Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick says she will seek to succeed James Shaw as co-leader of the Green Party, alongside Marama Davidson.
The Green Party allows its members to elect co-leaders and the rules require that Maori and women are both represented in the duo. Davidson fills both these criteria.
In a statement, Swarbrick said she had been asked by some party members to put herself forward for the role.
“I will be spending the next few weeks talking to members of the Green Party about my vision for the future of our movement and to ask their trust in me,” she said.
“If I am elected to work alongside Marama Davidson, I will grow the Green movement to achieve tangible, real-world, people-powered change - as I have since I first signed up - but now, at even greater scale”.
A co-leader spot has opened up after James Shaw announced he would step down in March after nine-years running the Parliamentary wing of the party.
Some members have found Shaw to be too centrist and have wanted to replace him with a more progressive leader.
In her statement, Swarbrick said “conventional, incremental politics has failed to rise” to current challenges, including the “climate, inequality, biodiversity and housing crises”.
“What is possible in politics is only ever defined by the willingness of those in power. As Co-leader, I want to show everyone in this country the power running through their veins to choose our future. We cannot leave politics to the politicians,” she said.
Biography
Swarbrick, who is 29-years-old, rose to prominence after a longshot campaign to become Mayor of Auckland in 2016. She ultimately won 7.3% of the votes and placed third.
Despite being unsuccessful, the Green Party took note of her ability to build a grassroots campaign from nothing and recruited her for the 2017 election.
She entered parliament on the list and during the term helped to pass an election access bill and lead the unsuccessful campaign to legalize cannabis.
Swarbrick went on to win the Auckland Central electorate in 2020 and helped inspire the Green Party to successfully pursue other electorate seats in the 2023 election.
Other candidates can also run for the co-leadership, with Julie Anne Genter and Teanau Tuiono both possible options.
56 Comments
She is aware that destroying the environment one lives in is not a good idea, and that leaving it a mess for those who follow so one can have a little bit more wealth is incredibly narcissistic. That at least is a differentiator from many of the current lot of MPs.
Almost everyone is aware of that simple fact. You don't have to be a Greenie to have a few simple clues. The problem with Green's is that they do know these very simple things, like messing things up is bad. But, they don't have any answers to anything, anything at all. That is there problem, and that is why they will always be kind of irrelevant.
That seems quite the assumption, not necessarily reflective of reality.
For example, one solution many of them are in favour is of allowing more intensification around existing rail infrastructure to reduce reliance on cars for commuting and to maximise return on rail investment. Also significantly cheaper for maintenance of infrastructure than sprawl at the verges that NACT favours.
In her speech confirming her leadership bid she didn’t mention the environment. She’s a woke activist lefty with more interest in wealth taxes and gender issues than the environment.
With Shaw gone the Greens are a woke social activism party. The environment thing is a secondary issue for them
Only viable option really. Can think on her feet and had evidenced admirable doggedness in getting to the rub of issues that officialdom would prefer to remain unexplored. Problem for the Greens is after nigh on thirty years in parliament they have remained out of cabinet in any government and some of them seem to prefer to seethe about that instead of asking why. That is a counterproductive and negative base that Mr Shaw had to contend with and likely it will only get worse for any new co-leader because they have deservedly earned suspicion going on derision from the electorate.
She is the only one at least partially sane in a complete nuthouse. Like her or not, at least she is capable, articulate and not afraid to work, contrarily to Marama Davidson. There is no other realistic option for the Greens, really.
Capable of what? A steady line of patter?
Has she actually done anything in her life beyond University Club and the political machine she inhabits? People were praising Chloe for posting Tweets during the floods. As if she were single handedly taking charge. She wasn't doing anything except relaying messages from those actually doing something. But her fan club were gushing with praise over such great leadership.
"You know it when you see it"
Here's the next PM of Canada on "woke"
“I never thought I’d live to see the day when the right wing would become the cool ones giving the middle finger to the establishment, and the left wing becoming the sniveling self-righteous twatty ones going around shaming everyone,”
John Lydon/”Johnny Rotten” (Sex Pistols)
If you watched her announcement followed up by questions, she really is a good politician. Never minces her words and usually is actually quite thought provoking and well researched. I wouldn't vote for her or the Greens but I can imagine Labour will be worried. Chloe should be sole leader of Greens and send Marama out as fast as possible
If you watched her announcement followed up by questions, she really is a good politician.
She is articulate. However, when she doesn't have a quick-fire response, she puts on the furrowed brow, gets agitated, and descends into emotional claptrap.
Never minces her words and usually is actually quite thought provoking and well researched.
