2020 election: Greens say Labor climate policy is not good enough

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson says Labor’s climate action promises are too weak to meet the Paris target of limiting warming to below 1.5 ° C.

And he has criticized New Zealand’s public order policies, released today, calling them a desperate move by a low-voting party.

Today, Labor leader Jacinda Ardern unveiled the party’s climate policies, which include replacing coal-fired boilers with electric alternatives, decarbonizing the entire fleet of public transport buses by 2035, and introducing a “clean car” efficiency standard from fuel.

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But even though Ardern cited price as a reason why people don’t buy electricity, Labor has dropped the feebate scheme, blocked this term by NZ First, which would have imposed on heavy-emission cars to make light cars cheaper. with emissions.

“Our view is that the clean car standard was where we should invest our energy, and you will also see announcements today about public transportation and cleaning of that fleet,” Ardern said.

When asked if Labor’s climate policy was weak, Davidson said: “It’s encouraging that they announced one. That’s good.”

He said Labor policies alone would not achieve the Paris target.

“We are running out of time. His policy is not going to meet the challenge on the scale it demands. That is why the Greens are needed.”

“They want to phase out the new dirty coal burners. Our minister [James Shaw] it is already taking them out of public hospitals and schools. We have to act quickly in the next 10 years to cut our emissions by at least half. “

She said the feebate scheme remains a party policy and that it will be up to Green Party members to decide whether it should be part of any possible post-election coalition negotiations between Labor and Greens.

The Greens have emphasized three priorities in this election – climate change, biodiversity and inequality – and have launched a $ 13.6 billion transportation package to boost public transportation within and between cities.

Greens co-leader James Shaw recently called for left-wing voters to vote for the Green Party as the most strategic way to ensure Ardern gets a second term, and Davidson said climate change was fertile ground for them to rally. Labor voters.

“I hope people can see that while the Labor plan is encouraging, we need the Greens,” Davidson said.

“A vote for the Green Party is a vote for a stronger Labor government and it is a vote to keep Judith Collins and David Seymour out of power.”

Davidson also criticized New Zealand First’s “punitive” law and order approach, which today called for mandatory minimum sentences for “cowardly coups,” a policy it launched in 2016.

Davidson said that republishing the minimum sentence policy “sounded like a low-voting party wanting to take some desperate steps to get votes.”

It’s a sentiment similar to Shaw’s reaction to NZ First leader Winston Peters’ recent Orewa speech, in which Peters said that many Maori lived in the past.

Ardern was also lukewarm on mandatory minimum sentences, saying the law already allowed judges to take aggravating factors into account to ensure a proper sentence.

She confirmed that Labor still wanted to eliminate three strikes.

Davidson said making communities safer isn’t about being tough on crime, but about healthy homes, adequate income, and access to mental health and addiction services.

“That’s the way to reduce crime and recidivism to make sure our communities are safer and more secure.”