By BERNARD ORSMAN
The Green Party has courted controversy by placing veteran protester Sue Bradford and Rastafarian Nandor Tanczos near the top of its party list.
National has tried to crush the Greens' rise in Coromandel by pouncing on Sue Bradford's frontline confrontations with the law and Mr Tanczos' links with drugs
and vandalism of a genetically modified potato crop.
But all the "reefer madness" has done is boost the party's profile and increase the chances of the new Parliament having a strong Green bloc.
The latest Herald-DigiPoll survey gives the Greens 5.2 per cent support, just over the threshold to qualify for list MPs without needing the backup of a win in Coromandel.
On the survey figures, the Greens would have five new MPs as well as their current two ex-Alliance list MPs, co-leaders Jeanette Fitzsimons and Rod Donald.
In order, the new faces are Ian Ewen-Street, Sue Bradford, Mr Tanczos, Sue Kedgley and Keith Locke.
After breaking away from the Alliance in 1997, Jeanette Fitzsimons and Mr Donald were largely written off.
But against the odds they have created a high profile through issues such as genetically modified food, and are the surprise of this election.
Sue Bradford might seem an odd candidate for the Greens, but she says her high list position is proof the party cares as much about social justice as about the environment.
After 16 years on the wrong end of police batons, she says it is time to get near the levers of power to make a contribution in a different way.
"But that doesn't mean to say I wouldn't take part in protests."
Mr Tanczos believes he will be the first Rastafarian MP and is campaigning with the message: "Get the dread in the House."
The Greens' walk from the Alliance prompted him to leave the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party and join Jeanette Fitzsimons and company.
He is the Greens' justice spokesman, and plans to enter Parliament wearing a suit made from hemp. "I want to make the political system more accessible for people alienated from it," he says.
The placing of Marlborough organic farmer Mr Ewen-Street and Safe Food Campaign convener Sue Kedgley high on the list will ensure the Greens dominate the issue of genetically modified food.
Mr Locke, at number seven, is the Greens spokesman on foreign affairs, defence and disarmament. He has pushed for New Zealand to be a more independent voice in the world.
