Freakin' sweet!

A brilliant website has emerged out of the Green Party campaign, and I must resist using it too much. It is voteforus.co.nz and allows you to create your own billboard. The image I chose was the closest one of myself to the image our star girl Aila, but unfortunately at the old age of 19 I don't quite have to appeal of a child anymore. I'm glad they didn't choose this design.

Incidentally, that's me in the Amazon, with the Rio Negro behind me. So not quite a kiwi background either, but one that is definitely under threat, and one that we definitely need to protect with the help of the Greens.

Party in Hamilton

On Saturday night I was lucky enough to be in Hamilton where a gig was organised to promote the Green Party. All I had to do was help set up a bit, and speak. The bar, called Altitude, sure was pimped out in Green paraphernalia and although it started off quiet, by the end of the night it was teaming with dancing bodies wearing "I only date boys/girls who vote Green" stickers. Nice.

Above is one of the musical performances of the night. She was pretty damn good I must say. Big thanks to her, the DJs, the local organisers and the bar for a good night out.

What I'm up to tomorrow in a formal sorta way

Youngest Greens to young workers: you CAN take a paid break to vote

Media Advisory 24 October 2008

The Green Party’s youngest candidates are teaming up this Saturday to tell young workers that they CAN take the most important break of their lives.

Zachary Dorner (Pakaranga) and Gareth Hughes (Ohariu) are visiting Hamilton to mobilise young people to vote on November 8.

On a tour through the CBD, they will be visiting young Saturday workers in food outlets, shops and cinemas to tell them that they have a right to take a paid break to go and vote, if they have to work on Election Day. The young Green duo will be at the Ward Street crossing, outside the Village Cinemas and Centreplace, in Hamilton, at 11:30am for about half an hour, before walking through to the Southend.

“It’s vitally important young people who work Saturdays know they are entitled to time off work on November 8, so they can have their say. Educating young workers about this little-known fact may boost the tragically low youth-voter turnout,” says Zachary Dorner, the Party’s youngest candidate at just 19.

“With the global financial crisis and the need for urgent action on climate change, this election is critical. This is especially true for young people, who will have to face the future consequences of how these challenges are handled,” says Gareth Hughes, who at No. 11 on the Green Party List, could make it into Parliament if enough young people Party Vote Green.

“The Green Party has a good range of quality young candidates, because we believe the Greens are the Party for the future, and for young people.”

All workers are entitled to be released no later than 3pm for the rest of the day if they have to work on November 8, if they have not had a reasonable chance to vote before they started their shift. If they have to work after 3pm for essential work, their employer must give them two hours paid leave to vote at a reasonable time earlier in the day.

Dorner and Hughes will be then speaking on Saturday evening at the start of the Greens' Party at Altitude at 8pm.

What: Young Green candidates Zachary Dorner and Gareth Hughes touring youth workplaces to inform young workers of their rights
When: THIS Saturday 25 October, from 11:30am
Where: Meet at Ward Street crossing, outside Village Cinemas and Centreplace in Hamilton
For further information contact: Zachary Dorner 027 374 5144

Getting stuck in with the big shots

Here's the profiles of the candidates in Pakuranga that I am running against (though of course only running for the Party Vote). My first of two debates against them is on Labour Day, though I'm sure by the end of it it will be more of a Green Day. It will have a Christian focus, but should be fun.

This one's for the workers

Another weekend's wizzed by, and now it's only two and a half weeks to go! This weekend I spent with fellow young candidates Gareth Hughes and Xavier Goldie. It included handing out fliers, trying to get the media's attention and another pub crawl. The above picture is some hard working women wearing our "I only date boys who vote Green" stickers and serving sausages to the hungry partying masses on Saturday night.

On Saturday we, with the help of another Young Green (and tireless campaigner called Alexis - he always hands out way more fliers than anyone else!) went around downtown Auckland. Our main focus was, as pictured above, handing out our leaflets aimed at young people, and especially Saturday workers (with Gareth on the left). We wanted to inform them of their right to paid time off work on election day to vote if they don't have another reasonable chance. No one knew this fact that we came across, and they were grateful to find out. More info at here if you or someone you know is in that boat. Don't let anything stop you from voting!

That night we did the pub crawl. Although we were few in numbers we had a good time and got a very good response from everyone. It's a great way to campaign.

The next couple of days consisted of more leafleting and trying to bait the media (with some small results, but no big fish).

The next few days I am catching up on some work, then next weekend the Young Candidates are hitting Hamiltron! After that the last two weeks will be the final hard push. So stop watching the American elections (what a bore, a forgone conclusion) and get involved in what is by no means a done deal. The Greens have shown yet again that we are the only fully-honest Party in Parliament, so we will see how that plays out.

