Scott Summerfield profile in Mercury Bay Informer

The Mercury Bay Informer has recently run a profile on me as part of their 11 April issue (page 31 of the link below). I caught up with the editor, Stephan Bosman, on my way to a public meeting in Kuaotunu hosted by the Kuaotunu Anti-Mining Action Group (KAMAG). I'm looking forward to speaking with more people in the Mercury Bay area about the challenges facing them and what a response from a Green government would look like. If you are in Mercury Bay and want to get in touch about a local issue, please drop me a line.

Here's the article…

With Green Party list MP and Coromandel resident, Catherine Delahunty retiring from Parliament this year, the Greens has preselected Scott Summerfield as their candidate for the Coromandel electorate in the general election that will be held on Saturday 23 September.

So far only Summerfield and Scott Simpson, National Party MP for the Coromandel, have their hats in the ring to contest the Coromandel seat.

We’ve spoken to Summerfield, as we intend to speak to all the candidates declaring their candidacy for the Coromandel electorate, about his background and what he would like to achieve in politics.

Twenty six-year-old Summerfield grew up in Ashburton in South Canterbury. “When I grew up, in Ashburton you really only supported the National Party or the Labour Party,” he told us. “I developed a sense of social justice early on in my life and joined the Labour Party as soon as I could vote in 2008.”

After finishing school, Summerfield embarked on a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations, Politics and European Studies at Victoria University in Wellington. That was later followed with a Master’s degree in Maori Studies.

It was on the Victoria University campus that Summerfield became exposed to the Green Party’s ideas. “I formally joined the Green Party in 2012,” he said.

Upon completion of his studies, Summerfield worked for the Australian High Commission in Wellington as an analyst. From there he moved on to the Office of Treaty Settlements, where he worked on the Hauraki Collective settlement that is at the moment being negotiated between the Crown and a number of iwi.

“I didn’t know much about the Coromandel until I started working at the Office of Treaty Settlements,” said Summerfield. “That, of course, didn’t take long to change.”

At the end of 2014, a position became available at Thames Coromandel District Council’s head office in Thames, for which Summerfield successfully applied. He’s at the moment TCDC’s Strategic Planning Team Leader.

Summerfield got married at Otama Beach in March 2015. His husband is the general manager of a digital media company in Thames. The couple live on the Thames Coast. Summerfield will part-time be employed by TCDC during August and September this year. “That will be the really busy time in the lead up to the election,” he said.

The Green Party released their initial party list on 2 April, with Summerfield occupying position number 38. “If I don’t get elected to Parliament, it will be the first time since 1996 that the Coromandel won’t have a resident who’s a member of the Greens in Parliament,” he said. “All the more reason for me to campaign exceptionally hard for the party vote.”

Issues high up on Summerfield’s list of priorities are housing availability and affordability, clean rivers, climate change and arresting regional decline. “I will, of course, keep a close eye on mining developments, especially on the Coromandel, as well,” he said.

Summerfield is actively involved in the Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand and his work with the organisation will continue, irrespective if he’s elected to Parliament or not.

Summerfield said he will most certainly celebrate with friends and family if he’s elected as an MP and his initial thinking is that Luke’s Kitchen Restaurant in Kuaotunu will be the perfect venue for such a celebration.

Mercury Bay Informer

Read the profile in the Informer (page 31)