

Currently released so far... 12404 / 251,287
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
2011/03/01
2011/03/02
2011/03/03
2011/03/04
2011/03/05
2011/03/06
2011/03/07
2011/03/08
2011/03/09
2011/03/10
2011/03/11
2011/03/13
2011/03/14
2011/03/15
2011/03/16
2011/03/17
2011/03/18
2011/03/19
2011/03/20
2011/03/21
2011/03/22
2011/03/23
2011/03/24
2011/03/25
2011/03/26
2011/03/27
2011/03/28
2011/03/29
2011/03/30
2011/03/31
2011/04/01
2011/04/02
2011/04/03
2011/04/04
2011/04/05
2011/04/06
2011/04/07
2011/04/08
2011/04/09
2011/04/10
2011/04/11
2011/04/12
2011/04/13
2011/04/14
2011/04/15
2011/04/16
2011/04/17
2011/04/18
2011/04/19
2011/04/20
2011/04/21
2011/04/22
2011/04/23
2011/04/24
2011/04/25
2011/04/26
2011/04/27
2011/04/28
2011/04/29
2011/04/30
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Apia
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Auckland
Consulate Amsterdam
Consulate Adana
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belmopan
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Ciudad Juarez
Consulate Chennai
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Consulate Calgary
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dili
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Helsinki
Embassy Harare
Embassy Hanoi
Consulate Ho Chi Minh City
Consulate Hermosillo
Consulate Hamilton
Consulate Hamburg
Consulate Halifax
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kingston
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kathmandu
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lahore
Consulate Lagos
Mission USOSCE
Mission USNATO
Mission UNESCO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manila
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Mumbai
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Consulate Melbourne
Embassy Nicosia
Embassy New Delhi
Embassy Ndjamena
Embassy Nassau
Embassy Nairobi
Consulate Naples
Consulate Naha
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Of Spain
Embassy Port Louis
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Suva
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate St Petersburg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Consulate Toronto
Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Office Almaty
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius
Embassy Vienna
Embassy Vatican
Embassy Valletta
Consulate Vladivostok
Consulate Vancouver
Browse by tag
ASEC
AE
AF
AM
AR
AJ
AU
AORC
AG
AEMR
AMGT
APER
AGMT
AL
AFIN
AO
AMED
ADCO
AS
ABUD
ABLD
ASUP
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
APECO
AID
AND
AMBASSADOR
AN
ARM
AY
AODE
AMG
ASCH
AMCHAMS
ARF
APCS
APEC
ASEAN
AGAO
ANET
ADPM
ACOA
ACABQ
AORL
AFFAIRS
ATRN
ACS
AFSI
AFSN
ADANA
ASIG
AA
AX
AUC
AC
AECL
AADP
AGRICULTURE
AMEX
ACAO
ACBAQ
AQ
AORG
ADM
AINF
AIT
ASEX
AGR
AROC
ATFN
AFGHANISTAN
AFU
AER
ALOW
AZ
AVERY
BA
BY
BU
BR
BE
BL
BO
BK
BM
BILAT
BH
BEXP
BF
BTIO
BC
BBSR
BMGT
BTIU
BG
BWC
BB
BD
BX
BP
BRUSSELS
BN
BIDEN
