NZ Green Party Priorities

There have been various rumblings on Frogblog about Green party policy priorities. Most recently these rumblings have been instigated by news of the return of Nandor to parliament. Some posters have worried that

...many ‘environmentalist-only’ greens would be shocked by the sizeable number of votes that would be lost if the Green Party lost their parallel social justice focus.

However, as far as I can see none of the contributors have denied the importance of social justice as a corner-stone of Green party policy. The discussion has been about priorities, and it is a discussion I think the NZ Green party needs to have. How does the Green party allocate effort to the various policy platforms that they support. I would contend that both social justice and environmentalism are global issues. I would further contend that social justice is a fundamental requirement for a modern society, but is irrelevant if we don't also have sustainability.

Currently I think it would be fair to say that New Zealand is far closer to being a just society then India, China and most countries in Africa. New Zealand is probably also more socially just than the USA and Australia right now. However this is no reason to be complacent and the NZ Green party should continue its good work in this direction. Unfortunately, there is no developed country, including NZ, that currently has a sustainable future. All of the developed world is living on borrowed, non-renewable resources. A solution to this problem is urgently needed, and it is for that reason that I believe New Zealand should lead the way, and that the Green party should prioritize accordingly. I am not suggesting dumping social justice concerns. But I am suggesting that the resources and focus should be rationalized. Simple as that.