Georgina Morrison

Precursors

The Green Party traces its origins to the Values Party, the world's first national-level environmentalist party. The Values Party originated in 1972 at Victoria University of Wellington.

While it gained a measure of public support in several elections, the first-past-the-post electoral system meant that the party did not win any seats in Parliament. Some of the founding members of the Green Party, including Jeanette Fitzsimons, Rod Donald and Mike Ward, had been active members of the Values Party at the outset of the Green movement in the 1970s.

In 1989, multiple candidates stood for local government positions under a "green" label. It saw the election of New Zealand's first "green" city councillor, Stephen Rainbow, in Wellington. He was joined the next year by councillor Merrin Downing, who left the Citizens' Association to join the Greens.

In May 1990, remnants of the Values Party merged with a number of other environmentalist organisations to form the modern Green Party. This sparked a resurgence of support, with the new group winning 6.85% of the vote (but no seats) in the 1990 election.

History

The Alliance (1991–1997)

The newly formed Green Party became a founding member of the Alliance, a five-party grouping that also included the Democrats, Liberals, Mana Motuhake and NewLabour Party. Immediately prior to this there had been limited co-operation between the parties running joint candidates in several local by-elections in Auckland. One candidate, Ruth Norman, was from the Greens and was elected to the Auckland Regional Council. At the Alliance's inaugural party conference in November 1992, party members elected Jeanette Fitzsimons as one of the co-deputy leaders of the Alliance.

The party contested the 1993 and 1996 elections as part of the Alliance. Membership in the Alliance was a controversial decision with a sizeable minority in the party remaining opposed to it. Consequently, the party was plagued in the following few years by persistent calls for departure from the Alliance. Over time the issue became a more divisive issue internally until eventually a splinter party, the Progressive Green Party, was set up by members who were unhappy at the direction of the Alliance, which they believed was too left-wing and too focused on social justice issues, detracting focus from environmental issues.

Until the 1995 annual conference in Taupō, the party had no elected leaders. At that conference, Jeanette Fitzsimons was elected unopposed as female co-leader, and Rod Donald defeated Joel Cayford and Mike Smith in a three-way contest to become male co-leader.

After New Zealand adopted the mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system in 1996, the Alliance gained entry to Parliament, bringing three Green list MPs with them: Jeanette Fitzsimons, Rod Donald and Phillida Bunkle.

In 1997, feeling that membership of the Alliance had subsumed their identity, the party made the decision to stand candidates independently of the Alliance at the next election. While most Green party members left the Alliance, some decided to leave the Green Party and stay in the Alliance (including Bunkle, who would later be appointed Minister of Customs in the Labour-Alliance coalition government). Conversely, some of the Alliance party members, who joined the Alliance via other parties, decided to leave the Alliance and join the Green Party. These notably included Sue Bradford and Keith Locke, who both joined the Alliance from NewLabour.

Green Party in Parliament

In the 1999 election, the Greens gained 5.16% of the party vote and seven seats in Parliament. Fitzsimons also won the electorate seat of Coromandel; it is believed that this is the first time a Green candidate won a first-past-the-post parliamentary election. During the ten days it took to count special votes and confirm Fitzsimons' election, Labour concluded a coalition agreement with the Alliance which excluded the Greens. However, the party supported the government on confidence and supply in return for some input into the budget and legislation. This led to the Greens gaining a $15 million energy efficiency and environmental package in the new government's first budget. Over the term, the Greens developed a good working relationship with the government and also had some input into policy, notably Sue Bradford's amendments to the Employment Relations Act 2000.

In the 2002 election, the Greens polled 7.00%, increasing their strength in Parliament to nine seats, although they lost the Coromandel electorate. The electoral campaign featured strong tensions between the Greens and Labour. The Greens sharply criticised Labour for its plans to allow a moratorium on genetic engineering to expire, and believing that Labour would require their support to form a government, intended to make the extension of this moratorium a non-negotiable part of any deal. After the election, however, Labour and their coalition partner, the Jim Anderton-led Progressive Coalition, instead opted to rely on support from United Future, at that time a party with conservative Christian overtones.

Although the Greens no longer had any input into the budget, they maintained a close working relationship with the government, and the Greens remained involved in the legislation process. Often the government needed to rely on Green votes in the House to pass progressive legislation not approved by United Future. The government won praise from political commentators for juggling the two diametrically-opposed parties.

