Nau mai haere mai - welcome to your latest newsletter.

With less than three weeks to go to the elections, neither of New Zealand’s major parties fared well in the latest Newshub-Reid Research poll this week. But at 14.2%, the Green Party had its highest share yet this term.

The gain seems to have come from voters increasingly frustrated by Labour’s centrist shift, which has created a growing void on the left.

As political scientist Priya Kurian writes, the Greens’ polling also reflects the party’s strong campaign and progressive policy in the areas of its charter’s principles of ecological wisdom, social responsibility, appropriate decision making and non-violence.

But despite the ambition, implementation has fallen short, Kurian argues, partly because the Greens continues to battle internal tensions between idealism and pragmatism.

“The party’s policies appear too radical for some members, and not radical enough for those who want to see fewer compromises on issues such as climate action and social justice,” she writes.

But whatever the outcome on election night, Kurian expects the Greens to continue shaping public debate on unchecked economic growth – the default position of the major parties – and its resulting environmental degradation and social inequality.

As always, you’ll find much more to read in this newsletter and on our homepage, including an update on Antarctica’s dramatic changes in sea-ice conditions. Many thanks for your ongoing support - until next week, mā te wā.