NORTHERN TERRITORY
The Northern Territory Greens are proud to have been able to field candidates in all four seats in the federal election, and especially to have had two strong, local Aboriginal candidates. Almost 9,000 people voted 1 Greens in the Northern Territory (8-9%) which is on par with elsewhere. Although we received 5-6% less votes than the last federal election, we are still clearly a force. Once again incumbent ALP member Warren Snowdon relied on Greens’ preferences to keep his seat of Lingiari. Let’s hope he recognises this, and is greener in his decisions in future. We are recovering from running a very positive election campaign with no campaign manager in Darwin, and are looking forward to having a couple of election-free years. Priorities for NT Greens now are updating our constitution and website, revising and finalising our policies and procedures, fundraising, and supporting our three diligent and hardworking Greens local government councillors. We will need to do some serious preparation in anticipation of the expected triple election year of 2016.
CHRISTINE MILNE AND WARREN H. WILLIAMS VISIT WARREN’S HOME COMMUNITY NTARIA DURING SENATOR MILNE’S ALICE SPRINGS VISIT, OCT 2013
It is heartening to see many new members joining the NT Greens and also the keen few who remain committed to organising the Party and doing the work that needs to be done. Hopefully we will also see a growing number of committed volunteers in the months to come. Major issues that keep us on our toes in the NT are climate change, the proposed nuclear waste dump, and the vast expansion of fracking. Local social challenges include the intervention, poverty, inequality in education, the skyrocketing rates of incarceration and suicide, and the dire situation for asylum seekers. We are also concerned about the expansion of military forces, particularly the presence of foreign military in the NT. There is much work to be done.
QUEENSLAND
The federal election produced some significant disappointments for the Greens in Queensland, the most obvious being the significant drop in our vote in both the Senate - going from nearly 13% to just over 6% - and the House of Representatives - going from around 11% to 6.2%. However, despite this, we did have some positives, most noticeably in the increased number of people who volunteered to help out during the course of the campaign. With improving use of integrated databases, we are also getting better at retaining more of these volunteers for future campaigns. Our fundraising results also contained some positives, and the quality of our candidates and the local campaigning that they and their branches ran was also improved from the 2010 election. Queensland also had the extra challenge of being the home base of the wellfunded Clive Palmer and his party, as well as Bob Katter and his party who performed very well in the state election eighteen months earlier. The Palmer party produced a very large amount of advertising and promotional material in the final period of the campaign, which not only boosted their vote but also crowded out other contestants from outside the two main parties. The results gained by the Palmer party exceeded most peoples’ expectations, although that was balanced to some extent by the Katter party doing a lot worse than expected. The rapid decline in the Katter party vote mirrored similar declines in previous populist right wing parties. This pattern does raise significant questions about whether or not the Palmer party will be able to hold its vote once it has to take positions on every issue and the lack of substance beneath the veneer becomes more apparent. Either way, the conservatives in Queensland do have increased competition which may lead to splits in the vote come the next state election which could be held as early as next year. The Greens need to re-establish our public presence and build on the bedrock of support which is still present despite the disappointing federal election result.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The last few months have been a busy but rewarding time for the South Australian Greens. We were delighted to see Senator Hanson-Young returned to the senate for a second term, after a hard fought campaign. Our thanks go to all of the party staff, members and volunteers who worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. In particular, we would like to acknowledge the work of Jacob Johannesen, Senator HansonYoung’s Campaign Manager who passed away just before Election Day. He was a tremendous talent who will be greatly missed by us all. We had our AGM in early October and our new state office bearers have commenced their terms. As we head towards 2014, the new Coordinating Group is conducting a review of the party office to identify any cost-savings that can be implemented in light of reduced revenue after the result in the federal election. We look forward to talking to other states about their own initiatives in this area. Meanwhile, our State Election Campaign Committee is working tirelessly to re-elect Mark Parnell to the SA upper-house and candidate preselections for lower house seats are well underway. The South Australian state election will be held in March 2014 so we will be keeping our foot on the pedal between now and then. If anyone would like to volunteer on the SA campaign, please get in touch with the state office by emailing saoffice@sa.greens.org.au or giving us a call on 08 8212 4888. We are enthusiastic about 2014 and look forward to another positive year for the Greens, in South Australia and across the country!
