Greens can be stable - Shaw

The Green Party won’t get always get its own way in Government and that’s okay, co-leader James Shaw told a packed room of future candidates.

In a major speech to the party’s candidates’ conference held in Upper Hutt at the weekend, Shaw pointed to a campaign platform based on clean water and families, as well as ramping up the Greens’ ability to be in Government - something it has never before done.

It was a not only direct pitch to voters who may not see the Greens as a stable option, but he was also outlining an expectation to the party’s activist sect - if the party was in Government, there would have to be compromise.

A Memorandum of Understanding signed with Labour to work together on the campaign was the ‘‘foundation stone on which we are building a solid, longterm, relationship with Labour’’.

‘‘We all know that Government involves compromise. It is, in fact, a defining feature of MMP. And if we are to govern responsibly and for more than one term, we’re going to have to work together with Labour,’’ he said.

‘‘And we won’t always get our own way.’’

The candidates conference gathered hundreds of potential candidates and current MPs in Upper Hutt, to make their pitch to the wider party to stand in the next election.

Over the next few weeks, regional branches would vote to draw up a provisional list, which would be finalised after another round of voting.

Shaw told hopefuls that they would be campaigning on platform to address inequality and improve water quality.

‘‘I want [families] to know that a Green Government will invest in the basics so that all our families, including those who are hardest up, have what they need to provide for their children. Central to this is income,’’ he said.

‘‘A Green Government will be committed to decent incomes, housing, and education for all New Zealanders.’’

But in launching a new member’s bill to make protecting aquifers a matter of national importance, Shaw did appear to set a requirement for Government support.

‘‘A Green Party in Government is going to set a crystal clear bottom line on drinking water. We intend to strengthen the law around how aquifers are protected under the Resource Management Act. Our aquifers are water bodies of national importance so we will update the Act to ensure that.’’