Waiheke environmental campaigner Michael Tavares is putting himself forward to become a Green Party MP.
In March 2015, Mr Tavares spent 80 hours occupying a kauri tree in Titirangi that was marked for felling, only coming down once the landowners agreed to save the tree.
The 34-year-old has campaigned on environmental and social issues for many years and was part of a protest in Tasmania, Australia, that led to 148,000 hectares of native forest being converted from logging land to a World Heritage National Park.
Waiheke resident and Green List MP Denise Roche has been selected as the candidate for Auckland Central for the general elections to be held on 23 September, so Mr Tavares is standing for selection as Green candidate in Northcote electorate and as a List MP.
He hopes the Greens and Labour can work together to “get homes built, to start to deal with the state of our unswimmable rivers and lakes, to make sure no child goes hungry in this land of plenty, and to start to address climate change in a meaningful way.”
Little Oneroa resident Kennedy Graham will also stand for his fourth term as a Green List MP and plans to stand in an electorate, though this has yet to be decided on.
Labour has chosen employment law barrister Helen White from Freeman’s Bay as its candidate for Auckland Central and National MP for Auckland Central, Nikki Kaye, will stand for re-election in Auckland Central.
• Rose Davis
