Clean Green Government Needed

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My recently published letter in the Southland Times:

The National led Government has a little over a year left before the next election and they have a few months to tidy up and make things look attractive to voters.

They know, and we know, that they have made a dogs breakfast of it all and their mismanagement has had negative impacts on Southlanders and our Southland environment. It will take more than paying mining giant Rio Tinto $30 million to hang around for a few years (while they hock off Meridian Energy) to impress us.

The Fonterra scare and the international focus on our ‘100% Pure’ brand has kicked a hole in the Hollywood facade ($55 million to Warner Bros) and shone some light on the sad reality around us: our dirty rivers, our child poverty, our poor housing, our struggling state services and our sullied reputation.

Obviously the remaining months are not enough to clean up the mess, so National is resorting to scaremongering spin to retain power. Apparently we need to allow John Key and the GCSB to have the capacity to spy on New Zealanders because of Al Qaeda operatives in New Zealand, and the world will end if the Green Party got into Government.

I would never say that the world would end if National continued in power for another term (it would only feel like it), but we have had enough of dirty deals, lack of consultation and the ignoring of good advice. 

The quickest way to restore our clean green brand and bring some honest fresh air into the corridors of power would be through a clean ‘Green’ government.  

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