ROBERT SIMMS AND LISA ADAMS SA CO-CONVENORS
TASMANIA
I have recently been elected State Convenor (at the September 2013 State Conference) at a time of relative turmoil and re-consideration after the Federal Election. Obviously we Greens have to look closely at the outcomes of the Federal election and what the implications are for us. My response was to immediately leave the country as a political refugee from Abbottland! [More seriously I was going to the US on a trip linked to my interest in wolf conservation.] Although the election results include some good and some bad outcomes, we were delighted that Peter Whish-Wilson retained his Senate seat. It was never going to be easy given the general lurch to the right in Australian politics, but Peter has managed to establish his own niche in the political landscape. We had some excellent candidates and good campaigning in the House of Representatives seats, so certainly the Greens were a visible presence but this was not enough for us to get anywhere near actually winning seats. Controversy around the issue of preferences caused some confusion even amongst our own members and, of course, provided some grist for our opponents. Our focus now is firmly on the upcoming State elections, due in March 2014, with planning already well advanced. Our Campaign Director, Daniel Patman, has scarcely had time to recover from the Federal election before starting work on the State level election. Broad themes have been identified Pride in Tasmania and ‘selling’ the State, no logging in World Heritage areas, economic transition (including jobs for the future), and literacy/numeracy issues. The specifics are to be dealt with in the overall campaign with the under-pinning of the importance of cooperative politics as the mechanism for delivering on these and other issues. I look forward to a lively time!
AUSTRA MADDOX TASMANIA CONVENOR
ANDREW BARTLETT QLD CONVENOR
The Greens Victoria are still celebrating the results of the Federal election with Adam Bandt being re-elected in the seat of Melbourne (a first time for a Green in a lower house seat) and founding member of the Victorian Greens, Janet Rice, being elected to join Senator Richard Di Natale in the senate. We are also gearing up for the Victorian State election due to be held in November 2014. We currently have three upper house members in Victoria; Greg Barber, Sue Pennicuik and Colleen Hartland, and will be aiming to increase this number and gain the balance of power. We will also be working hard to break through into the lower house in what we anticipate will be a tightly contested election. Our priorities at present are the review of our state policy platform and finalisation of the state election campaign strategy. Member participation in policy development is one of the key strengths of the Greens and we urge all members to get involved by joining the online policy forum in addition to providing feedback through your branches and state council.
Amongst the excitement over the Federal election, the Victorian Greens have also had some sad news. Greens member Janet Powell (pictured) who was a former Senator and Leader of the Democrats as well as a Greens state election candidate passed away in October. Many of us in the Greens have worked alongside Janet and her work has been an inspiration to us all. Janet’s memorial was attended by many Greens and supporters. Former Leader of the Australian Greens, Bob Brown, spoke of her commitment to social justice and the environment. She will not be forgotten and we are committed to ensuring her memory and her work lives on.
QUEENSLAND GREENS PO Box 661, Albion BC, 4010 Ph: 07 3173 1127 office@qld.greens.org.au www.qld.greens.org.au
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GREENS 239 Wright Street Adelaide SA 5000 Ph: 08 8212 4888 saoffice@sa.greens.org.au www.sa.greens.org.au
TASMANIAN GREENS GPO Box 1132 Hobart TAS 7001 Ph: 03 6236 9334 party@tas.greens.org.au www.tas.greens.org.au
VICTORIAN GREENS GPO Box 4589 Melbourne VIC 3001 Ph: 03 9602 1141 office@vic.greens.org.au www.vic.greens.org.au
GREEN PARTY NEWS
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The main news from WA this time around is the amazing final result in the 2013 Senate Election. The original count saw sitting Greens senator Scott Ludlam defeated in a result that hinged on a mere 14 votes that decided a preference flow against us. At our request a full recount was ordered, which has resulted in the re-election of Scott Ludlam. However it now appears that due to the unfortunate loss of a small but significant number of votes, there is a real possibility of an unprecedented state wide re-election for the upper house early next year! I would like to thank all the people who volunteered to help scrutineer the recount. We put in a stellar effort, and more than matched the number of scrutineers from the major parties (and the PUPs). The current outcome would have been impossible without these people giving up their precious time. Well done everyone! At present, all federal election results that come down to a margin of less than 100 votes in the lower house are automatically subject to a recount to ensure the validity of the vote. The Greens feel that a similar situation should be applied to the upper house too. We will be seeking reforms to ensure that from now on, all tight senate races are subject to an automatic recount just as the lower house results are. One outcome of this election is already clear; a significant surge in Green membership! The priority now is to put them to good use by involving them in our continuous campaigning effort. Plans for this are still being drawn up, but it will involve an increased level of community campaigning between elections and increased activity by the Young Greens. This will be my last report as CoConvenor, as my two terms came to an end at our October AGM. The role will now be in the capable hands of Giz Watson, who many of you will know as a long serving state MP. I wish her all the best in the role, and thank you for the last 2 years.
