By Colin Ambler/cvnznews.com
The Green Party has used its 2026 State of the Planet address to argue that New Zealand must break its dependence on global fossil‑fuel markets and adopt a Government‑led National Electrification Plan. The speech comes as the party records its latest result in the 1News Verian Poll, a data point that continues to shape the political backdrop for its climate‑focused messaging.
Co‑leader Marama Davidson opened the address by linking the Middle East crisis to New Zealand’s vulnerability to global energy shocks. She said the conflict was “first and foremost a human catastrophe”, citing civilian deaths, destroyed livelihoods and breaches of international law. Davidson argued that long‑standing Green warnings about fossil‑fuel dependence and food sovereignty were no longer theoretical.
“Those were not abstract concerns. They are what families across this country are living through right now,” she said.
Co‑leader Chlöe Swarbrick used her section of the speech to outline the Greens’ proposed National Electrification Plan, which she described as the practical response to the fossil‑fuel crisis. The plan would electrify homes, transport and industry, reduce household power bills, and insulate New Zealand from volatile global fuel markets.
Swarbrick said the cost‑of‑living crisis, the fossil‑fuel crisis and the climate crisis were “the same problem”, driven by systems that “prioritise profit over people and planet”.
She argued that a resilient economy must be powered by “homegrown sun, wind, water and geothermal energy”, not supply chains that pass through geopolitical flashpoints such as the Strait of Hormuz.
The Greens reiterated their call for rooftop solar and battery support for homeowners, renters, marae, schools and farms, saying the Government should immediately back the Ratepayers’ Assistance Scheme promoted by groups including Rewiring Aotearoa. According to the party, the scheme could save the average household around $1000 a year on power bills.
Swarbrick also criticised the Government’s earlier rejection of public‑transport funding, saying a proposed $150 million network expansion was cheaper than “three quarters of just one of the subsidies the Luxon Government is instead dishing out to support fossil‑fuel dependence”.
The party wants the Government to commit to a full National Electrification Plan, including an industrial strategy to electrify freight and production.
“We need Government to put its hands back on the wheel of the economy, not leave the fate of our country to bets in boardrooms,” Swarbrick said.
Davidson closed the address by arguing that Government should “work for the people and the planet, not for the greed of corporations”, saying New Zealand could still “reverse the damage that has been done”.
