Green bid to unseat Nelson MP
The Green Party is campaigning for a seat for the first time since 1999 - in Nelson.
The party usually runs candidates who focus on boosting the party vote rather than individual seats.
But yesterday, it announced former journalist and Nelson City councillor Matt Lawrey will run a full ‘‘two ticks’’ campaign against MP Nick Smith ahead of the September election.
Smith, who is the Building and Environment Minister, has held the seat since 1996, when he transferred over from the defunct Tasman seat.
He won the seat with 20,000 votes in 2014, about 7500 ahead of the Labour candidate and almost 17,000 votes ahead of the Green candidate.
Nevertheless, the party believes Smith’s record on housing and the environment could see him fall.
‘‘They say a week is a long time in politics, well three years is an eternity,’’ Lawrey said.
‘‘A lot of people who are comparatively conservative have come up to me since I’ve announced my candidacy and said ‘27 years, good run, time for a change’.
‘‘These people are traditional National voters, but they think things have gone too far: they look at the rivers, they look at child poverty, they look at the housing crisis.’’
Smith said he wasn’t worried but knew not to be complacent.
‘‘I’m confident of my support in the community, but also know that I have to earn that respect and support every day.
‘‘I’ll be taking nothing for granted.’’