I can’t help it, this will be a slightly irreverent look at our policy launch photo-shoot on Sunday.
I’ve held off to let Frogblog have the shine of ‘firsting’ the issue, and of course, posting the official pix.
As you might have noticed from the shot of Jeanette shown, it was grey skies, windy, and everyone was well rugged-up.
Gareth Hughes and his team had done a great job begging people to come down on a Sunday afternoon, and he’d found help from the WCC Events team (p.a. & sound engineer), Living Streets Aotearoa (fetching dayglo orange vests, for marshalls to wear), and of course, Go Wellington buses, for a nice big new yellow bus, and the accompanying very patient bus driver, who mostly stood around for a couple of hours while the crowd was marshalled, photographed, re-marshalled and re-photographed. There was also the use of a balcony on the 3rd floor of the NZX building, for the photographers to get the panoramic shots of the 7 X 7 grid of cars parked next to the bus.
There were greenies from all over, due to some out-of-towners gathering for important exec meetings; and a stray Melbournite of my acquaintance, whom I was very pleased to nearly stand on, thus shrieking and leaping to hug her!
There was much networking of those who campaign on various issues going on in the corners, so I’m sure it will go down in memory as one of the social events of the campaign trail. All-in-all, a great way to produce PR, with committed ‘extras’ who weren’t about to complain about any of the delays, or other wee situations, that ensued.
I jumped on my bike for the cyclists shot, which I then failed to take any pix of, so once more I’m keeping my face off the blog 😉
Jeanette soldiered on in the face of (by then) heavy wind gusts, and her worsening sore throat, to be supported by Russ as it appeared that wind, speech notes, a glass of water, and then trying to use her hankie, all got a bit much. The details of the policy (see frog’s post!) were well-received by the crowd, especially the ‘cheap fares for children, students, beneficiaries and the elderly’ policy.
A bus-worth of car drivers carrying banners!
Jeanette with co-leader support to launch transport policy
A few green cyclists, after the organised bit was over.
g.blog 
Best to keep you photo off the web anyway anarkaytie, otherwise Trevor Loudon will write about you 😉
Only if he attributes someone else’s prose to me!
So far, hasn’t actually quoted any of my own work on his blog, and he does appear to be mightily confused about my identity!!! 😀
Which has built into the other amusing confusions published 😉
Maybe the launch should have been in Christchurch where the sun always shines on Sunday’s and where almost every green transport initiative of the last 20 years has been piloted.. Or in Ashburton where so many of our modern smiley buses are made.
The only minor drwback is the evidence of what happens when less than half the petrol tax is spent on roads. Not that the Greens can be blamed for that. Every decade Canterbury has lost a third of it’s roading revenue to help less wealthy Mainland regions, which is acceptable egalitarian practice. But in recent years a further one-fifth of Canterbury’s roading revenue has been diverted to the financial capital and the political capital, making Christchurch the pothole capital.