The Progressive Green Party was an

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

political party in New Zealand in the 1990s. It was a "

blue-green Blue-green is the color that is between green and blue. It belongs to the cyan family of colors. Variations Cyan (aqua) Cyan, also called aqua, is the blue-green color that is between blue and green on a modern RGB color wheel. The ...

" party – that is, one that is economically

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

("blue"), rather than

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

("red"), as well as environmentalist ("green").

History

The Party was established on 9 August 1995 as a splinter group of the larger

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

. The founders of the Progressive Greens were unhappy at the direction taken by the Green Party, which they believed was too left-wing. The Progressive Greens particularly opposed the Green Party's membership in the

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

, a broad left-wing coalition. The party was led by environmental businessman Rob Fenwick (Living Earth Ltd) and included prominent environmentalists including Stephen Rainbow (a former Wellington city councillor),

Guy Salmon Guy Winston Salmon (born 1949) is a New Zealand environmentalist. Salmon was born in 1949; his father was John Salmon. He is executive director of the Ecologic Foundation, an independent policy think tank. He has been involved with this organi ...

(head of the

Maruia Society The Ecologic Foundation is an environmental organisation in New Zealand. The Society had its origins in the Beech Forest Action Committee and the Native Forest Action Council (NFAC). In 1989 the NFAC changed its name to the ''Maruia Society'': "M ...

, forerunner to today's

Ecologic Foundation The Ecologic Foundation is an environmental organisation in New Zealand. The Society had its origins in the Beech Forest Action Committee and the Native Forest Action Council (NFAC). In 1989 the NFAC changed its name to the ''Maruia Society'': "Ma ...

), and Gary Taylor (a former

Waitemata city Waitemata City was a New Zealand city in the greater Auckland area. It was formed in 1974 from the western part of the old Waitemata County, with both the County and City taking their names from Waitemata Harbour. In 1989, when New Zealand local ...

councillor). In the 1996 election, conducted under the new MMP system, the Progressive Green Party won 0.26% of the vote, considerably below what they had hoped for, and had no members elected to Parliament. The Party did not contest any further elections, and eventually disbanded. In December 1998 the Progressive Greens were de-registered by the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

. Many of the party's members are now associated with the Bluegreens, an environmental "task force" within the National Party – Fenwick was the first convener of the Bluegreens and went on to co-found the NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development. Stephen Rainbow and Guy Salmon stood as list candidates for the National Party in the 1999 election and 2002 election, respectively, but were not elected. Gary Taylor re-established and led the Environmental Defence Society.

References

External links

Bluegreens
often seen as the Progressive Green Party's successor {{Human impact on the environment , state=collapsed Green liberalism Progressive Greens Political parties established in 1995 Defunct political parties in New Zealand Defunct green political parties

History

See also

References

External links