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1. What is the most important perception – or misperception or baggage – your party needs to overcome to win more votes in October?

Many voters used to think we were a washed-out bunch of hippies who lacked vision. As a party we have come a long way and our vision is clearer than any other party. Our policies are based on latest research and academic debate and we have a voting demographic of highly educated people. Our politicians are renowned for being hard-working and principled. The Green Party charter is based on ecological wisdom, social responsibility, appropriate decision making and nonviolence – principles that more and more New Zealanders are agreeing with.

2. What are the three most important accomplishments of the Green Party resulting from its cooperation with the Labour government?

The Buy Kiwi Made campaign – a great Green initiative which now sees many consumers seeking New Zealand-made products to support our local economy.
The Waste Minimisation Act – at last we have some legislation which has some teeth to ensure that we can make progress towards the Waste Strategy goal of zero-waste to landfill by 2020.
Steering the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy onto a sustainable and renewable path.

3. Doesn’t the presence of a Green Party in Parliament actually reduce the pressure on the governing party to itself take a more dynamic and accountable role in protecting the environment? In the years the Green Party has supported Labour, has NZ’s “clean, green” image and reality improved?

Remembering that we only have six MP’s in parliament and are not part of government. Our conditions of confidence in supply have kept Labour more honest when it comes to protecting the environment. Through working cooperatively with other parties we have achieved far more than most parties on a per MP basis. The Greens have secured a lot of funding for some great environmental initiatives such as $53 million for insulating all state houses, $8.8 million for wetland protection, the Waste Minimisation Act, and funding for $24 million for enhanced bio-security awareness programme, $6 million for environmental education and an additional $300K for environment centres. With the assistance of NGO’s we effectively lobbied to see the end of native forest logging on the West Coast of the South Island. In 2000 we established the environmental legal assistance fund which is there for community groups to use if they are faced with a legal challenge for protection of a significant landscape or reserve area. There are a lot of other achievements we have made but I am limited to my word number.

4. Some people believe local NZ governments lack both the expertise and the political will to staunchly protect the environment … do you agree? Do you believe central government should be more proactive in setting clear and strict national environmental standards? Should the RMA be changed to better protect the environment?

Local government representatives are elected through our local body elections. I think you should be blaming New Zealanders unwillingness when it comes to voting in these elections. From memory less than 40% of people voted last elections We do have a long way to go in terms of achieving good environmental standards, in the case of discharges to water, it has become ambiguous after the words ” after reasonable mixing”. Point source discharges to water should meet an end-of-pipe standard rather than being blurred by what happens after mixing. This also ensures a level playing field in terms of the dischargers — i.e the person discharging into the larger water body may no longer pollute more, dilution is not the solution to pollution.

[Editor: Brett gives the RMA a score of 7, where 10 is the most effective legislation ever devised. Asked about National's plan to reform the RMA: "They want to gut it." Here in HB, he notes, the law has worked to enable prosecution of dairy farmers polluting waterways, even though the penalties imposed by judges have unfortunately been minimal. He emphasizes that the RMA reflects the philosophy of Greens that as much decision-making as possible should be community-based. But he concedes that citizens have "busy lives and don't have the time" to participate much in local government. Seems to me there's a conflict between the Green ideal and the practical reality on this point … so who is "minding the store"?]

5. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is world-class, how would you rate the quality of health care most Kiwis receive? What are the most important improvements that must be made to improve that score?

Probably a 4. We are failing our people when it comes to healthcare. As a party we believe in treating the causes of preventable ill-health such as cold, uninsulated homes, crowded homes because of unaffordable market rents, low-income households cannot afford a decent diet therefore their bodies are at mercy to the poor food their income forces them to eat. Type II diabetes, pneumonia, depression – you name it, and there is a link to social and environmental factors most often associated poverty with is rife in New Zealand simply because of the poor diets and lifestyles our low income people are forced to endure. These issues are about poverty. In terms of healthcare, our district health boards are stretched with limited staffing and facilities. Junior doctors leave New Zealand in droves once they qualify because they have to service their long standing student debt. Better income is earnt overseas so they opt to head to Australia or further afield. We can cap and progressively reduce student fees, scrap student loans, improve medical staff pay and conditions, lift the minimum wage, and invest in preventative health-care so that all people, including those on low incomes, can choose a healthier lifestyle.

