Wairarapa's Green candidate answers questions put forward by the local electorate.
Since joining the Greens in 1992, Celia Wade-Brown has stood in both local and national elections and was the mayor of Wellington from 2010-2016.
On the subject of crime, Wade-Brown was keen to stress the importance of addressing its causes: “Lack of a caring home, lack of education, no diagnosisof mental illness, no rehabilitation of drug and alcohol addictions.”
While youth crime and ram-raiding are constantly in the news, Wade-Brown said other criminal aspects should be a focus of the next government.
“Let’s not forget white collar crime - tax evasion scams and outright fraud. And we need to invest in cyber security, people understanding how to keep themselves safe on the internet,” she said.
Wade-Brown is also promoting a bold way to tackle financial inequality through a guaranteed minimum income of at least $385 a week.
“It’ll make a considerable difference if you’re working, or if for some reason you’re not able to work. It’s not fair that the children of nurses, early childhood carers, cleaners and farm workers should have less of a good start in life than the children of bankers and company owners.
With a huge farming community in the Wairarapa, Wade-Brown said many farmers were already supporting the Greens’ sustainable policies.
“They really want the clean rivers and the healthy climate that everybody else does. Many farmers are already planting wetlands, reducing their fertiliser use and are very aware of the amount of emissions from their farms.”
