Category: Sustainable Settlement and Agriculture

In NSW there was a 2 percent swing to the Greens across the state, and our vote has increased in almost all NSW lower house seats.  Strong results include Grayndler, up almost 7 percent to 25.4 percent, and Sydney received 23.7 percent with a 2.7 percent swing.  In Wentworth, despite a 10.3 percent swing to Malcolm Turnbull the Greens vote increased to 17.8 percent.
In Western suburbs seats we experienced solid growth including an 8.6 percent swing in Werriwa.  The four northern Sydney seats of Warringah, Mackellar, North Sydney and Bradfield, along with Newcastle, Wollongong and Richmond are all sitting above 15 percent.   Most marginal and regional seats have held their ground, and the North Coast seats delivered a strong senate vote.  In the bell-weather seat of Eden-Monaro, in a tight race, we had a 1.3 percent swing to gain 9.2 percent.
I know it’s hard when you run a strong campaign and you don’t get the result you had hoped for.  Even if your vote is not as high as you expected please take satisfaction in the fact that all the votes you gained have helped to secure a NSW senate spot.  Lee reminded me how hard it is for some of our regional seats when she spoke about the tough crowd full of Nationals supporters she faced when debating Nationals Senator Fiona Nash in Gunnedah last week.
Whatever the result, we can all be proud that our combined efforts have created a huge buzz on the Greens campaign trail, and a real shift in understanding of the Greens’ policies.  Every campaign has excelled in promoting our message for action on climate change, refugee rights, equality and better public services both in their community and via the media and the internet.
It has been the biggest campaign the Greens have ever undertaken with thousands volunteering across the state.  We had campaign offices in many Sydney and regional seats, giving the Greens some great public exposure.  Our materials, our stalls, our media coverage and the record number of volunteers on polling booths has been a fantastic collective effort.
I would like to thank you for your participation in this campaign.  The issues we feel passionate about and our vision for a fairer, safer and more peaceful world have been conveyed to thousands of people.  Together we have laid a great foundation for the 2011 state election.
Sincerely,

Lesa de Leau
NSW Campaign Co-ordinator
 
end

Meanwhile the polling booth at Nimbin in the Richmond electorate recorded a Green
vote of 49%.

Sunday 22 August 2010

Milne says thank-you for record Tasmanian Green vote

In the biggest vote for a third party since the Second
World War, The Greens will return to federal parliament with eight and
possibly nine senators and the House of Representatives seat of
Melbourne, Australian Greens Deputy Leader Christine Milne said today.

“We have achieved balance of power in the Senate and
will use that power responsibly for good and progressive outcomes for
the people of Australia.

“Regardless of which party forms government, we will
work with them using the huge experience we have with balance of power
politics.

“We will also work with the Independents in the House of
Representatives to progress important initiatives for Australia
including a national gross feed in tariff and stronger biosecurity and
quarantine regimes.

“In Tasmania one in five people voted for the Greens in
the Senate delivering 20.2% of the vote, up on 18.7% in 2007.

“I am very grateful for the confidence that Tasmanians
have placed in me and the Greens team and humbled by the overwhelming
record show of support.

“Tasmanians know that the Greens are playing a leading
role in driving action on climate change and are excited about what we
offer for rural and regional communities whether it’s our vision of a
food security plan for Australia, renewable energy, or uses for the
National Broadband Network, or increased funding for dental and mental
health and public education.”

In the House of Representatives there was a swing to the
Greens in every electorate:
Bass 15.22%          +0.8% swing
Lyons 16.38%        +5.42%
Braddon 11.81% +3.68
Franklin 20.79%  +6.07%
Denison 18.96%  +0.37%

“Forty percent of people in Denison have voted for The
Greens or Andrew Wilkie in a history making shift away from the Labor
and Liberal parties and making this seat one of the most interesting
henceforth in State and federal politics.”

Media release – 21 August 2010
*
Major parties hog polling booths, compromising democracy
*
Greens Senate candidate for NSW Lee Rhiannon says polling booths across
Sydney are being dominated by the major parties’ election material, with
plastic wrap on school fences and corflutes slathering booths and denying
smaller parties and independent candidates an even playing field.

“It’s undemocratic for the major parties to use their election war chest to
dominate booths with expensive advertising material. All candidates should
be able to share the school fence on voting day,” Ms Rhiannon said.

“There are no restrictions at a Federal election governing the size of
banners and posters that can grace polling booths, unlike during State
elections where electoral laws restrict banner and posters to 8,000 square
cms.

“What we see today is Labor and the Coaliton drowning booths with plastic
wrap and hundreds of corflutes, disadvantaging independent and minor party
candidates and creating tension on the booths as campaign volunteers vie for
space.

“In Grayndler in Sydney’s Inner West Anthony Albanese has trucks, vans,
gazebos and booths crowded with material, with some telegraph poles groaning
under 10 Labor corflutes. In past elections Mr Albanese has hired cherry
pickers to decorate Marrickville Town Hall.

“Similar scenes can be witnessed across Sydney and as far a field as
Katoomba and Coffs Harbour.

“Liberal Malcolm Turnbull in Wentworth has printed his posters on a green
background, rejecting Liberal colours and smothering all the booths.

