Malachai O’Hara used his first Green Party Northern Ireland conference speech as leader today to blame the stop-start nature of Stormont for “poisoning” politics.
His voiced joined a raft of others who have urged the DUP to “return to Stormont immediately” to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland “during the cost of greed crisis”.
But he also called for an end to deals behinds closed doors and reform of the political system, to ensure everyone’s voice is heard.
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GPNI suffered a harrowing defeat when they lost both their MLAs in last year’s Assembly elections despite major legislative successes that helped usher in the Climate Act, secure Safe Access Zones outside reproductive health services and also safe leave for domestic violence victims.
Clare Bailey subsequently resigned as party leader but Rachel Woods threw her hat back in the political ring, returning to Ards and North Down Borough Council as a councillor.
And the resounding message to party members at the Clayton Hotel in Belfast yesterday was “we’re still in it”.
Mal told his colleagues: “I am delighted to tell you that we will be standing more candidates than we have ever stood before” - in the upcoming council elections.
Malachi described GPNI’s loss at last year’s assembly elections as a “bitter blow” considering “our fantastic delivery at Stormont”.
He added: “The inclusivity and spirit of bringing as many voices to the table as possible seems to instead be turning into a three party system. A system that was not designed to work in that way.
“We are all deeply frustrated by the nature of stop-start politics here.
“We are frustrated that once again we are without a local executive. This time at the tail end of a pandemic, facing a cost of greed crisis and public services at breaking point.
“But what will the solution be from the five executive parties?
“The rinse and repeat process that they always do. A behind closed doors deal. A snazzy document giving sweeties to everybody which puts of the difficult decisions, long fingers reform and promises everything will be different. And inevitably collapse.
“When I heard the name ‘Stormont Brake’ it feel like foreshadowing for the next crisis.”
Outlining a raft of deals that failed to deliver stability in the 24 years since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, he added: “We had promises that the dark days were behind us and that people would come together. We would have peace and prosperity.
“Instead it feels like we had the absence of war and a political rather than a peace process. The promise of prosperity has never come. “The areas that were the most deprived in 1998 remain the most deprived today.
“We are still largely segregated by where we live and where we go to school. Yet most people are moving beyond the old traditional boundaries.
“It is our political system that needs to catch up with the reality on the ground.”
O’Hara says his party wants to get back the Good Friday Agreement in the spirit of “inclusivity” with which it was designed, bring loyalists who feel they have no voice “back to the table” and “strengthen North-South relationships” on issues like climate, biodiversity and pollution.
“Our message of a Greener, Cleaner, Fairer Northern Ireland is resonating,” he added. “We are the party of the environment... we have always been right on this issue.
“It is good that others are finally catching on and beginning to pay due attention to this defining issue of our time, yet we must be wary of greenwashing.
“We must be constructively critical and hold others feet to the fire. We must help them along this journey and bring as many people with us as possible.”
He admitted environmental issues are sometimes “seen as middle-class do gooder indulgence”.
But he said the party must “upend that narrative” while highlighting the benefits of a just transition away from harmful fossil fuels to families hit by “the cost of greed crisis”.
He called for:
- Investment in community owned energy as “the cheapest bill is the one that you don’t have to pay”
- A mass retrofitting programme to future proof homes, drive down bills and create new jobs
- Biodiversity restoration and “shifting the dial on farm subsidies so rural communities become the custodians of the countryside
- A Clean Air strategy to address “toxic air” killing hundreds every year
- Action on water pollution and sewage systems
- Cleaner towns, communities and cities
- Delivery of the basics like bin collections
“This is our comeback,” added Mal.
“A comeback against greed, self interest, boycott and stagnation. Let’s get out there and create a Greener, Cleaner, Fairer Northern Ireland.”
Party Secretary and councillor, Rachel Woods described GPNI as a “big green family” that’s “part of a global network”.
“We are all in it for the right reason which is really kind of comforting for me as well.”
Green Party Ireland leader Eamon Ryan did not attend the conference at Belfast's Clayton Hotel as planned.
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