CHRIS DICKINSON WA CONVENOR
DINESH MATHEW & TONY KELLY AGV CO-CONVENORS
MARLENE HODDER NT GREENS DEPUTY CONVENOR NT GREENS PO Box 421 Nightcliff NT 0814 Ph: 0402 617 416 convenor@nt.greens.org.au www.nt.greens.org.au
VICTORIA
WA GREENS PO Box Y3022 Perth WA 6832 Ph: 08 9221 8333 office@wa.greens.org.au www.wa.greens.org.au
The latest news from our federal MPs and state convenors
SUMMER 2013 OUR FEDERAL MPS There is no piece from Senator Christine Milne in this edition of GPN as all updates are covered in Green magazine.
SENATOR RACHEL SIEWERT - WA
Tony Abbott and the Coalition have wasted little time in signalling a tougher approach when it comes to vulnerable Australians. The future of important reforms like that of the Australian Charities and Not-forprofits Commission are in doubt, there has been talk of an expansion of income management, reversing the pay increase for aged care workers and no mention of addressing critical social issues that contribute to Australia’s growing level of poverty. The Greens took a suite of strong and costed policies to the election, and we can be proud of our role in leading the debate on some of the most important issues Australia is facing including poverty, income support, single parents, mental
health, housing and homelessness. We’re not sitting back on these issues now the election is over. In the last few weeks Australia has recognised AntiPoverty Week and Carers Week and the Greens have again been leading the debate, calling for the development of a National Anti-Poverty Strategy, to address our country’s growing level of disadvantage. There are now 2.6 million Australians living under the poverty line, and almost half a million are under 15. The report by UnitingCare (Poverty, Social Exclusion and Disadvantage in Australia) found that 20% of single parent families are in poverty; double the rate of couples. This growing poverty is placing an increasing burden on our community sector. Foodbank’s End Hunger in Australia Report for 2013 shows that 65,000 people are being turned away from charities each month because there isn’t
enough food and 80% of agencies report being unable to meet demand. Here in WA, a survey we organised of 31 charity organisations found that all but four had experienced an increase in demand for services over the last six months. This growing demand is coming in the most fundamental areas like housing, food, and inadequate income which is leaving people unable to pay bills or afford the basics. A National Anti-Poverty Strategy would coordinate efforts across all levels of government, the community sector and other organisations to address the wide variety of factors that contribute to poverty in Australia. As part of our ongoing work to reduce poverty, we’ll continue working across portfolios to deliver better outcomes for all Australians. senator.siewert@aph.gov.au
HOW THE WEST WAS WON LOST UM, WON NO WAIT… SENATOR SCOTT LUDLAM - WA
The biggest problem with writing up the WA election campaign is that by the time you get to read it, the report will be obsolete.
Along with the rest of the country, we cheered Adam and his talented team on election night, delighted in the news that Janet would join the party room, and celebrated good wins in SA and Tasmania. Amidst the sobering reality of what an AbbottMurdoch government could do to the country, at least we knew there’d be a strong Greens team in Parliament to take it up to them. What we didn’t know was, whether or not we’d won WA. And now, looking back over the agonisingly slow count, announcement of our loss, first appeal to the AEC, second successful appeal, a massive recount mobilisation and then a razor-fine win marred by the unprecedented loss of 1375 ballot
papers… the surprises keep coming. No reason to assume there won’t be more. To our fine army of sharp-eyed scrutineers, our thanks – to local crew who had already worked their hearts out on the campaign to the interstate cavalry who gave up weeks to look for needles in the warehouse sized haystack. To everyone else who showed your support over past weeks, you are so much appreciated. You know who you are. From here perhaps, the road leads to a fresh election in 2014, but first, an appointment with the Court of Disputed Returns. If the court does decide that way, we’ll be ready. We’ve begun fundraising and preliminary planning, and one way or another, we’re going to hold this seat for the Greens.