In the 2005 election, the Greens won 5.30%, returning six of their MPs to Parliament. Despite expressing clear support for a Labour-led government during the campaign, they were excluded from the resulting coalition, due to a refusal by United Future and NZ First to work with the Greens in cabinet. They were, however, able to negotiate a cooperation agreement which saw limited input into the budget and broad consultation on policy. Both co-leaders were appointed as government spokespeople outside cabinet, with Fitzsimons responsible for Energy Efficiency, and Donald responsible for the Buy Kiwi Made campaign. However, Rod Donald died the day before Parliament was due to sit and the position of government spokesperson on Buy Kiwi Made was filled by Sue Bradford. Nándor Tánczos took up the vacant list position and the co-leader position remained vacant until a new co-leader, Russel Norman was elected at their 2006 annual general meeting. The other contenders for the position were Nándor Tánczos, David Clendon and former MP Mike Ward.

First term in Government (2017–2020)

In October 2017, the Greens entered a confidence and supply arrangement with the Labour Party which gave them three ministers outside cabinet and one under-secretary role. This marked the first time the Greens had been in government. Party leader James Shaw was appointed Minister for Climate Change and Statistics and Associate Minister of Finance. Julie Anne Genter was made Minister for Women and Associate Minister of Health and Transport. Eugenie Sage was made Minister of Conservation and Land Information and Associate Minister for the Environment. Jan Logie was appointed Parliamentary Undersecretary to the Minister of Justice with a focus on domestic and sexual violence issues.

As a support partner of the Labour-New Zealand First coalition government, the Greens secured several policies and concessions including a proposed Zero Carbon Act, a referendum on legalising personal cannabis use by 2020, establishing a proposed Climate Commission, a proposed Green Transport Card to reduce public transportation costs, investing in rail and cycle infrastructure, light rail construction to Auckland Airport, increasing the Department of Conservation's funding, eliminating "excessive" benefit sanctions and the gender pay gap, a rent-to-own-scheme as part of KiwiBuild, and re-establishing the Mental Health Commission.

In 2019, a number of Trans members resigned after a Green Party magazine published an article from a member concerned about the growing divide between women in the party and LGBTQIA+ members.

In late August 2020, Shaw was criticised by members of the Green Party, the opposition National Party, school principals and teachers unions for allocating, in his role as Associate Minister of Finance, NZ$11.7 million from the Government's $3 billion COVID-19 "shovel-ready" recovery fund to the private "Green School New Zealand" in Taranaki. This funding boost contradicted the party's own policy of opposing giving government funds to private schools. Shaw had lobbied for the inclusion of the school in the "shovel-ready" fund, claiming that it would have boosted the local economy and created jobs.

Former Green MPs Catherine Delahunty, Mojo Mathers and Sue Bradford denounced Shaw's decision as a betrayal of the Green Party's policies and principles. Shaw subsequently apologised to Green MPs during a Zoom call, describing his action as an "error of judgment." On 2 November, it was reported that the Government had reached an agreement with the school's owners, Michael and Rachel Perrett, for the NZ$11.7 million grant to be converted into a loan; a development that was welcomed by local principals.

Second term in Government (2020–2023)

Following prolonged negotiations between the Green and Labour parties' leaderships, the Green Party accepted a deal on 31 October under which their co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson would become ministers outside the Cabinet. Under this cooperation agreement, Shaw would remain Minister for Climate Change and become an associate minister for the environment (with responsibility for biodiversity) while Davidson would take the new role of Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence and become an associate minister of housing (with responsibility for homelessness). In addition, Green MPs would fill one chair and one deputy chair role on two select committees. Stuff reported that these would likely be held by former ministers Eugenie Sage and Julie Anne Genter on the Environment Committee and Transport Committee, respectively. During a Zoom call, 85% of the 150 Green Party delegates voted to accept this cooperation agreement with Labour.

The agreement was described by Ardern as "honouring the mandate provided to Labour to form a majority Government in our own right" while ensuring the Government "govern[s] for all New Zealanders and to reach as wide a consensus on key issues as possible." Several former Green MPs, including former co-leader Russel Norman, Sue Bradford, and Catherine Delahunty, criticised the cooperation agreement for giving the Greens a weak position to influence the policy process within the newly formed Labour Government.

On 19 May, Ghahraman sponsored a motion on behalf of the Green Party calling for Members of Parliament to recognise the right of Palestinians to self-determination and statehood. The motion was supported by the Greens and the Māori Party but was opposed by the centre-right National and ACT parties. The governing Labour Party also declined to support the Greens' motion, with the Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard criticising Ghahraman for sponsoring the motion despite knowing that it was going to be voted down.

