Green party co-leader Russel Norman was interviewed on Radio Live this afternoon. He also took calls from listeners.
Hosts Wille Jackson and John Tamihere, one rumoured to be joining the Maori Party and the other the National Party, are not exactly Green sympathisers and give Norman a gentle grilling.
Norman, in the hour so so he was on air, underlined that he is just another free market politician - but in green drag.
He attempted to convince Jackson and Tahihere that the Green's environmental policies would make New Zealand more 'competitive' economically on the world market.
It's business-friendly enviromentalism!
At the end of the hour Tamihere praised Norman.
'You lot used to be just loony left,' said Tamhere. 'But, hey, Russel you have made the Green's into a stable political party!'
When right wingers like John Tamihere start praising the Green's then you know this is a party that has well and truly sold out.
Absolutely. There's nothing too much about the Green Party to scare the markets these days.
ReplyDeleteIncreasingly they are actually market-environmentalists.
I went to the Radio NZ party debate on the Environment recently in Dunedin, and was amazed to hear Russel Norman repeat a number of times about the need to provide "the right price-signals in the market". He sounded like Roger Douglas from about 1986.
Bryce
I guess this transformation into a free market party began with Rod Donald's famous wine and cheese evening with the 'leaders' of business. Norman has been the driving force into completing the transformation - although Fitzsimons is clearly in favour of it.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, a caller to Radio Live yesterday asked how Norman could claim to be progressive while promoting 'competitiveness' on the global market - he basically dodged the question and the caller got cut off.
oh dear, i just voted Green.
ReplyDeleteRussell Norman was offered plenty by NAT but the dopey sod thought that Helengrand would win, and he also thought hat Helengrand would favour Green after so convincingly rejecting the Socialist rod donald.
ReplyDelete