Jeanette Fitzsimons, Green Party co-leader spoke this week with Herald political journalist Kevin Taylor. An edited version of this interview was published in today's Weekend Herald.

Why vote Green at this election when that risks reducing Labour's chances of being the party with the most seats in the next Parliament - and thus its chance of being the party with first right to form a Government?

Not voting Green in this election risks Labour not having a sensible coalition partner or being forced into the arms of Winston Peters. Voting Green is the only vote that is going to deliver a Green Labour Government, because no other party will tell you who they're going to work with.

Do you think voters have really got the message that a vote for the Greens is a vote for a Labour-led Government, or has the bickering between you two simply left voters confused?

We've been saying it now for two years; I think the message is getting across but that's what the next six weeks are about, of course, is making sure that it does get across. I don't think we've been bickering. I think we've been criticising them when their policies weren't up to it and supporting them when they were.

Do you ever regret the fallout with Labour over GM which resulted in Labour going with United Future? In retrospect was the cost in terms of the wider centre-left agenda too large regardless of the merits of your stance on GM?

There was no way that the Greens could have been in Cabinet when the moratorium was lifted and applications were allowed for the release of GE, and kept any integrity at all or any confidence from our voters. For all we knew there was actually going to be a full-scale release once that moratorium came off and we just had to be the principled thing even though it cost us a lot.

This time GM is not the big issue, but you would still oppose its release into the environment. How far would you take that opposition - to the extent of withdrawing confidence and supply?

There's no imminent risk of GE release because there are no applications even in the pipeline and no-one that's known to be wanting to be putting anything in, so it seems unlikely that that is going to come up in the next few years.

If it does the Greens will put everything into opposing the release of GE into our environment. Without knowing the precise circumstances I can't tell you any more than that.

Why are you avoiding making bottom-lines this time?