If you’re reading this, there’s a reasonable chance that one way or another you helped get us this far. Thankyou. Now we need your help to secure legal advice for the High Court challenge and to prepare for another Senate election in WA. Google ‘DONATE TO THE WA SENATE FIGHTING FUND’ to donate and support this next challenge. senator.ludlam@aph.gov.au
AUSTRALIAN GREENS National Office GPO Box 1108 Canberra ACT 2601 Ph: 02 6140 3217 (Canberra) 1800 017 011 greens@greens.org.au www.greens.org.au
SENATOR SARAH HANSON-YOUNG - SA
I want to start by saying thank you. Our win in South Australia, which returned me to the Senate for another six years, wouldn’t have been possible without the overwhelming backing of people like you; our supporters. It was a hard fought campaign in SA and, with an army of over 1000 volunteers posted to polling booths on Election Day, we took that fight right up to the old parties. Many political commentators said it couldn’t happen but, thanks to your support, we got over the line and proved them wrong. We have spent some time reflecting, regrouping and reenergising after the election and we’re now looking ahead to the first sitting period of the new Parliament. We’re ready to stand up for what matters once again and will be the real opposition to this ultra-conservative Coalition government. However, the election isn’t the only big thing that’s happened in recent weeks. In a big win for equality, the ACT Legislative Assembly passed Australia’s first same-sex marriage laws in October. While it isn’t the federal marriage reform that we’ve been fighting for, this is a crucial step along the road to equality and a giant leap forward for same-sex marriage in Australia. I am a believer in love and a believer in marriage equality. This is about basic human rights, it’s about family and it’s about equality. I’m thrilled that there is finally a place where gay and lesbian Australians can go to have their relationships recognised as equal in the eyes of the law. Cheers to the ACT and to my federal colleagues I can only say, let’s get on with it! We have a lot of work to do over the coming months and years. In the face of an Abbott government we have to redouble our efforts and stand up for vulnerable Australians and the environment. It’s an honour to serve in Federal Parliament and, with your support, the Greens will hold this government to account and continue to be a voice for Australians who would otherwise be voiceless. senator.hanson-young@aph.gov.au
SENATOR LEE RHIANNON - NSW
With the federal election behind us we now have an important opportunity to take stock, evaluate our campaigns, and plan for the future. We launched a number of great initiatives during the election campaign, across all portfolio areas. Our challenge is to continue to raise the profile of our policy agenda and build community campaigns on the ground, in the context of a hostile Abbott government. Immediately after the election we hit the ground running with our campaign to reform the Senate voting system to end backroom preference deals and give voters control over their preferences. My office has launched a new website (reformsenatevoting.org.au) and a petition that has already received 2000 signatures. We will work closely with Greens members in developing this campaign and are open to your feedback on what we should be calling for. Higher education was a huge priority issue for The Greens in the last federal election, with the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) taking the unprecedented step of politically and financially backing The Greens campaign.
The Coalition have announced they will be legislating the previous Labor Government’s $2.3 billion proposed cuts to the higher education budget next year. I have already met with the NTEU to discuss a joint strategy around fighting these cuts. My office is also preparing materials for O-Week in 2014 and we are very keen to work with Young Greens across the country to build the campaign to stop Abbott’s cuts. The Greens will continue to work closely with TAFE activists to fight against the contestability model for federal funding, supported by Labor and the Coalition that sees hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding flow to private providers instead of TAFEs. senator.rhiannon@aph.gov.au
PHOTO: NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION 20 AUG 2013 ORGANISED BY NUS, NTEU AND CAPA IN SUPPORT OF PUBLICLY FUNDED HIGHER EDUCATION.
