Michael Tavares, the 34 year old who occupied a threatened West Auckland kauri tree in March 2015 has put his name forward to be a candidate for the Green Party in this year’s election in the Auckland electorate of Northcote. A long term campaigner on environmental and social issues, and a party member of over 5 years, Michael will head to the Green Party’s conference this weekend, where members begin the process of forming their party List for the general election.