.

I think she missed out the whales.

The hardest issue I have ever learned about remains riddled with denials and taboos. As a TAB — a temporarily able bodied person — I grew up with all the prejudices our society has developed to justify our discrimination against people living with impairments.

Very Orwellian – instead of disabled people., we define those who are not disabled as “temporarily abled bodied”.

In a healthy group the individual can thrive, it is not a war between nanny state and the free market, the real struggle is between earth-based collective well-being versus a polluted globalised greed.

All worship Gaia and you will be happy.

The international financial crisis is inextricably linked to climate change and if we can’t work the linkage out then Papatuanuku will spell it out for us.

Wow, climate change is to blame for the financial crisis also!

Well one can’t accuse Catherine of hiding who she is, and what she believes in. Never though we would find someone who makes Sue Bradford look like a reactionary sellout to the forces of capitalism!

Was a very funny moment last night, related to the speech. During the afore mentioned drinks, one National MP gave an impromptu impassioned speech on a particular topic. She was clapped at the end of the fiery speech, until the Nat next to her did the best burn I have seen in ages, and serenely commented that it was the best speech he had heard since Catherine Delahunty’s maiden speech. Within seconds everyone was in hysterics, as this new ultimate put down.