NZ Greens on track for the most MPs in Parliament
BY AOTEAROA GLOBAL GREENS NETWORK
New Zealanders are heading to the polls on October 14th, in their General Election and the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand are on course for the most Greens MPs in Parliament ever.
Election campaigning is heating up across the Tasman with a couple of weeks to go till the October 14th New Zealand General Election. The Green Party in Aotearoa are running an exciting campaign calling for a wealth tax on the top 0.7% earners in the country, free dental for everyone and stronger action on climate.
The Greens are also the only New Zealand political party with a dedicated international volunteer team based around the world in Australia, England, Scotland, Germany, Hong Kong and North America.
We traditionally do well amongst New Zealanders living overseas, at the last election in 2020, 18 percent of New Zealanders who voted from overseas Party Voted Green. Historically, the overseas vote has made a difference to the final number of MPs the Greens have been able to send to Parliament after the votes were all counted.
We expect (hope!) that the number of voters will increase significantly in 2023. Overseas voting opens on September 27th and crucially, the rules about who is eligible to vote from overseas have changed for this election only, in recognition of how much harder international travel has been since the start of the pandemic and that many New Zealanders abroad were not able to vote in the last election.
If someone is a New Zealand citizen who has been home to Aotearoa within the last six years (normally three), or a permanent resident who has been home within the last four years (normally two) they are eligible to vote in 2023.
The Green Party continues to push for a fairer electoral system to bring us in line with democracies who place far fewer limitations on their citizens’ voting rights, but this is certainly a win for the 2023 general election.
There are lots of reasons for people overseas to Party Vote Green, but in a first for any political party in Aotearoa, the Greens have an Overseas New Zealanders policy, it is a policy we are immensely proud of; it recognises how diverse our diaspora is. Successive governments have only shown interest in our overseas citizens if they are wealthy or “successful” (The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade have referred to “elite expats”). The Green Party cares about the wellbeing of the many, not just the few.
If you’re not a New Zealander, you can help by reminding your Kiwi friends in Australia about the important change to voting rules!
New Zealanders living in Australia can visit greens.org.nz/overseas for up-to-date information on how to vote from abroad from September 27 to October 14. You can also join our Facebook and Instagram.