SENATOR RICHARD DI NATALE - VIC
We’ve just been through a long election campaign and I’ve never been prouder to represent the people of Victoria and fight for Greens’ values. Yet again the Greens led the way on the major policy challenges facing our country and indeed our globe. We campaigned on addressing climate change and transforming our economy for the future. And we stood up for a more caring society by supporting equal marriage, fighting for better schools and by being the lone the voice of compassion in the asylum seeker debate. As health spokesperson I announced our fully costed $9 billion health package; a package designed to put Australia back on the path towards the Greens’ ideal of universal healthcare and to tackle the alarming trend of increasing out-ofpocket medical costs for Australians. The package includes a huge boost to preventative health, stronger action on pollution of our air, land and water, investments in Medicare, funding boosts for public hospitals, investing in rural health, targeted plans for mental health, eye health and hearing health, and commitments to medical research and innovation. As spokesperson for gambling and sport I campaigned for $1 bet limits on poker machines and for commonsense restrictions on the promotion of gambling. People should be able to sit down with their kids and watch the footy without being bombarded with messages to bet. Thanks to the many generous Greens supporters who donated or volunteered to door knock or hand out how-to-vote cards we were able to achieve something historic in Victoria. Not only did Adam Bandt manage to retain the seat of Melbourne in his own right, but the Greens also won their second Victorian Senate seat. I look forward to having Janet Rice join me in the red chamber but most of all I am looking forward to taking the fight to Tony Abbott and continuing to stand up for Greens’ values in the new parliament. senator.dinatale@aph.gov.au
SENATOR LARISSA WATERS - QLD
Thanks to the hardworking members and campaign team at the Queensland Greens for an excellent federal election campaign. Sadly, all that hard work didn’t translate into the marvellous Adam Stone joining us in the Senate. We will throw everything we have at continuing to build our support and campaigning against the environmentally bankrupt federal and state governments – particularly with the Palmer United Party in a scarily influential role. We will certainly have a lot to campaign on! Since the election, Tony Abbott and Campbell Newman have been buddying up to wreak havoc on Queensland’s environment and let the big mining company magnates, like Clive Palmer, have open slather across our beautiful state. Tony Abbott is set on weakening environmental protection by handing national environmental responsibilities to state governments across Australia – starting with Queensland. This dangerous plan will see Campbell (we’re in the coal business) Newman with sole control over threatened species, RAMSAR wetlands and World Heritage areas. Last year, the Greens led a strong community campaign against this reckless idea when it was proposed by former Prime Minister Gillard. And it’s going to take an even stronger community campaign to stop Abbott and Newman. We’re ready for the fight – our threatened species and wild places are too precious to lose. We are alarmed by recent revelations that some members of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority board have links to the coal and gas industry. The board entrusted to protect the Reef needs to be free of the influence of the fossil fuel industry while the Reef continues to be threatened by new and expanded coal and gas ports. I will be campaigning with the community to ensure protection of our Reef and the 63,000 jobs that rely on a healthy Reef are put before the profits of coal and gas exporters. With the old parties continuing to ignore UNESCO’s warning that the Reef could be listed as ‘World Heritage in Danger’ by mid next year, Queensland needs the Greens more than ever. senator.waters@aph.gov.au
SENATOR PENNY WRIGHT - SA
What a busy time it has been, both in the Parliament and on the campaign trail! I’m encouraged by people who tell me that the Greens’ work is making a difference to them. After a great deal of lobbying and rallying, it was rewarding to see the historic Gonski legislation pass through the Parliament. The Greens have championed better, fairer school funding for decades and will continue to fiercely advocate for public schools under the new government. Our education policies set the standard during the election campaign and I’ll keep working on important issues like teacher and student wellbeing in this next phase. The Greens remain the only party that recognises the need to fix our mental health system. We were the only ones with comprehensive, fully costed policy solutions during the election campaign, including a rural mental health policy. Shaped by my rural mental health report, our plan was described by the peak rural mental health body as ‘…one of the most sensible pieces of policy work…from a political party, on rural mental health, in the last 25 years”. The momentum for our campaign to protect South Australia’s iconic Kangaroo Island from offshore oil and gas exploration grows as we join with the local community in saying that this stunning place is too precious to lose. I’ve already written to the new Environment Minister and will keep putting pressure on him to recognise that oil and gas is all risk and no gain for Kangaroo Island. August 30th marked the end of a long campaign to have the names of Australian Peacekeepers who had been killed during deployments included on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll. This was a major achievement and a significant day for the peacekeepers’ families who finally have proper recognition for their loved ones. I’m looking forward to being a part of the Greens’ contribution to a better Australia as we stand up to Tony Abbott and the retrograde actions he has planned for our future. We’ll fight for what is important - along with our dedicated members and supporters. senator.wright@aph.gov.au