6. What is the single most important step required to ensure a vibrant NZ economy ten to twenty years into the future?

No single magic bullet but here are some starters
a. Stay GE FREE – like being nuclear free, this is a huge marketing tool to promote New Zealand’s produce
b. Increase our agricultural base to organics. We cannot afford to continue contaminating land and water using conventional food growing methods, not only does it destroy the environment but it also erodes New Zealand’s clean green image.
c. focus on rehabilitation rather than the ‘lock ‘em up and throw away the key’ mentality for people in our prisons who have committed non violent crimes. We spend on average $70,000 per year to keep people in prisons, they should be reserved primarily for violent offenders who may harm other people. Think of the rehabilitation that could be achieved for our non violent offenders if the same money was spent helping them?
d. Reduce the rich / poor gap in this country. Social inequality is a major driver of social and environmental destruction and New Zealand ranks 3rd worst in the world in this respect.

[Editor: In follow-up interview, Brett commented on spending on projects like the regional sports park and Napier runway extension: "The Greens are not a boom, boom, growth-driven party. We're about getting things right in the first place. For example, there are 170,000 children living below the poverty line in NZ … money could be better spent getting society and the environment right."]

7. What are the three most important national infrastructure investments NZ needs to make over the next ten years?

- Rail for freightage of goods and transport of people
- Public transport in all major centres
- Wastewater treatment for smaller communities that cannot afford the bill of high technology treatment systems.

[Editor: Brett sees public transport in low density HB as viable primarily in terms of moving commuters between Havelock, Hastings and Napier. He would also urge more emphasis on carpooling, suggesting a website where those interested in carpooling could link up.]

8. Drinking legislation is now under special review, and most would expect some tightening of controls to occur. What further controls on alcohol sales or consumption do you support?

We support a ban on alcohol advertising. We need to break the Kiwi culture of binge-drinking by educating the public that it’s not OK to get out of control. We support councils determining their drinking hours as this gives greater community input to how their cities should be run.

9. Would you advise the Green Party to support a governing arrangement that included Winston Peters in a Ministerial position? What ethical benchmarks would the Green Party set for Parliament?

No. It is very hard to set ethical benchmarks if you are a minority party. I don’t think its possible.

10. Whether or not you make the decisions on these matters, your views on high profile local and regional issues define you to voters in Hawke’s Bay. In just a sentence or two, tell us your position on:

Developing Ocean Beach, as proposed by Andy Lowe and Hill Country

Personally, I oppose the development on the grounds that it is an iconic landscape to be enjoyed by all members of the public. It reduces our great escape spaces where people are free to roam unimpeded by private property.

Building the Regional Sports Park

A big fat waste of money, we have plenty of sports parks in the Hawke’s Bay Region. Surely we could use this money towards upgrading our downtrodden shopping complexes like Maraenui and Flaxmere, we owe it to our people, these communities pay rates too! We can’t even get decent footpaths in Hastings CBD.

Extending the Napier Airport runway to accommodate jets

A big lemon. I have seen no economic justification for this to occur. All I hear is “oh wow and there’s going to be a rugby world cup and maybe just maybe if this extension goes ahead, people will treat us seriously and the whole world will come to visit Hawke’s Bay because of it.” Sorry but this is small town provincialism gone crazy. It didn’t work in Invercargill, it didn’t work in Palmerston North and it may not work in Rotorua, so why should it work here? To top it off, the existing runway is built on an ecologically sensitive wetland – do we really want to destroy more habitat for some of the worlds most magnificent migratory birds like the royal spoonbill, the godwit and the white heron?

[Editor: To Brett, the runway extension is an example of too many local politicians "wanting us to be bigger than what we are" rather than focusing on basic services.]

Reducing pollution from wood burners in Hawke’s Bay

The intent of eliminating wood burners form Hawke’s Bay is to reduce PM10 emissions, which are known to cause respiratory illness. We need to be careful how this is done as we do not want to end up with cold damp houses resulting in further respiratory illness. We need to insulate our houses properly to reduce our reliance on burning fuels or electricity to heat houses.

Banning pitbulls

It’s not the dogs we should be banning, it’s the practice of breeding and training these dogs specifically for fighting. Responsibility must lie with the owner as well as the dogs.