Moema da Silva, Maria Batista, Egnei Batista and Vinicius Marim

Green Party announce Nelson candidate

Jonty Dine

Reporter jonty@nelsonweekly.co.nz

Nelson has a new man at the helm of the Green Party. Dr Aaron Stallard was announced earlier this month as the Nelson candidate for the upcoming general election. Aaron is a geologist, father, and business owner who says he is passionate about both community development and the natural environment. He was finally persuaded to enter politics when he saw the alarming rate at which global warming was affecting the natural environment. Aaron says it is an exciting opportunity. “The Greens have a vision of an equitable society in which we treasure and protect the environment and I can’t wait to be the voice for nature and social justice in the Nelson campaign.” He says our reliance on fossil fuels, coupled with social inequality, represents a barrier to addressing the key issues of climate change and a successful transition to a lowcarbon society. “Covid-19 has highlighted the necessity of community resilience. Successive governments’ inaction and their sole focus on economic growth have come at the cost of our housing, social safety net, and environment.” But Aaron says we need to go further and faster. “We pledge to make sure our grandkids inherit a thriving, beautiful, natural environment.” Aaron is the founder of Stallard Scientific Editing, an onlinebased scientific editing company that provides editing services for

Nelson’s new candidate for the Green Party is Dr Aaron Stallard. Photo: Jonty Dine.

researchers worldwide. He gives public talks on climate change and recently launched climatechangenz.nz, a website designed to explain the realities of climate change in the New Zealand context. Aaron grew up in Nelson and attended Nelson Central School, Nelson Intermediate and Nayland College, and was a Nelson hockey representative during his school years. He completed his Master’s in Earth Science at the University of Canterbury followed by a PhD (Earth Science) at James Cook University, Australia. Subsequent research posts included a 2-year Postdoctoral Fellowship at Shizuoka University, Japan, and a four-year Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Canterbury. Aaron says he is excited to start the campaign and help improve the city he loves.

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