BT
CW
CH
CF
CD
CV
CVIS
CM
CE
CA
CJAN
CLINTON
CIA
CU
CASC
CI
CO
CACM
CDB
CN
CMGT
CS
CG
CBW
CIS
CR
CONDOLEEZZA
CPAS
CAN
CWC
CY
COUNTER
CDG
CL
CT
CIC
CIDA
CSW
CHR
CB
CODEL
COUNTERTERRORISM
CTR
COM
CICTE
CFED
CJUS
CKGR
CBSA
CEUDA
CARSON
CONS
CITEL
CLMT
CROS
CITT
CAC
CVR
CDC
CAPC
COPUOS
CBC
CBE
CARICOM
COE
COUNTRY
CLEARANCE
CACS
CTM
CNARC
ECON
EFIN
ETRD
EUN
EFIS
EG
ETTC
EZ
EPET
EAID
EAGR
ENRG
ECUN
EU
ELAB
ECPS
EAIR
EINV
ELTN
EWWT
EIND
EMIN
EI
ECIN
ENVR
ELECTIONS
EINVEFIN
EN
ES
ER
EC
EUC
EINT
EINVETC
ENGR
ET
EK
ENIV
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
ECONOMY
EAP
EFTA
EUR
EUMEM
EXIM
ERD
ENERG
EUREM
ESA
ERNG
EXTERNAL
EPA
EINVECONSENVCSJA
ECONOMICS
ELN
EINN
EFINECONCS
ENNP
EEPET
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ENVI
ETRO
ESENV
ECINECONCS
ECONOMIC
EAIDS
EDU
ETRA
ETRN
EFIM
EIAR
ETRC
EAIG
EXBS
EURN
ECIP
EREL
ECA
ENGY
ECONCS
ECONEFIN
ETC
ETRDECONWTOCS
EUNCH
EINDETRD
IR
IZ
IS
IAEA
INRB
IRAJ
IQ
IN
IT
IMO
INTERPOL
ICAO
IO
IC
ITALY
ITALIAN
IRAQI
ICTY
ID
IPR
IWC
ILC
INTELSAT
IL
IBRD
IMF
IA
IRC
ICRC
ILO
ITU
ITRA
IV
IDA
IAHRC
ICJ
ISRAELI
IRS
INMARSAT
ISRAEL
ISLAMISTS
INDO
IZPREL
ITPHUM
ITPGOV
ITF
IBET
IEFIN
INR
IACI
INTERNAL
IDP
IGAD
IEA
ICTR
IIP
INRA
INRO
IF
KJUS
KSCA
KNNP
KU
KCOR
KCRM
KDEM
KTFN
KHLS
KPAL
KWBG
KACT
KGHG
KPAO
KTIA
KIRF
KWMN
KS
KG
KZ
KN
KMDR
KISL
KSPR
KHIV
KPRP
KAWK
KR
KUNR
KDRG
KCIP
KGCC
KTIP
KSUM
KPKO
KVIR
KAWC
KPIN
KGIC
KRAD
KIPR
KOLY
KCFE
KMCA
KE
KV
KICC
KNPP
KBCT
KSEP
KFRD
KFLU
KVPR
KOCI
KBIO
KSTH
KMPI
KCRS
KOMC
KTBT
KPLS
KIRC
KREL
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KFLO
KBTS
KSTC
KTDB
KFSC
KX
KFTFN
KNEI
KIDE
KREC
KMRS
KICA
KPAONZ
KCGC
KSAF
KRGY
KCMR
KRVC
KVRP
KSEO
KCOM
KAID
KTEX
KNUC
KNAR
KNUP
KNNPMNUC
KLIG
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KCRCM
KHDP
KGIT
KNSD
KOMS
KWMM
KPAI
KHSA
KTLA
KO
KMFO
KRCM
KCSY
KSAC
KTRD
KPWR
KID
KWNM
KRIM
KPOA
KCHG
KOM
KSCI
KFIN
KMOC
KESS
KWAC
KMIG
KSEC
KIFR
KDEMAF
KPRV
KBTR
KERG
KTER
KDDG
KPAK
KRFD
KHUM
KDEV
KCFC
KWWMN
KWMNCS
KJUST
MARR
MOPS
MU
MTCRE
MNUC
MY
MASS
MCAP
MOPPS
MAR
MPOS
MO
ML
MR
MASC
MX
MD
MP
MA
MTRE
MIL
MCC
MZ
MK
MDC
MRCRE
MAPS
MV
MI
MEPN
MAPP
MEETINGS
MAS
MTS
MLS
MILI
MTCR
MG
MC
MARAD
MIK
MILITARY
MEDIA
MEPI
MUCN
MEPP
MT
MERCOSUR
MW
MASSMNUC
MQADHAFI
NZ
NATO
NG
NI
NO
NATIONAL
NU
NPT
NIPP
NL
NPG
NS
NA
NGO
NP
NSG
NDP
NAFTA
NR
NC
NH
NE
NSF
NPA
NK
NSSP
NRR
NATOPREL
NSC
NT
NW
NORAD
NEW
NV
NSFO
NAR
NASA
NZUS
OTRA
OVIP
OPRC
OPDC
OSCE
OAS
ODIP
OIIP
OFDP
OVP
OREP
OFFICIALS
OSAC
OEXC
OPCW
OIE
OIC
OFDA
OSCI
OPIC
OBSP
OECD
ON
OCII
OHUM
OES
OCS
OMIG
OPAD
OTR
PGOV
PREL
PHUM
PINR
PTER
PSOE
PINS
PARM
PK
PBTS
PEPR
PM
POLITICAL
PARTIES
PREF
PBIO
PROP
PA
PSI
PINT
PO
PKFK
PL
PAK
PE
POLITICS
PINL
POL
PHSA
PU
PF
POV
PFOR
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PARMS
PRGOV
PNAT
POLINT
PRAM
PMAR
PG
PAO
PROG
PRELP
PPA
PCUL
PSEPC
PSA
PREO
PAHO
PGIV
PREFA
PALESTINIAN
PAIGH
POSTS
PTBS
PGOVLO
PORG
PGOVE
PLN
PINF
PAS
PUNE
POLICY
PDEM
PDOV
PCI
PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA
PBT
PHUMPGOV
