Greens a ‘stable partner’

The Green Party won’t get always get its own way in government and that’s okay, co-leader James Shaw has told future candidates.

In a major speech at the party’s conference for candidates, Shaw pointed to a campaign platform based on clean water and families, as well as ramping up the Greens’ ability to be in power.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) recently signed with Labour was the ‘‘foundation stone’’ of a ‘‘solid’’ relationship with its MPs.

‘‘We all know that government involves compromise. 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.

Labour leader Andrew Little said the point of the MOU was to prove the two parties could work well together.

‘‘So we know that New Zealanders are always looking for strong, stable government when it comes to elections. And we know that we’ve had to demonstrate that parties which are potential coalition partners for us, are parties with whom we have strong relationships.’’