Election 2011: State of the Greens Party

Russel Norman. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Greens go into the election campaign with high hopes that, with Labour still on the rocks, enough of the voters it has leaked will wash up on the their shore.

That would push the Greens through the 10 per cent party vote barrier and cement their status as New Zealand's third political party.

The polls, which have the Greens consistently ranging from the mid-9s to over 10 per cent show they have successfully managed the leadership transition from founding baby boomers Jeanette Fitzsimons and the late Rod Donald to the generation X combination of Russel Norman and Metiria Turei.

That transition is further emphasised by the impending retirement of key MPs Keith Locke and Sue Kedgley, and the new faces on the party's list such as Rhodes scholar Holly Walker and Julie Anne Genter.

The polls also show the party's bid for more mainstream acceptance, encapsulated in Mr Norman's preference for business suits, has worked and at the very least has not alienated its existing voter base.

Recognising most people vote based on parties' economic policies, the Greens have worked well to present themselves as credible contributors to that debate. Policies such as the earthquake levy to pay for the Christchurch rebuild and a water use charge, show evidence of more rigorous number-crunching than before.

This election the Greens are keeping their messages to voters narrow, clear and succinct.

"Kids, Rivers, Jobs" is their catchphrase which takes in the three major policy areas of alleviating child poverty, cleaning up waterways and creating jobs through developing a "smart, green economy".

The party's campaign under brand manager and designer Megan Salole is shaping up as its most professional so far. The Herald understands the Greens' campaign finances could be better but they are banking on a late influx of donations. With membership fairly stable around 4000 over the past three years, the Greens don't have the same party machines as their big counterparts but pride themselves on their use of social media such as Twitter.

Their target of a 10 per cent share of the party vote would give them about a dozen MPs. New faces would be Forest and Bird stalwart Eugenie Sage, Sue Bradford's former executive assistant Jan Logie, Stefan Browning from the Fitzsimons/Donald era, former Auckland city councillor Denise Roche, Ms Walker and Ms Genter. Insiders say spirits within the party are high, buoyed by the fading of the party's outsider status and attitude and also by loss of the fear of not making the 5 per cent MMP threshold.

Though outside Government, the Greens have won some policy gains with their memorandum of understanding with National, including home insulation, pest control and toxic site clean up programmes. They have been positioning themselves to negotiate similar wins should National return to the Treasury benches as expected. But that relationship has not been without its tensions. Catherine Delahunty probably spoke for one or two other MPs when she recently said she would resign from the party if it struck a formal support agreement with National.

The record

* 2008: 6.72 per cent, 9 list MPs; entered into a moratorium of understanding to advance some policies with National

* 2005: 5.3 per cent, 6 list MPs; shut out of coalition with Labour due to United Future and NZ First's unwillingness to work with them

* 2002: 7 per cent, 9 list MPs: shut out of a coalition with Labour due to their reluctance to cede their bottom line on genetic modification

* 1999: 5.16 per cent, 6 list MPs, and one electorate MP as Jeanette Fitzsimons wins Coromandel electorate on special votes

* 1996: As part of the Alliance, the Greens win three seats taking Jeanette Fitzsimons, Rod Donald and Phillida Bunkle into Parliament.

In their own words: The Green co-leaders

* Metiria Turei on doing well at Labour's expense: "They're not wrong that we pose a threat to their vote. If that's what (Clare Curran) was upset about then that's understandable."

* Russel Norman on the 10 per cent party vote target: "Obviously we have ambitions to do more. The realistic best case scenario is 15 per cent that would give us about 17 or 18 MPs but it depends on how much vote is wasted on NZ First."

* Metiria Turei on Social Media: "It's very direct communication. I've got 4000 friends on Facebook and 2000 on Twitter. I don't have 4000 people come to a public meeting. I have people messaging me all hours of the day and night asking questions about our policy or what we think about a particular issue and that is gold because that discussion is public. Other people are seeing you're communicating and they also see you're available."

* Russel Norman on whether the Greens will ever lead a Government: "I certainly believe that we can. I think the big issues and big picture - whether that's the price of commodities or carbon - that the Greens are all about are only going to become more important in our lifetimes."