In June 2021, it was revealed the Green Party had received $54,000 in donations from Lindsay Fraser, whom the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RNZSPCA) has called the worst animal abuser in New Zealand history.

In July 2021, Shaw's co-leadership of the Greens was challenged by Dunedin climate activist and software developer James Cockle, who expressed dissatisfaction that the Greens were being seen as "Labour's little helper." During a vote at the party's annual general meeting in August 2021, Shaw was overwhelmingly re-elected, winning 116 delegate votes with just four to Cockle.

In opposition (2023–present)

In January 2024 Shaw announced that he would be resigning as co-leader of the Green Party and retiring from politics. Amid shoplifting allegations, Golriz Ghahraman resigned in January 2024. She was replaced by Celia Wade-Brown. On 21 February 2024, Fa'anānā Efeso Collins died during a charity run in Auckland. He was replaced by Lawrence Xu-Nan. On 15 March 2024, Darleen Tana was stood down after allegations of migrant exploitation. On 6 May 2024, James Shaw resigned from parliament and was replaced by Francisco Hernandez. In late September 2024, Swarbrick announced that the Greens would hold a special meeting on 17 October to decide whether to expel Tana from Parliament using the waka-jumping legislation. In mid-October, Tana appealed the High Court ruling upholding the Green Party's proceedings to expel her from Parliament. In response, Swarbrick said that the appeal would not affect the special meeting scheduled for 17 October. At that meeting 185 party delegates voted to support the use of the legislation by an overwhelming consensus. On 22 October, House Speaker Gerry Brownlee revoked Tana's ability to attend Parliament and expelled her using the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act 2018. She ceased to be an MP immediately following this announcement. In response to the ruling, Tana maintained her innocence but said she respected the speaker's decision due to the waka-jumping law. Benjamin Doyle entered Parliament in November 2024 following the removal of Darleen Tana.

In early November 2024, the Greens' Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill, which proposed allowing copyrighted works to be used for parody, satire and memes, was pulled from Parliament's ballot. On 20 November, Green MP Teanau Tuiono's member's bill restoring New Zealand citizenship to people born in Western Samoa between 1924 and 1949 passed into law with unanimous support from all parties.

In early May 2025, Swarbrick unveiled the Greens' alternative budget, which proposed investing $8 billion over the next four years in various green policies including creating a Ministry of Green Works and supporting sustainable infrastructure. Other key Green Budget policies have included a new wealth tax, higher corporate taxes, a private jet tax, higher mining royalties and income tax rates. In response, the ACT party described the Green Budget as a "reckless attack on family farming" while Prime Minister Luxon described the alternative budget as "clown show economics." On 18 May, Swarbrick defended the Green Budget as during an interview with TVNZ journalist Jack Tame, saying that it had been "independently costed."

Ideology

Green Party Charter

The party has four pillars like many green parties around the world; ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy, and nonviolence. Internationally, it is affiliated with the Global Greens whose common charter includes these. The party accepts the Treaty of Waitangi as the founding document of New Zealand and recognises Māori as tangata whenua ('people of the land').

These charter princples have are read by most Greens as a connected programme despite much media and commentator suggesting an inherent tension between a focus on environmental and social issues. For example Nandor Tanzcos stated: "anyone who says that the Green party should stick to the environment fundamentally fails to understand what Green politics is by its very nature. The Greens aren’t the ‘environment party’, they’re the Green party," and that "Green politics has never been about preserving the environment, it’s always been about the relationships we have with each other and the rest of life on this planet."

The Greens rely heavily on the well-educated, urban demographic for their voter base. Green voters have various priorities but are likely to have a high regard for the environment and environmental issues. However, research indicates very few people who vote Green do so purely for environmental concerns.

The charter has been open to various ideological interpretations with MPs such as Sue Bradford and Keith Locke, high profile former candidate and staffer Jack McDonald believing this necessitates a eco-socialist vision, whereas others have argued it specifically excludes this. 2026 candidate Mike Finlayson describes himself as an ecosocialist. In a 2012 book Beyond Tomorrow: A Values Story, the author Claire Browning said the book "says one thing some members won’t like. The Greens are an ecological economic party, a party that puts the environment first, not a party of the Left – and a party that implicitly, in its first charter principle, stands for diversity and inclusion." Candidate Vernon Tava, and MP Kennedy Graham, agreed with this view.