And remember, every vote counts.

Pimp my bike

Today the Auckland Greens on Campus, complete with two young candidates showed cycling, though currently dangerous, can be awesome. Courtesy of some spray paint, plus a collection of cool accessories, we pimped bikes. The above was one of our beautiful creations, though the owner did the spray painting himself. Ah, the beauty of cheap bikes and the willingness to decorate that goes with them.

In this photo is myself, fellow young Candidate for Te Atutu Xavier Goldie and committed Young Green Ruby Haazen with some of our beautiful cycle/bumper stickers at our stall table. A lot of such stall attending has been going on the last few weeks, but with exams coming up they will have to take a back step. But never fear, highly ranked young Candidate Gareth Hughes is coming up to Auckland on Saturday for some media events, some more pub crawling, and some more bicycle pimping. Should be a great weekend!

If you're interested in coming on the pub crawl on Saturday night just drop me an email, zachary.dorner@greens.org.nz.

Takin' one for the team

You may have already seen the (slightly inaccurate) article in todays Herald, but yes, I did dress up as a daredevil to highlight how unsafe cycling in Auckland is. Fellow Green Party Candidate (placed seventh on the list, so a very likely future MP) Kevin Hague joined me on my ride from Newmarket, along with four others.

It was before the launch of the Auckland Transport Strategy the Green Party has put together, putting much more cost effective and sensible options on the table than any other Party to date. It can be seen here. All our MPs and a number of candidates made a Green pilgrimage to Britomart due to the importance of getting Auckland moving to our economy. Each MP used a different non-car method, including walking, cycling, ferry, bus and train, and tenth place candidate David Clendon rode an electric scooter.

An integrated and affordable public transport system, based on three major rapid transport loops around the city, plus much better connections and more frequent services will be money much better spent than on a couple of new roads to nowhere. Plus safe walking and cycling facilities. So let's go Green!

Meanwhile, unfortunately you have to be a daredevil to cycle in Auckland.

PS take this weeks poll about public transport.

The only Party you can live with

On Friday the Greens on Campus were at it again, setting up a lounge suite (from my flat) so that visiting Green MP Metiria Turei could make herself comfortable, and students comfortable too, with our tertiary policy.

We want to make sure that education is free, like it should be, and that students don't have to be the only section of society forced to borrow to live. That is why we want a Universal Student Living Allowance. Why do I have to currently wait until I'm 24 until my eligibility for a Student Allowance is no longer income tested on my parents income? How condescending and wrong. It's crazy that at a time when we have more money than ever before (minus the current financial crisis and minor recession) education is more expensive than ever before. It should be paid for by the Government. That, plus a better quality of life, is what's needed to keep so many kiwis from flying away from this beautiful country. It is also needed to stop the declining rates of people on low incomes taking up tertiary education, which makes it so much harder for them to break out of the poverty or near poverty trap.

That is why the Green Party is the only Party you can live with.

Financial crisis explained with lines

Confused about the financial crisis? Never fear, this slideshow is much more authoritative then anything I've seen so far (warning, contains rude words).

Of course this is just a small glitch compared to the problems the global economy is beginning to face due to more and more scarce resources. Could the price of oil have helped to start this financial crisis (even though it was pretty inevitable by the sounds of things)? And, as the Green Party has been saying, we need to use the lowered prices of oil, caused by recessions, as a window of opportunity to invest in sustainable infrastructure, such as better public transport, so that we are insulated from the next, inevitable rise.

It's funny how now that financial markets are plummeting, everyone's forgotten about the record high oil prices earlier this year.

I'm on Alt tonight!

I'll be on Greencore at 8:00pm either on Sky channel 65 or streaming live on their website. Check yah there.

Yes ladies I am single... But I only date girls who vote Green

On Friday 26 September the Young Greens of Auckland embarked on one of the most epic and original nights of campaigning this country has ever seen. We went on a pub crawl.

The popular feature of said pub crawl was our "I only date boys/girls who vote Green" stickers, coasters and badges. Yes, that's right, it says "I only date girls who vote Green" not a girl. Hence the above photo...

We had a good team, shown in part above, though some other left early. We had a good reception overall as well, though of course it depended on the venue. A few drinks and people can get quite rude and direct! We went around about 12 or so bars. We our message out, and had some good conversations in the process, in some cases changing perceptions of the Green Party and winning over voters.

So we got our message out, and had a whole bunch of fun doing so. Perfect. Thus, this week's poll is about the effectiveness of innovative campaigning. Do you think it makes more of a difference if it's clever and fun? I believe it made one for the above backsides and their respective partners, if any. They are sporting our "I only date boys who vote Green" stickers.

Keep your eyes peeled for more great Young Green campaigning coming very soon to a place near you!