27 November 2006

A few words of advice from the Greens for John and Bill

Now that Don Brash has gone the National Party has the chance to show New Zealanders that it is prepared to clean up its act, the Green Party says.

"If they ever want their party to be taken seriously again John Key and Bill English must be prepared to move National away from the dirty politics the party engaged in at the last election," Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons says.

"They must be prepared to put their money where their mouths are and sever the party's secret links with the Exclusive Brethren, and any future dirty politics campaign.

"If National wants the Exclusive Brethren to do its dirty work, then it must have the courage to do it publicly.

"If John and Bill want National in the Beehive in 2008, then they must give up the fight to keep their financial backers secret and allow the public the transparency they are demanding.

"It is not good enough to allow political donors to hide behind trusts and anonymous donations.

"But most importantly, if John and Bill want to prove that they have the best interests of New Zealand at heart, they must take environmental issues seriously.

"National's recently released Blue Green Vision for New Zealand, which outlines the party's approach to the environment, is a first step but has a large measure of vague suggestions for further study.

"If John and Bill really are serious about our economic future, they must develop credible proposals for limiting climate change.

"The Greens remain open to cross-party cooperation on these vital issues," Ms Fitzsimons says.

ENDS

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