The Green Party MP and co-leader, retired from Parliament today. She has been in Parliament for 13 years.

She was elected as a list MP for the Alliance Party in the first MMP Parliament in 1996. At that time, the Greens were part of the Alliance Party. Then in 1999, she won the seat of Coromandel for the Green Party. Now the Green Party has nine MPs.

She has been the Green Party expert on Energy, Science, Transport, Agriculture, Climate Change and Economics. The Green Party is against nuclear energy and GM food. The party supports more cycle ways and public transport.

Once in a TV poll, people voted her as the politician that they trusted the most. She has never been rude or unpleasant in Parliament. She said that a lot of time is wasted in Parliament with unimportant matters like where Bill English should park his car instead of worrying about what the world will do when oil for his car runs out. She thinks the most important thing she has done in Parliament was the home insulation scheme, helping people to pay for insulation to make their homes warmer.

Listen to February 25th 2009 to hear about Jeanette Fitzsimons as co-leader.

To find out more about MMP, listen to September 8th 2009

Questions to Think About

The Green Party has only nine MPs. Do the main political parties listen to the Green Party?

MMP gave the Greens a chance to be in Parliament. Do you think MMP is a good system?