The NSW Greens have launched their campaign for the state election in March, announcing candidates for the seats of Charlestown and Lake Macquarie at the weekend as volunteers began canvassing the suburbs.
The party selected UK expat Greg Watkinson to run for his home seat of Charlestown, while former teacher and one-time Shortland federal candidate Kim Grierson will contest Lake Macquarie. Both candidates are running on a climate platform, among other issues, saying Saturday that urgent action was needed to address the climate crisis.
Mr Watkinson, who described himself at the weekend as a "relatively new" Greens member and "relatively new Australian", moved to Australia from the UK in 2015 and became a citizen in 2019.
"Part of my journey into become an Australian citizen was I wanted to take things seriously and get active in what I thought was a meaningful change in politics," he said.
He said his candidacy was driven by the recent years of drought which culminated in the 2019 bushfire season and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.
"That was really my political awakening," he said at the announcement in Charlestown, "I realised we needed more systematic change instead of just personal change.
The Greens recorded a bumper election result at the last federal poll, collecting nearly 2.2 million votes for their candidates, picking up 12 per cent of the primary vote in the House of Representatives and 13.9 per cent in the Senate in an election story that largely spoke of voters drifting to the left at the polls.
The Greens made substantial ground in Newcastle as well, where Charlotte McCabe increased her share of the primary vote by five percentage points to 20 per cent.
Liberal Katrina Wark's primary vote dropped from 29 to 24 per cent, prompting Ms McCabe to declare the Greens were the "new opposition" in Newcastle.
The Greens also had small swings in the "coal" seat of Hunter and in Shortland.
"This election is an incredibly important one for the people of Charlestown and Lake Macquarie - and indeed for everyone in NSW," Ms Grierson said.
"I've always been a person who likes things to be fair. And the Greens' view on social justice, grassroots democracy, that all fits with my belief system."
Meanwhile, in Newcastle, party volunteers were canvassing the suburbs for state candidate, Newcastle councillor John Mackenzie, who has targeted his campaign at housing affordability, planning controls and energy transition in the region.
In recent weeks, Dr Mackenzie has slammed both major parties for ignoring Newcastle and going missing on key issues such as Stockton beach, the port container terminal and affordable housing.
Dr Mackenzie, who has been a City of Newcastle councillor for the past five years, said it was "no secret" the major parties "don't deliver for our city".
"Labor takes this seat for granted and the Liberal party don't take it seriously," he said. "They save their election commitments for their more marginal seats, and once again we see that Newcastle will miss out."
The Greens' policy platform includes $25 million to address erosion at Stockton and mandating 50 per cent affordable and social housing at the proposed Hunter Park redevelopment precinct at Broadmeadow.
