Rediscovering their principles

Back at the beginning of this government, the Greens made a foolish decision to support the Electoral Integrity Act - demanded by Winston Peters to keep his own backbench in line as part of his coalition deal with Labour - as an act of good faith within the coalition. It compromised their principles and pissed off a lot of their supporters (including me), and in exchange they got nothing. Having depended on their good faith to get his protection racket through, Winston then merrily shat on and thwarted the Greens' agenda for the rest of the term.

So last night, when the Electoral (Integrity Repeal) Amendment Bill, it was time for a bit of utu. The Greens happily voted for it to go to select committee, leaving it for the next Parliament (hopefully without Winston) to decide. And Winston predictably hit the roof:

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has called the Green Party “unstable and untrustworthy” after the party banded together with National to start an attempted repeal of the waka jumping law.

Well, maybe if he'd responded to their act of good faith in kind, and treated his partners with some respect, rather than publicly shitting on them at every opportunity, they'd have gritted their teeth and voted differently? But bluntly, this government is over - it has four sitting days left to run. And in the unlikely event that NZ First is back in Parliament next term and in a coalition relationship with the Greens, it is very clearly going to be a different one.