PMIL
PNG
PP
PS
PHUH
PECON
POGOV
PY
PHUMPREL
PHUS
PRL
PGOC
PNR
PGGV
PROV
PTERE
PGOF
PHUMBA
PEL
RS
RU
RW
REGION
RP
RICE
ROBERT
RSP
RUPREL
RM
RO
RCMP
RSO
RELATIONS
REACTION
REPORT
RIGHTS
ROOD
RF
RFE
RIGHTSPOLMIL
SP
SA
SY
SF
SYR
SENV
SCUL
SOCI
SNAR
SO
SU
SG
STEINBERG
SHUM
SW
SMIG
SR
SZ
SIPRS
SI
SAARC
SPCE
SARS
SN
SYRIA
SANC
SL
SCRS
SC
SENVKGHG
SAN
SNARCS
SHI
SWE
SNARIZ
SIPDIS
SEN
SNARN
SPCVIS
SEVN
SSA
SH
SOFA
SK
ST
TPHY
TU
TRGY
TI
TX
TS
TW
TC
TFIN
TD
TSPA
TH
TT
TIP
TBIO
TSPL
TZ
TERRORISM
TRSY
TN
THPY
TINT
TF
TL
TV
TK
TO
TP
TURKEY
TNGD
TBID
TAGS
TR
UP
US
UNSC
UK
UZ
UE
UNESCO
UV
UNGA
UN
UNMIK
UNO
UY
UAE
UNEP
UG
UNHCR
UNHRC
USUN
UNAUS
USTR
USNC
USOAS
UNCHR
UNCSD
UNDP
USEU
USPS
UNDC
UNDESCO
UNCHC
UNFICYP
UNC
UNODC
UNPUOS
UNCND
UNICEF
UNCHS
UNVIE
USAID
UNIDROIT
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 05WELLINGTON692, THOUGH ON THE FRINGE, NEW ZEALAND'S GREENS MAY
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #05WELLINGTON692.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
05WELLINGTON692 | 2005-09-09 03:03 | 2011-04-28 00:12 | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | Embassy Wellington |
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 WELLINGTON 000692
SIPDIS
NOFORN
STATE FOR D (FRITZ), EAP/ANP, EAP/RSP, EAP/EP, INR/EAP
NSC FOR VICTOR CHA AND MICHAEL GREEN
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISA LIZ PHU
PACOM FOR J2/J233/J5/SJFHQ
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/09/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL NZ
SUBJECT: THOUGH ON THE FRINGE, NEW ZEALAND'S GREENS MAY
PLAY ROLE IN NEXT GOVERNMENT
REF: WELLINGTON 70
Classified By: Charge D'Affaires David R. Burnett,
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
-------
Summary
-------
¶1. (C) Strongly identified with environmental protectionism,
New Zealand's Green Party also represents a number of other
small constituencies, ranging from those who favor legalizing
marijuana to those concerned with improving nutrition in
school lunches. Typically favored by younger New Zealanders
and women, the Greens lost support early in this campaign
when they tried to attract a broader range of supporters by
campaigning for "social justice.". The Party only regained
the 5% threshold in the polls after its leaders pledged to
back a coalition with Labour and PM Clark made a show of
campaigning with Green co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons (latest
polls put it as high as 7%). Labour's decision to back the
Greens assures it a needed coalition partner - it can't win
without at least one -- but also risks painting the
Government as more radical than it has tried to appear thus
far. It may also have limited the Government's coalition
options with United Future, though a Parliamentary voting
arrangement may still be possible. A Labour-Green coalition
may slow, but will not not rule out, our pursuit of a more
structured relationship with a reelected Labour Government.
