Greens old guard parted for fresh blood
Cult sports show The Crowd Goes Wild is about to lose its star host as the Greens unveil an election list that has seen Hayley Holt race up the rankings to an electable position.
The party has unveiled its finalised caucus lineup, with membership voting in youth, talent and boosting a number of women up the ranks.
Auckland firebrand Chloe Swarbrick has risen just inside the top 10, along with human rights lawyer Golriz Ghahraman - based on current polling, both would be assured of becoming MPs following the September election.
The party’s candidate for Te Tai Hauauru Jack McDonald has dropped to 13, but remains in an electable position - the party currently has 14 MPs.
But the biggest rise is TV celebrity Hayley Holt, who has leaped from 29 after the initial vote to 17 on the list.
While Holt has voiced reticence about stepping into Parliament too soon, she remains a vocal Green Party campaigner and is also the party’s candidate for Helensville.
She confirmed she would be stepping down from hosting The Crowd Goes Wild by June 23, which would be the start of the regulated campaign period.
Co-leaders Metiria Turei and James Shaw have set the lofty goal of growing the party to 20 MPs in the next Parliamentary term.
But positions nearing that top order remain precarious, and the party would need to lift its vote share to 15 per cent or more to bring 18-20 MPs into Parliament. It’s currently polling at about 10 per cent.
Failure to do so could mean the end of the political line for party veteran MPs Denise Roche and David Clendon, who were bumped down to 15 and 16, respectively.
Jostling among the top five has also seen freshman MP Marama Davidson edge out Julie Anne Genter to claim the third rank, with Genter in fourth.
Shaw said the trajectory of party polling was heading in the right direction, and so was the party makeup.
‘‘We are delighted that there are new, younger, strong women in this lineup.’’
Turei said the refreshed list showed the party’s desire for ‘‘youthful and diverse’’ representation.
Holt said she was delighted with the vote of confidence the Green membership had placed in her.
‘‘I’m really stoked actually. My party believes in me, I believe in me and so I think that together, this great group of 20 candidates hopefully we can just grow our party vote.’’