The Greens have campaigned on a number of issues over time such as mining of national parks, fresh water, peak oil and the release of genetically engineered organisms. The party strongly supports efforts to address climate change based on scientific evidence, by transitioning away from the burning of fossil fuels to renewable energy production, as well as making carbon pricing more transparent and bringing the agricultural sector into the Emissions Trading Scheme.

Organisation and structure

The party adopted a new constitution in 2022, named Te Waka Framework. This is a Te Tiriti-based structure that is derived from the party's charter and commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The framework contains four sections: Te Waka, Ngā Haumi, Te Hāpai, and Ngā Tumu, and is based on the journey of a waka.

Provinces and branches

A province is a collection of branches which has sufficient sense of common identity defined by natural geographical boundaries. Branches are a collection of members with an electorate-based geographical area of responsibility.

Networks

There are a number of identity or interest-based networks across the party. These include:

Degrowth Greens

Green Women (a network for women members)

Inclusive Greens (a network for members living with a disability)

Pasifika Greens (a network for members with Pasifika ancestry)

Rainbow Greens (a network for LGBTQIA+ members)

Rural Greens (a network for members with interests in rural and agricultural issues)

GreenLeft (a network for left-wing, anti-capitalist members)

Te Roopu Pounamu (a Māori network)

Union Greens (representing trade unions)

Young Greens

General election results

Local government

Campaigns

In the 2013 local elections, the Greens won three city council and two regional council seats in Wellington, a council seat in Dunedin, and also enjoyed success in Christchurch and Gisborne.

During the 2016 local elections, Green Dunedin candidate Aaron Hawkins was re-elected to the Dunedin City Council and was joined by the Green Party's first successful local or parliamentary Pasifika candidate, Councillor Marie Laufiso. During the 2016 Wellington local election, four Green candidates Sue Kedgley, Iona Pannett, Sarah Free, and David Lee were elected onto the Greater Wellington Regional Council and the Lambton, Eastern, and Southern Wards of the Wellington City Council. Several Green candidates also contested seats on the Auckland Council, local boards, and licensing trusts during the 2016 Auckland local body elections.

In addition, Brent Barrett was elected to Palmerston North City Council.

The 2019 New Zealand local elections were the most successful local body elections ever for the party, culminating in 42 successful candidates. Notably, Aaron Hawkins was elected Mayor of Dunedin, becoming the first Green Party candidate to ever win a mayoralty in New Zealand.

In addition, Brent Barrett was re-elected to the Palmerston North City Council and was joined by a second Green candidate Renee Dingwall. Future Green MP Teanau Tuiono also ran for the position of Mayor of Palmerston North but was defeated by the incumbent Grant Smith.

During the 2022 New Zealand local elections, ten Green branded candidates were elected to local government positions. Though Aaron Hawkins was defeated in his bid to be re-elected as Mayor of Dunedin, the Green-endorsed Tory Whanau was elected as Mayor of Wellington.

Green councillor Tamatha Paul was elected to the Wellington City Council (WCC) and became the chair of its new environment and infrastructure committee. In addition, Laurie Foon and Nīkau Wi Neera were elected to the WCC's Southern General Ward and Te Whanganui-a-Tara Māori ward.

Leadership

The party has six equal status office holders that form their leadership group:

two co-leaders (one female and one of any gender, one of whom must be Māori)

two party co-convenors (one female and one of any gender)

two policy co-convenors (one female and one of any gender)

The co-leaders lead the caucus, the party co-convenors lead the party executive, and the policy co-convenors lead the policy committee. The leadership group facilitates high level discussion and co-ordination between the three committees.

Co-leaders

Historically, the Green Party had one male and one female as co-leaders, but in May 2022 members voted to require one leader be female and one be Māori. Marama Davidson has been the female co-leader since 2018. Chlöe Swarbrick became co-leader in March 2024, succeeding James Shaw, who had been elected as male co-leader in 2015.

Co-convenors

Equivalent to the organisational president of other parties. Historically, there was always one male co-convenor and one female co-convenor. As of May 2022, the party's new constitution requires one female co-convenor and one co-convenor of any gender.

Policy co-convenors

Policy co-convenors are the leaders of the policy committee, which is autonomous from both the caucus and the party executive. While lower in public profile than the party co-convenors, the policy co-convenors are considered to have the same status as the party co-convenors, and are elected in the same way. As of May 2022, the party's new constitution requires one female policy co-convenor and one policy co-convenor of any gender.