Bandt slams NSW ploy to distance Labor from Greens
“Labor’s numbers men … are shooting themselves in the foot” says Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
THE deputy leader of the Greens has hit back at ”Labor factional heavies”, accusing them of working harder to ensure a Coalition victory than supporting the minority government.
”Labor’s numbers men are in a desperate downward spiral and when they’re not undermining their Prime Minister they’re shooting themselves in the foot,” Adam Bandt told The Sun-Herald.
He was responding to comments by the NSW secretary of the Labor Party, Sam Dastyari, who said Labor should consider putting the Greens last on its preference flows, as it did with One Nation.
”Labor’s factional heavies are so worried about being seen to work with the Greens and implement our better plan that they’re prepared to help Tony Abbott’s cause by prolonging the parliamentary deadlock [in relation to asylum seekers],” Mr Bandt said. ”These Labor numbers men are destabilising this minority Parliament, undermining their leader and moving Tony Abbott one step closer to The Lodge.”
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Mr Dastyari will move a motion at next weekend’s NSW party conference calling on Labor to ”no longer provide the Greens party automatic preferential treatment in any future preference negotiations”.
The decision by Mr Dastyari – without the prior knowledge of the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard – to try and distance Labor from the Greens comes at a difficult time in the relationship of the two parties. Labor has a minority government because of the support it has from the Greens and other independent MPs.
On the one hand Labor is trying to keep its more progressive supporters from turning to the Greens while on the other it is wary of being painted by the Coalition of being beholden to the Greens.
The federal Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, said the push to end the traditional preference arrangement showed ”the faceless men were ultimately calling the shots”.
Bandt slams NSW ploy to distance Labor from Greens
“Labor’s numbers men … are shooting themselves in the foot” says Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
THE deputy leader of the Greens has hit back at ”Labor factional heavies”, accusing them of working harder to ensure a Coalition victory than supporting the minority government.
”Labor’s numbers men are in a desperate downward spiral and when they’re not undermining their Prime Minister they’re shooting themselves in the foot,” Adam Bandt told The Sun-Herald.
He was responding to comments by the NSW secretary of the Labor Party, Sam Dastyari, who said Labor should consider putting the Greens last on its preference flows, as it did with One Nation.
”Labor’s factional heavies are so worried about being seen to work with the Greens and implement our better plan that they’re prepared to help Tony Abbott’s cause by prolonging the parliamentary deadlock [in relation to asylum seekers],” Mr Bandt said. ”These Labor numbers men are destabilising this minority Parliament, undermining their leader and moving Tony Abbott one step closer to The Lodge.”
Mr Dastyari will move a motion at next weekend’s NSW party conference calling on Labor to ”no longer provide the Greens party automatic preferential treatment in any future preference negotiations”.
The decision by Mr Dastyari – without the prior knowledge of the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard – to try and distance Labor from the Greens comes at a difficult time in the relationship of the two parties. Labor has a minority government because of the support it has from the Greens and other independent MPs.
On the one hand Labor is trying to keep its more progressive supporters from turning to the Greens while on the other it is wary of being painted by the Coalition of being beholden to the Greens.
The federal Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, said the push to end the traditional preference arrangement showed ”the faceless men were ultimately calling the shots”.
“Labor’s numbers men … are shooting themselves in the foot” says Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
THE deputy leader of the Greens has hit back at ”Labor factional heavies”, accusing them of working harder to ensure a Coalition victory than supporting the minority government.
”Labor’s numbers men are in a desperate downward spiral and when they’re not undermining their Prime Minister they’re shooting themselves in the foot,” Adam Bandt told The Sun-Herald.
He was responding to comments by the NSW secretary of the Labor Party, Sam Dastyari, who said Labor should consider putting the Greens last on its preference flows, as it did with One Nation.
”Labor’s factional heavies are so worried about being seen to work with the Greens and implement our better plan that they’re prepared to help Tony Abbott’s cause by prolonging the parliamentary deadlock [in relation to asylum seekers],” Mr Bandt said. ”These Labor numbers men are destabilising this minority Parliament, undermining their leader and moving Tony Abbott one step closer to The Lodge.”
Mr Dastyari will move a motion at next weekend’s NSW party conference calling on Labor to ”no longer provide the Greens party automatic preferential treatment in any future preference negotiations”.
The decision by Mr Dastyari – without the prior knowledge of the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard – to try and distance Labor from the Greens comes at a difficult time in the relationship of the two parties. Labor has a minority government because of the support it has from the Greens and other independent MPs.
On the one hand Labor is trying to keep its more progressive supporters from turning to the Greens while on the other it is wary of being painted by the Coalition of being beholden to the Greens.
The federal Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, said the push to end the traditional preference arrangement showed ”the faceless men were ultimately calling the shots”.