PM Clark is very unlikely to give the Greens a major foreign
policy and security role. She will also keep them well away
from intelligence issues. End Summary.
¶2. (SBU) Over the last 30 years, the Green movement has so
influenced New Zealand that environmental themes now are
imbedded in the New Zealand identity and are favored by major
and minority parties alike. Much of the public nevertheless
views the political wing of the Green movement, the Green
Party, with suspicion. They find the party's policies too
extreme and unwieldy, and there is something about the "eat
your vegetables - NOW" quality about Green pronouncements
that many find unpalatable. The Greens' 1999-02 involvement
in government resulted in a mixed report card.
Core themes bind Green constituencies
-------------------------------------
¶3. (SBU) Nonetheless, the party has strong support from its
core constituents, an assortment of smaller interests each
defending causes central to the Greens' political beliefs:
environmentalism and conservation, safe food (including no
genetic modification), youth, left-wing economics,
legalization of cannabis, nonviolence and peace. The Greens
say they want a "fairer society," including government
assistance to children and the poor. They led parliamentary
protests against U.S. and coalition military operations in
both Afghanistan and Iraq. The Greens set a very low
yardstick for identifying human rights abuse, which they
often use in making their case for fair trade.
¶4. (SBU) The Greens favor the use of government regulation to
change people's behavior. They view the market and its
instruments with suspicion. The Greens therefore are not
favored by an emerging strain of environmentally-oriented
voters who remain convinced about the need to address
pollution, biodiversity and climate change and other areas of
Green concern, yet are increasingly uncertain about alarmist
proclamations and the use of heavy handed rules.
¶5. (SBU) In fact, some voters see the Greens' unrelenting
stance on its pet issues as perilously close to extremism.
That perception, and the view that the party is increasingly
out of touch with the electorate, has stymied its attempts at
broader appeal. Last year, for example, the Anarchist
movement declared Greens co-leader Rod McDonald an enemy of
the poor when he called on New Zealanders to stop buying
fuel-inefficient, used cars from Japan.
¶6. (C) Many Kiwis nevertheless admire Fitzsimons' deliberate
lack of spin: her straight- shooting approach has won her
points in leadership debates and on the campaign trail. She
has learned from the last election campaign, when she
appeared angry most of the time.
On-and-off relationship with Labour
-----------------------------------
¶7. (SBU) In the 1999-02 Labour Government, the Greens worked
in cooperation with the Labour-led Governing coalition on
certain issues, in return for limited budget input. Three
years ago, the Greens -- mistakenly believing that Labour
would require their support to form a government -- took an
intransigent line against genetic modification that ended up
costing both itself and Labour votes. United Future picked up
Green-fearing votes and became Labour's choice as its primary
partner in a coalition government. The Greens managed to
increase their strength in Parliament and agreed to support
the Government on certain issues, however.
¶8. (SBU) In this year's campaign, the Greens have publicly
and unequivocally declared Labour is the only party with
which they will enter into a post-election arrangement. Even
before NZ First leader Winston Peters announced he would
avoid a formal coalition with either major party, Labour
decided its best prospect would be to back a coalition with
the Greens, the only minor party other than NZ First likely
to gain at least 5% of the party vote. In an apparent effort
to ensure that the Greens finish above the threshold (they
have little chance of winning a constituency seat), Labour
has endorsed a coalition with the Greens and the PM has on
occasion hit the campaign trail with Green Party co-leader
Jeanette Fitzsimons. This has likely limited the possibility
of a formal coalition arrangement with the more centrist
United Future, whose leader Peter Dunne has openly ruled out
any role in a Government that formally includes the Greens.
Labour may have to settle for a more complicated voting
agreement with Dunne instead.