“In Bennelong the Liberals are out in force, dressed in green shirts with
‘Green Army’ on the front.

“They are handing out flyers with a picture of Bob Brown noting he doesn’t
like preference deals. On the back they contrast the ALP and Liberal’s
record on the environment, putting the Liberals on top.

“In Cowper on the mid-North coast there are at least 20 cars towing boats,
which are covered in signs warning against voting for the Greens and Labor”,
said Ms Rhiannon.

*Contact: Lee Rhiannon  0432 332 104*

—– Original Message —–
From: “Redman, Chris (Sen R. Siewert)” <Chris.Redman@aph.gov.au>
To: <media@greensmps.org.au>
Sent: Friday, August 20, 2010 12:11 PM
Subject: [GreensMPs_Media] Greens welcome call for a ten year poverty plan

> Friday 20 August, 2010
>
> Greens welcome call for a ten year poverty plan
>
> The Australian Greens today welcomed a call by the major church
> providers for the next government of Australia to work with community
> services to develop a 10 year plan to tackle poverty.
>
> “There is a pressing need for a long-term and comprehensive approach to
> reducing disadvantage in the Australian community,” said Greens social
> inclusion spokesperson Senator Rachel Siewert today.
>
> “The Greens welcome this initiative and are keen to work with welfare
> groups and whichever party forms government to make this vision a
> reality.
>
> “As advocates with the best interests of disadvantaged Australian
> families at heart, we need to step out of the short-term political
> cycle, put adversarial politics aside, and work together to deliver a
> fairer and more inclusive Australia.
>
> “Housing affordability and homelessness, early intervention services for
> mental illness, a fairer and simpler social safety net, access to basic
> dental care, and more support for the rights of Indigenous Australians
> to equal access to health, education and economic development
> opportunities – have always been priorities for The Greens,” said
> Senator Siewert.
>
> “Disadvantage and social exclusion lie at the heart of many of our
> societal ills – including poorer education, job, chronic health and
> mental health prospects.
>
> “The Greens believe a fairer society means a society that is more
> dynamic and prosperous. Lets all work together to make it happen,”
> concluded Senator Siewert.
>
> The major church providers are: Uniting Care, Catholic Social Services,
> Anglicare and The Salvation Army
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> GreensMPs Media mailing list
> Media@greensmps.org.au

The party is benefitting from uncertainty on the left and denial on the right towards climate change. The former prime minister Kevin Rudd lost the faith of the Australian public after calling climate change ”the greatest moral challenge of our times” but then shelving legislation on a carbon tax. His successor, Julia Gillard, seeking her own mandate in Saturday’s election, has been criticised for offering little more than a citizens’ assembly on the issue.

Tony Abbott, the conservative opposition leader, is a climate change sceptic. He was thrust into the leadership of his Liberal party when former leader Malcolm Turnbull fell on his sword over the emissions trading scheme.

The leader of the Greens, Bob Brown, says his party’s central message is action on climate change.

“There’s enormous frustration and disappointment with both the bigger parties at their infighting and their failure to lay out a vision for Australia,” he said. “If you don’t [vote Green] you’re voting for a do-nothing lot of big party politicians who simply don’t have the gumption to take reasonable action on climate change.”

The other reason for increasing interest in the Greens is that it has positioned itself as the party of social action, calling for legalisation of same-sex marriage (both major parties oppose this) and for more compassionate treatment of asylum seekers. The Greens’ rise in popularity has come predominantly at the expense of Gillard’s Labor party.

“I think what we’re seeing is an element of Labor’s constituency who are impatient with the very prosaic and pragmatic approach that it’s taking and they’re decamping to a third party,” said Dr Nick Economou, a lecturer in politics at Melbourne’s Monash University.

In the inner city seat of Melbourne the Greens hope to translate such support into its first seat in the lower house. Labor’s finance minister, Lindsay Tanner, is standing down as an MP, which gives the Greens a better chance of victory. The Greens candidate for Melbourne, Adam Bandt, said the result would be close.

“A lot has been forgotten, like the need to take urgent action on climate change. If seats start changing hands on the basis of values like compassion, sustainability and equality it’s really going to put those values into the national debate in a way that they’re currently absent,” he said.

National opinion polls have repeatedly shown a majority of Australians want action on climate change.

Rudd shelved his legislation on a carbon tax in April after it was rejected three times in the senate, including by the Greens which said it did not go far enough.

Gillard said this week there won’t be a carbon tax under her leadership. Instead, she wants to invest in renewable energies and create a “citizens’ assembly” of 150 ordinary Australians to forge community consensus on climate change.

Abbott said there will never be a price on carbon if he wins office. Instead, he has promised a 15,000-strong “green army” of 18- to 25-year-olds who would earn £170 a week helping community and church groups with environmental projects.

If the Greens gain the balance of power in the senate on Saturday it means the party can block legislation. Whichever party wins overall, it will have to negotiate with them.

According to social researcher Hugh Mackay, this is a reflection of how society has changed: “What’s happened is that the world has caught up with the Greens. Suddenly their message is resonating with voters on a very large scale, whereas previously it was the eccentric fringe.”