No. She will cherry pick a piece of research that she can remember and rattle off during an interview or something. The interviewer or the person she is debating does not know what research she is referencing nor do they know of its validity / weaknesses. Neither does the audience. That is not 'well researched'. That is propaganda tactics.
Dunno about that. First thing she did is tell a lie, just like Jacinda. Remember Jacinda said she would never lie, she didn't need to you see. So Chloe comes up with an absolute Clanger and tells us that she will lead the biggest green movement ever, and will lead a Green-government. What a joke. I doubt the first one, and the second one, well, if she believes that maybe she also believes in Santa. Greens have had their high water mark last election as a result of a protest vote against Labour. There will be movement back to Labour from the Greens and so the 'biggest' green movement is already shrinking and will continue to so. James Offshore is now gone, and although useless, he was the most sensible of the lot of them and he alone attracted many more moderate Greens who will now look elsewhere when considering the shambles that remains. Look for the greens to get between 5-7% next election. Chloe is a dreamer.
"young, disenfranchised voters from Labour"
You mean generation-whatever who think that them enjoying life, doing a little bit of work from home, and generally complaining that they can't have whatever they want now, without paying, or committing to any hard work. They are not disenfranchised, they are generally just lazy and entitled, so would be well suited to the Greens yes, you are right.
But, I'm not a boomer. I just choose to work hard and get ahead, and not pretend that the world owes me a living. Are you saying young people are not allowed to think that way, and it's just old fashioned, or I have to be actually old ? or do you really think that young lazy people that constantly complain about the climate and that we need to be more inclusive, want to work part time only, in hours and days they choose and get paid enough to by a house actually have a point ?
And they always have the latest model iPhone, right?!?
I'd suggest that description is an illusory strawman for people who can realistically compare mathematics and policy of today to that of previous decades, and recognise real differences. It is likely an emotionally-driven strawman that enables avoidance of addressing the policy failures that have enriched and benefited we fortunate older ones. I too have benefited from the policy differences, but am well aware of it and understand society could be well-served by addressing the problems we've been created.
Smashed Avocado Warriors were never right about things.
It's certainly better to be self-aware than not. A lack of self-awareness might lead to believing one did it all solely on one's own two feet without benefiting from society and policy, coupled with ranting and spluttering about smashed avocado yet still expecting young folks' wages to be tapped to pay one's pension.
https://youtu.be/FJ__a4qVE_g?si=BIkUjcvDulVTYdk6
Tim Minchin
4:15 onwards is specifically for you, but suggest watching the whole thing.
Actually sadly it is not the boomer gen that is agreeing with him. It does not take a genius to see past Chloe's green smokescreen to see the emperor is wearing no clothes and is suggesting anyone who disagrees with them should suffer great harm. Chloe's ableist rhetoric has already physically harmed many people in her own electorate. Given the hate she has driven towards the most marginalised groups in society her reign will be one of literal blood and tears.
Exactly. I'm reaping the rewards of decades of hard work. The 'disenfranchised' are putting themselves further behind with each passing day, and happily doing it to themselves while complaining at the same time. The real wake up call for them will be in 20 years or so...when they realize they just wasted 20 years effectively screwing themselves over....and then of course that will be my fault and the fault of everyone else that worked hard. Then they will want to tax my assets and re-distribute that money to the 'dis-enfranchised', oh wait, that's Green party policy...surprise surprise.....
Don’t waste your time with these bitch and whine types. Your success isn’t due to hard work, sacrifice and long hours but rather the virtue of when you were born.
The millennials today are fatter and in worse health than their parents. We went surfing, diving and skiing. The current crop sit around drinking flat whites, staring at a phone and thinking whether they should go to concert S or buy a new pair of sunglasses. Then they stick a vape in their mouths and get crap tattoos. FFS
Actually the reverse, she is a hyper capitalist consumer who has smoked salmon champagne but would rather do it while watching the poor suffer innumerable torment while she literally cheers on with glee, then plans another exorbitant environmentally destructive festival & jet setting just for fun.
She is no more a green politician as she is the one born of the zeitgeist of a generation with the lowest rates of education and critical thought wrapped up in social media, cognitive bias and hate politics. If anything she is the answer to how NZ gets socially & environmentally worse, spending large amounts more on branding then effective actions, with little care for the real harm she does to peoples lives. And it shows.
If you need anymore proof all you need to do is a survey of the actual arguments/comments of most her supporters and fans. Nothing but cognitive bias, hate politics, discrimination and abusive bullying attacks on people & their families. Many on the other side are not better, but at the end of the day which side feels more truly validated in hateful abuse & continues it past the point of decency. We do have even less debates and democracy and Chloe is a politician born of that descent into bullying, abuse and hate on SM. Encouraging the descent into hateful extremism & abuse is not what NZ needs to function as a society.
We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment.
Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.