SENATOR PETER WHISH-WILSON - TAS
It has been a long and exciting year and I am very pleased to have retained my seat as a Senator representing Tasmania. I look forward to six more productive years in the Australian Senate. While this is a great result and reward for the dedicated work of the party and all the volunteers, a new conservative government means we have to steel ourselves for the next three years. The new Government’s intention to retract the carbon price will not only be bad for the environment, but it will have a direct financial impact on Tasmania. The state government receives a dividend from Hydro Tasmania directly related to the carbon tax of around $70 million per year which will be lost if the carbon price is overturned. My party room colleagues and I will work hard to prevent this from occurring and will seek compensation for Tasmania should the CleanEnergy legislation be repealed. Earlier in the year I launched a Greens 20 year economic vision for Tasmania; ‘Tasmania 2030’. It is intended to drive discussion and be a platform for the future economic development policies of the Tasmanian Greens. Now the election is over I look forward to continuing the development of this vision which highlights the Greens as the only party with a real plan to build the economy of Tasmania. Another focus for my team and I is the continued promotion of the issue of marine plastic pollution. Over the past few months I have been out all over Tasmania collecting beverage containers from roadsides, riverbeds and waterways, and near some of Tasmania’s best known tourist attractions. This has demonstrated the need for a national container deposit scheme and dedicated federal funding for marine debris studies and initiatives. Since the election I have been travelling around Tasmania and meeting groups to continue the conversation about these issues. A “cash for containers” scheme is one basic first step the country can take to help prevent plastic entering our oceans and incentivise the clean-up of our environment. senator.whish-wilson@aph.gov.au
ADAM BANDT - MEMBER FOR MELBOURNE DEPUTY LEADER
After a hard fought election campaign, we were able to achieve a remarkable result in Melbourne and in Victoria. In the face of a national swing against the Greens of over 3%, here in Melbourne we managed to lift our primary vote by 7% and record the highest Greens Senate vote of any federal division at just under 35%. This result is not something that was made possible overnight. It reflects three years of hard work building on the 2010 election, a well thought through strategy and an effective team that was able to lead a strong grassroots election campaign over the last 12 months. Our community organising team mobilised 584 active volunteers and 12,588 active supporters. Together we knocked on 46,219 doors including 10,555 in one weekend, made more than 23, 273 phone calls and reached out to people with 233,000 emails. Even in the last 24 hours of the campaign we were able to engage in a doorknocking blitz with at least 2,042 doors on polling day. These one-on-one conversations were the core to our communications effort, which was backed up with grassroots fundraising that meant we could invest in advertising and resources. People in Melbourne responded to our clear message about standing up for what matters and the need for politicians who will stand up for a clean economy and a caring society. Many of the surrounding electorates next to Melbourne also saw an increase in their vote and I am confident that if we are able to extend our approach into the next election we will be able to win more lower house seats. With Melbourne secure, I am now working with Christine Miline and the whole Greens team on the task of providing the real opposition to Tony Abbott as he seeks to dismantle action on climate change. adam.bandt.mp@aph.gov.au
FROM THE STATES & TERRITORIES AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
This will be my final contribution to Green Paty News as ACT Greens Convenor, and it has been a very eventful year. Many members and new supporters have been energised by our groundbreaking campaign to elect Simon Sheikh to the Senate. Although we missed out on a seat, we can celebrate many achievements. We had the largest and most active volunteer base of any campaign in our history, we won many booths for the first time, we covered every polling booth in Canberra, we outnumbered the Liberals on Election Day, and we forced the Liberals below quota. Once again, the ACT can boast the highest Green vote of any state or territory. Had we been contesting six seats, as were electors in each of the states, we would have easily won a Senate seat and been strong contenders for a second. Simon was joined by Indra Esguerra as the second Senate candidate, Julie Melrose as the candidate for Canberra, and Adam Verwey as the candidate for Fraser. Our candidates were supported by Ellen Sandell, our campaign manager. My thanks goes to our entire campaign team for their work. As we move on from the federal campaign our focus will now turn to supporting Shane Rattenbury and his efforts in the ACT Legislative Assembly. It has now been a year since Shane became one of only a few Greens representatives in the world to serve in government as a Minister and the coming years in the lead up to 2016 will be both exciting and challenging for the party. We have already seen Shane drive many exciting milestones in the Assembly, such as the historic passage of the marriage equality legislation last month. If the past year is anything to go by, we can look forward to more successes on issues such as light rail, renewable energy, and gay rights as a result of work by the Greens.
