Feedback from public meetings
Public meetings on The Green New Deal stimulus package were held at 18 venues across New Zealand, including Wellington, New Plymouth, Raglan, Timaru, Golden Bay, Mana, Motueka, Mount Albert, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Nelson, Blueskin Bay, Wanaka, Hastings, Dunedin and Christchurch.
At these meetings we gathered feedback on ways you would like to see the Green New Deal stimulus package expanded or altered, and ways it could work best in your communities.
More meetings are planned, using some of this feedback.
Support for the package
The feedback forms that were returned were overwhelmingly positive in their feedback with upwards of 90% ticking the 'liked all of the ideas' option.
In terms of the general aspects of the Green New Deal, people seemed to appreciate the way in which it managed to intertwine the two hugely pressing issues in today's world of the economy and the environment. A member of the New Plymouth community called this 'covering the three E's - environment, economy and employment'. There was also an appreciation of the fact that while these issues seem so difficult to deal with (and members of other parties believe they should be tackled one at a time) this stimulus package contains "the right mix of urgency, optimism and pragmatism".
Outlined below is a breakdown of the positive responses included on each of the individual elements of the Green New Deal stimulus package.
Housing
There were a number of positive comments regarding the home insulation package, and in terms of where we are at now i.e. with the recent launch of the Government's Warm up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme. People commented on the positive effects that may flow from extending this package to schools. While some opposed the building of more State Housing, saying it was not sufficiently environmental, some of the negative comments may have stemmed from communication difficulties. This is covered in more detail below. Overall it seemed to be received very well.
Transport
This element was the one that achieved the most overwhelming support, with a large number of people specifically mentioning it. People seemed to appreciate the fact that it catered for both urban and rural environments.
Clean Water
People seemed to receive this aspect very well, and there was no negative feedback.
Energy
Those with a good grasp on the energy efficiency scheme really seemed to appreciate it.
Most of the positive feedback was very general stating what people liked about the package as a whole rather than individual aspects of it. We will look at redesigning the feedback form for future meetings so that people are encouraged to provide feedback in a more specific way.
Suggestions for improvement
Although the negative feedback was very slim, the proposals for improvement of content or presentation were very valuable, and there appeared to be a strong pattern in terms of the areas that people regarded as the weakest. The negative comments were not always stated in terms of the particular subject areas of the package, and had a much more general approach.
The most consistently critical comments were not content based, but to do with the presentation itself. Jeremy who was at the New Plymouth meeting stated that "The most important part of the plan is selling it to the public". And along with this 17 people included a comment of a similar nature on their form. There were calls for bigger pictures, and a clearer outline of exactly what the 'stimulus package' involved.
One member of the public came up with a separate breakdown of the elements to create a SMART acronym:
Sustainable energy
Modern housing
Aquatic renewal
Reduction of waste
Transport
Simple changes such as this can potentially make the package easier to follow, and more memorable in the issues that it deals with.
There was also a large amount of concern about the actual implementation of the stimulus package. Questions were asked such as: "is the Government really the best people equipped to make the changes?" and "how are the Greens going to make other parties adopt these policies?"
First the Green Party acknowledges that it is not effective for the Government to try and reach down and dictate projects within local communities; this is why the stimulus package would provide resources to these communities so that they are able to implement policies and projects beneficial to their needs.
Getting ideas implemented at government level is never easy for a party not in government. However the Government has already adopted our insulation package, and if the Green New Deal receives large amounts of public support, it can be seen as offering an alternative route to the Government, parts of which they may choose to adopt.
A specific aspect of the stimulus package that was received negatively by some people was the State Housing Plan. There were arguments that this element appeared to have no environmental focus, and should therefore not be the focus of the Green Party. However, these state houses would be energy efficient, situated near public transport, or with the ability to car pool, so would offer environmental benefits. The Green Party has always based its policies on four principles, one of these being social justice. We do not think it is part of a sustainable future to have people sleeping under bridges and in garages.
There was also a small amount of negative feedback from six feedback forms in relation to the energy efficiency scheme, and it was all focused on the same problem. There was a belief that "the narrow focus may end up destroying New Zealand rivers and our unique ecosystems" and there was a large amount of constructive feedback about other initiatives that should be included in the Energy Efficiency scheme. We imagine these people have assumed there would be more hydro power, damming rivers. In fact the package does not propose this and the Green Party has always opposed damaging hydro developments. The package is in fact about improved efficiency of energy use, and contained no suggestions on alternative forms of energy, but we have taken the message that we need to communicate more clearly. Improving the ways in which energy is used achieves gains faster.
Potential Additions
There were many comments regarding areas that people believed should be included in the stimulus package, and much of the feedback here was of an incredibly constructive nature.
Project it to the Youth
Much of the feedback was advocating a 'youth focus'. After the election campaign of 2008 'vote for us' it seems that a lot of people are associating the Green Party with this youth/future focus and they believe that the Green New Deal should also reflect this. We are looking at ways of taking this on board.
More Local Focus
There was also a more specific call for a focus particularly on Local Maori youth and ways in which they could take back their kaitiakitanga responsibilities. Examples of ways in which local communities have already started doing this are provided at www.kaitiakitanga.net/. There is a belief that while there are schemes in place to assist they are ineffective, and so government resourcing alone will not be enough to fix the situation.
One respondent addressed this problem by proposing redirecting funds to local communities rather than huge urban based projects only. He provided examples of other places doing such things under the website: http://assets.wwf.org.nz/downloads/wwfnz_not_just_trees_in_the_ground.pdf
There were also more specific examples such as building/funding local community kitchens that would enable small food growers to process their food ready for retail whilst meeting nationally set food and hygiene standards.
We note the purpose of the contestable funds for community initiatives is to accept applications from any size of community provided they are well managed, accountable and meet the objectives of the scheme.
Food Initiatives
Many people were keen to see food production as part of the package. There were ideas stemming from local communities as to how locally grown products could be sold in schools, replacing "imported junk-foods". We intend to do some work on organic and local food production in a future phase of the Green New Deal.
Cycleways
There was a lot of information provided in relation to cycleways. These local proposals would all have a place in the shift of funding away from new motorways and into better public transport and active modes of transport. Green MP Kevin Hague will be continuing to work on this.
Start at the Top
There also seems to be a push for a 'practice what you preach approach'. People are wanting to see the Government banking with locally owned Kiwibank, and taking public transport before they do as well. Green MPs already do this where we can and we think it is a good idea to develop proposals around making government spending more local and sustainable.
Energy Efficiency Inclusions
A number of the feedback forms expressed worry as to the narrow focus of the alternative energy solutions of the package. There were in fact no alternative energy solutions proposed, and the package focused on the ways in which current energy could be used more efficiently. This area of the package will be clarified to avoid further confusion.
Our thanks to all of you who contributed your ideas. We are continuing to work on the Green New Deal and will let you know when the next stage is ready.
About this report
Over 70 feedback forms and e-mails received about the stimulus package. The report cannot respond to every individual piece of feedback; however the ideas that occurred frequently are all covered.
Many people were concerned that their favourite Green policy had been left out. We realise that we did not communicate clearly enough that this was an economic stimulus package, proposed ahead of the 2009 Budget, and not a manifesto for the Green Party. It was designed to address the economic and employment crisis and the environmental crisis at the same time. It is just one element of the Green New Deal, which we will continue to develop and expand. It does not replace existing Green Party policy.
Analysis prepared by Maddy Cayford, volunteer
