I HATE waste. And I have been increasingly frustrated by the waste I have seen at Stormont, from wasted finances to the wasted opportunities to improve your lives.
The Green Party is committed to tackling the waste at Stormont and bringing a focus to delivery at the assembly.
But before I tell you what we will do, I will highlight what we have already done.
We introduced the Children's Bill which will tackle the waste of departments working in silos, by requiring them to work together. Less money on bureaucracy, more money for children and families.
When I proposed a motion for marriage equality in October 2012 it was the first ever assembly debate on LGBT rights. While others were on a journey, the Green Party led the way.
We also continue to lead the way on transparency. By publishing all our donations over £500, you can see how the Green Party is funded. No other party has managed to do this despite the promises of some when they supported a proposal by Green Party councillor, Ross Brown, in Belfast City Council.
This is on top of our environmental protection work for which we are well known, such as resisting fracking, uncovering unauthorised sand dredging and exposing the cost of illegal dumping.
If we can achieve all this with one MLA, what could we do with more?
One example of the waste of the last executive was its failure to implement the Green New Deal home energy efficiency scheme.
Almost half of the population of Northern Ireland lives in fuel poverty; people die each winter as a result.
Money that had been set aside for the Green New Deal was instead transferred to the boiler replacement scheme. Putting an efficient boiler into a leaky house is like trying to heat the sky. The Green New Deal has the potential to create 15,000 jobs, improve people's health and reduce carbon emissions. The Green Party will make it a priority.
We cannot afford to keep wasting the limited resources we have.
Vote Green Party on Thursday May 5, for zero waste.
