Ian McLean Green candidate for Tauranga

Every election, there is much talk about jobs. After the election, the talk and promises seem to fade away. Well, I give the politicians the benefit of the doubt – I have no doubt both that they mean to deliver and that they do try. After all, what better way to ensure re-election than to succeed on job creation.

But somehow, economic realities always get in the way.

The Green Party has identified a new approach to the problem of job creation. It talks of ‘Green jobs'. In general terms, these are jobs that re-direct our spending away from consumerism and resource exploitation and towards investment in conservation and resilience.

Specifically, for the next few years, the Greens propose that we invest in renewable energy. The benefits go far beyond job creation, as they also address issues such as global warming, protecting our ‘clean and green' brand and keeping our environment healthy.

Here is the rub. If we simply re-direct spending, then job losses could match job gains, resulting in a neutral job balance sheet. This point frequently comes up when Green policy is under attack.

Many older buildings in New Zealand are poorly insulated, use water wastefully and ignore the sun. Retrofitting these houses to make them more energy and water efficient is a growth industry. Why? Because we end up spending less on direct costs such as power bills and water rates. Just as important: We also use fewer resources and we get sick less.

Even better – retrofitting technology can be exported. If we design a roof that doubles as a solar heat collector for water and is strong and light, then we have a great export product to send to earthquake-prone countries. Kiwi-designed roofs are already being exported because they are light. Incorporate solar water heating and you have a very desirable international product.

Powersmart Solar is a Tauranga company that builds solar systems to power houses and communities. It is exporting to Australia and the Pacific Islands and it employs local people. Those are entirely new jobs that have not been lost anywhere else.

We have some very successful energy companies, currently in government ownership and the Greens want to keep it that way. They represent a great platform on which to build the twin objectives of energy conservation locally and export products internationally.

Let's aim to move them away from mining coal and damming rivers. Let's move them towards sustainable use of the geothermal, wind, solar and even tidal resources that we have in abundance.

And let's get our own house in order, by retrofitting our old and inefficient buildings, ensuring that our new builds are even better than the weak standards in the current building code and defending our clean and green brand. There are lots of jobs right there and they are genuinely new jobs.

Reducing your personal expenditure on energy and water frees up money to use elsewhere, perhaps to reduce your mortgage more quickly or to go towards retirement savings. If your local council has to supply less water, that is a win-win situation for all concerned, including the environment.

Right now, the world is spending $600 billion annually on clean-tech energy. That is a truly green resource and we can and should be at the front of the queue sharing in it. To tap into it, our energy companies need better investment in technology development. We also have many small companies who may need a bit of support to get them exporting.

The Greens aim to deliver that investment and that support.

To find out more visit http://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/green_jobs_initiative_one-pager.pdf or phone Ian 021 547556 or 07 5794670 or email ian.mclean@greens.org.nz