Australian Greens
Categories: Green political parties | Political parties in Australia
| Australian Greens | |
|---|---|
| Image:Australiangreenslogo.gif | |
| Leader | No official leader1 |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Headquarters | GPO Box 1108 CANBERRA GPO ACT 2601 |
| Political Ideology | green politics |
| International Affiliation | Global Greens Asia-Pacific Green Network |
| Website | Australian Greens |
| See also | Politics of Australia |
The Australian Greens is the national Greens party in Australia. It was formed as a coalition of the various state Greens parties, although the Greens (Western Australia) preserved a separate identity for some time. At the federal level there are four Greens in the Australian Senate (Senators Bob Brown, Kerry Nettle, Christine Milne and Rachel Siewert). There was one MP in the Australian House of Representatives (Michael Organ), who was elected at a by-election in 2002, but he lost his seat at the 2004 elections. The Australian Greens do not have a formal leadership, but Senator Brown of Tasmania is treated in the media as the party's leader.
Currently there are Green members in the parliaments of Tasmania (4), New South Wales (3), Western Australia (2), the Australian Capital Territory (1) and South Australia (1). The Greens have gained some support since 2001 at the expense of the Australian Democrats and to some extent the Australian Labor Party.
On 23 October 2003 Brown and Nettle were suspended from the Parliament for 24 hours when they both separately interjected during an address by the visiting President of the United States, George W. Bush.
Although the Greens see themselves as representing a "new politics" which is distinct from the traditional categories of "left" and "right", they are seen by many Australians as a "left-wing" party, and have become the party which attracts most of the left-wing vote. At the 2001 federal election, many left-wing supporters of the Australian Labor Party, including many party members, voted for the Greens as a protest against their own party's policies on asylum seekers.
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Political ideology
Because the party has been most vocal on environmental issues, it is often seen as a 'single issue' or 'special interest' party. However, its electoral successes have led to the formulation of a wider policy platform, especially with regards to economics, healthcare and social justice. Many of these policies are perceived to be radical and controversial, including support for euthanasia and harm minimisation drug programs. Such policies have attracted fierce criticism from many conservative groups, particularly the Family First Party. The Greens' adversary Fred Nile has referred to them as a "watermelon party - green on the outside, red and pink on the inside".[1].
The Australian Greens have much political common ground with the Australian Democrats, particularly on environmental and social issues, a fact that has led to occasional suggestions of a merger between the two parties. However, the two parties differ more often on economic issues (e.g. the GST, which was introduced with Democrat support) and on their willingness to compromise with the major parties; in general, the Democrats have attempted to work with and moderate the government of the day, while the Greens are less willing to make such deals[2]. These differences have led to a rivalry between the two parties.
In the 2004 election, the Democrats directed their preferences to a number of groups including the Veterans Party, the Progressive Alliance, and the Christian-influenced conservative party Family First, above the Greens, even though most Democrats abhorred many of Family First's policies. While this was interpreted by some as an act of hostility towards a rival threatening their political niche, it is not unusual in Australian politics for small parties that might otherwise have little in common to make mutually advantageous preference-swap deals with one another.
2004 Election
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In the 2004 Federal election the Greens' primary vote rose by around 2%, to an average of around 7%. This won them two additional Senate seats (taking the total to four), but the success of the Howard government in winning a majority in the Senate meant that the Greens' influence on legislation would actually decrease.
Additionally, the 2004 election saw an intense media campaign from the Christianity-oriented conservative Family First Party, including a television advertisement labelling them the "Extreme Greens". The other main left-of-centre parties directed their vote preferences to Family First before the Greens resulting in a loss of the usual flow of votes from the Australian Democrats and the ALP. An example of this is where Victorian Family First candidate Steve Fielding was elected on preferences, despite being outpolled by the Australian Greens' David Risstrom by a ratio of more than four to one first-preference votes. Christine Milne also only narrowly gained her seat before a Family First candidate, even though she received 14,897 primary votes, compared to Family First's Jacquie Petrusma's 1,514.
Dispute with the Herald Sun
On August 31st 2004, the Melbourne Newspaper the Herald Sun published an cover story entitled “Greens policy backs illegal drugs”, the article received extensive media attention and was disseminated widely by groups opposed to the Australian Greens, in particular the Liberal Party of Australia.
In response to the article Greens Senator Bob Brown made a complaint to the Australian Press Council, who ruled that the article made a number of false claims about the Australian Greens and stated that “The Council views this article as irresponsible journalism.” An appeal by the Herald Sun was dismissed, and The Herald Sun was required to publish the Press Council’s adjudication in its newspaper.
Of the article's impact, Senator Brown stated "This was no accident or mistake. The aim was to attack the Greens, not through the editorial column, but through the news pages. The outcome of the false concoction of the Greens policies was to lose our party tens of thousands of votes and, in my calculation, seats in parliament".
2005 NSW By-Elections
On September 17,2005 the Greens contested three by-elections held in seats vacated by former Premier Bob Carr and two other senior ministers. In the seat of Marrickville, the Greens increased their vote to 38.96% from the 28.47% they received [3] in the 2003 State election. The result was the highest lower house vote for a Greens candidate in Australia, although much of the gain was the result of the Liberal Party not standing a candidate.
Notes
- The Australian Greens do not formally have a leader. Sen Bob Brown is the party's senior elected official and is treated by the media and public as its leader. There is currently discussion about the creation of a position of Leadership at the National Conference in November, which would almost certainly see Bob Brown elected as leader.
See also
- ACT Greens
- Greens New South Wales
- Greens South Australia
- Greens Western Australia
- Northern Territory Greens
- Queensland Greens
- Tasmanian Greens
- Victorian Greens
External links
Official
Other
- Liberal Party comment on Green's policies: 2004 Election campaign interview with John Howard (see pp5 &6)
- Democrats' views of the Greens: National Press Club speech by Senator Bartlett 28 September 2004
- Press Council adjudication of Bob Brown's complaint against the Herald Sun
- Greens media release about the complaint
- Greens article about the failed appeal by the Herald Sun
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