500,000-strong coalition releases election scorecards

A new coalition has launched election scorecards, assessing the ability of the major parties to respond to the social and environmental crises facing Aotearoa. Te Pāti Maori and the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand were the only parties to commit to almost all of the policy asks. The Labour Party supported some of the policies – while National and Act disagreed with most of the proposals. New Zealand First and TOP did not respond to requests for information.

The scorecards are created by a coalition of ActionStation, Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand, Auckland Action Against Poverty, Fairer Future, JustSpeak, 350 Aotearoa, Young Workers Resource Centre, Public Housing Futures and Renters United – together representing the voice of half a million people across Aotearoa.

350 Aotearoa campaigner Adam Currie says ‘‘We’ve made it easy for voters to see which political parties are committed to upholding Te Tiriti O Waitangi, ensuring everyone has a secure, healthy home, and cutting the emissions that are fuelling climate storms. With everything on the line this election, it’s crucial voters have this tool to assess which political parties will fight for a fairer, healthier society that works for all of us. After the election, we’ll be holding political parties to account for the pledges they’ve made.”

Renters United President Geordie Rogers says “In an election where so much is at stake for the communities we support everyone needs to understand what’s on the table and what the means for them. Our scorecards allow our half a million members across Aotearoa to make informed decisions when they head to the polls this year.”

Young Workers Resource Centre’s Communication Coordinator, Matariki Roche says “Elections bring with them tides of information that, while important to understand, are overwhelming to navigate. That’s why our organisations have come together to create these scorecards as an easy-to-read overview of policies within our respective kaupapa and each political party’s opinion on them. We hope these election aids can be a lighthouse for any voters struggling to navigate this election’s murky waters.” 

Brooke Fiafia Pao Stanley of Auckland Action Against Poverty says “This election is crucial in terms of the direction we’re going to take as a country. We don’t have time to continue colonial patterns, solutions and cycles that don’t work, and these cards make it easier to see which parties are about centring the needs of people and planet. This is what we must do if we’re going to respond to the big issues we’re all facing.”

The subject issues of the scorecards include upholding Te Tiriti O Waitangi, housing, workers rights, tax, justice, and economic fairness. The scorecards were created by reaching out to all parties polling above 1%, as of 8 July. Parties were given the oppurtunity to select ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to a policy proposal, and provide a relevant policy link. TOP and NZ First did not respond, and thus were not included in the scorecards.

ENDS

The scorecards can be accessed at electionscorecards.org.nz

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