Leveraging influence in a new Labour government
--------------------------------------------- --
¶9. (SBU) If Labour wins a third term and turns to the Greens
as its main coalition partner for a majority hold on
government, the Green leadership likely would insist on
cabinet posts or at least a support agreement that delivers
much more than their 1999 and 2002 arrangements. Recent media
reports suggest that the party is interested in running the
transportation portfolio. This interest has caused concern
among other parties, which contend that the Greens' policy of
increasing tax on diesel fuel would raise freight charges and
Green opposition to developing over-burdened road networks
would hurt the country's regional economies. Actually,
because the Greens have already made it clear they will not
work for National, and because National wouldn't want to work
with them in any case, their negotiating position is likely
to be limited and they may be assigned a relatively minor
cabinet slot.
Foreign policy: can't see the forest for the trees
--------------------------------------------- -----
¶10. (SBU) In July, before announcing itself in coalition with
Labour, the Greens attempted to force the Government to stop
the national cricket team from departing for a tour of
Zimbabwe. They brought to New Zealand a prominent Zimbabwean
activist who spoke against the Mugabe regime's extremist
domestic policies. Last month, trying to fuel debate over
the National Party's foreign policy, the Greens brought to
New Zealand a former Australian intelligence official who
quit his job in opposition to the Iraq war. Andrew Wilkie,
the former Australian Defence Force lieutenant colonel, told
an audience of Kiwis that the New Zealand government's
opposition to the invasion of Iraq and the country's
anti-nuclear policy keep New Zealand off the list of top
terrorist targets.
¶11. (C) Neither visitor produced significant political gains
for the Greens: the Wilkie visit barely registered in the
media and Labour grabbed most of the airtime on the cricket
issue. Both visits demonstrate the Greens' approach to
foreign affairs: specific issues reflective of their
ideology, rather than a unifying, concrete foreign policy
vision. Labour MPs have quietly told us they regard the
Green's foreign affairs spokesman, Keith Locke, as extreme
and impractical. The Greens have also in the past
embarrassed Labour by criticizing the Government's trade
talks and other approaches to China. In coalition, it is
very unlikely PM Clark would allow the Greens any real
foreign policy or security role, and their lack of
negotiating leverage will prevent them from insisting on one.
In her role as Minister in Charge of the NZ Intelligence
Service, Clark has kept a tight control on intelligence
issues, allowing few even within her cabinet to see reports.
She will undoubtedly keep any Green cabinet official in the
dark about intelligence matters.
Political Management
----------------------------------
¶12. Unlike other minor parties, the Greens' strength resides
in the commitment to the cause rather than the profile of any
one leader. The party strives to make decisions by consensus,
and this is reflected in its co-leadership arrangement with
Jeannette Fitzsimons and Rod Donald at the helm. One way of
explaining how this leadership arrangement functions is to
think of the party as, ironically, a corporation. Fitzsimons'
role is akin to chairman of the board - the public face of
the party and movement. Donald is more like a managing
director - overseeing the day-to-day operations at
Parliament. The Embassy has in recent months sought to build
bridges with the Greens in order to better explain our
policies to them, and Donald in particular has responded
warmly to these efforts.
¶13. Jeanette Fitzsimons has the leadership's strongest
environmental roots. Despite having no formal training or
background in any field of science, Fitzsimons was a lecturer
in environmental studies at Auckland University before being
elected to Parliament. She also worked as an environmental
consultant and was highly active in various environmental
organizations. Fitzsimons' first entry into politics was as
an unsuccessful candidate of the Values Party, the Greens'
political forbearer. When that party merged with a number of
other groups to form the modern Green Party, Fitzsimons
became an active member of the new organization. When the
Green Party joined with several other left-wing parties to
form the Alliance, Fitzsimons became co-deputy. In 1995, she
became co-leader of the Green Party (which remained within
the Alliance). In the 1996 election, Fitzsimmons entered
Parliament on the Alliance list. The Greens contested the
1999 election as an independent party, with Fitzsimons and
Rod Donald at the helm. Fitzsimons and her husband manage an
organic farm.
¶14. Rod Donald is a longstanding environmentalist who
belonged to the Values Party from 1974 to 1979. He was first
elected to Parliament in the 1996 election as an Alliance
list MP. In 1999, he won election as number two on the
Greens' party list. He retained his seat in the 2002
election. For many years, Donald has had a special interest
in electoral reform. From 1989 to 1993, he served as
spokesperson for the Electoral Reform Coalition, the campaign
that led to the introduction of MMP.
Burnett