MAIY AZIZE OUTGOING ACT CONVENOR
ACT GREENS GPO Box 2019 Canberra ACT 2601 Ph: 02 6140 3220 office@act.greens.org.au www.act.greens.org.au
NEW SOUTH WALES
As the outgoing NSW Convenor after three years I would like to thank all those people who work so hard behind the scenes to make it happen. During an election campaign our star candidates naturally attract most of the attention and do a lot of hard work, but our members also put in a lot of hard work and are seldom recognised. Letter boxing, phoning for donations, manning stalls, going to rallies, doing the pre-poll, and then the long, long Saturday of election day (and taking down all the signs on Sunday) are all essential roles to play within our grassroots party. While our vote went down across the country it is our members, our local Councillors, and our community activists across the country who are our everyday representatives in a more constant sense than our Parliamentarians. It is from this network of members and supporters, from this commitment to grassroots democracy and participation that our endurance and survival as a political party springs. It is by staying true to our principles, by honouring our roots and not being beguiled by polls that our longevity and effectiveness will be built. After the highs of the 2010 election we went to the recent Federal election carrying the perception of being a partner to Government. Consequently, 2013 was hard for us. Our task now in NSW is to build again for the NSW State Election in March 2015, to re-emphasise that we are a party of principle and that we will fearlessly advocate for our planet and not ignore the morally difficult issues. In NSW all of our local Member Groups have an equal say in determining policy; our members have an equal say in preselection. It is that sort of opportunity to participate which makes standing on the polling booth for those long, long election Saturdays worthwhile. It is our community support from our activist roots, the constant search for peace, sustainability and justice that will keep the Greens strong when the fickle political times sway back and forth.
JAMES RYAN OUTGOING NSW CONVENOR
NSW GREENS 19 Eve St Erskineville NSW 2043 Ph: 02 9045 6999 office@nsw.greens.org.au www.nsw.greens.org.au
SENATOR SARAH HANSON-YOUNG - SA
I want to start by saying thank you. Our win in South Australia, which returned me to the Senate for another six years, wouldn’t have been possible without the overwhelming backing of people like you; our supporters. It was a hard fought campaign in SA and, with an army of over 1000 volunteers posted to polling booths on Election Day, we took that fight right up to the old parties. Many political commentators said it couldn’t happen but, thanks to your support, we got over the line and proved them wrong. We have spent some time reflecting, regrouping and reenergising after the election and we’re now looking ahead to the first sitting period of the new Parliament. We’re ready to stand up for what matters once again and will be the real opposition to this ultra-conservative Coalition government. However, the election isn’t the only big thing that’s happened in recent weeks. In a big win for equality, the ACT Legislative Assembly passed Australia’s first same-sex marriage laws in October. While it isn’t the federal marriage reform that we’ve been fighting for, this is a crucial step along the road to equality and a giant leap forward for same-sex marriage in Australia. I am a believer in love and a believer in marriage equality. This is about basic human rights, it’s about family and it’s about equality. I’m thrilled that there is finally a place where gay and lesbian Australians can go to have their relationships recognised as equal in the eyes of the law. Cheers to the ACT and to my federal colleagues I can only say, let’s get on with it! We have a lot of work to do over the coming months and years. In the face of an Abbott government we have to redouble our efforts and stand up for vulnerable Australians and the environment. It’s an honour to serve in Federal Parliament and, with your support, the Greens will hold this government to account and continue to be a voice for Australians who would otherwise be voiceless. senator.hanson-young@aph.gov.au
SENATOR LEE RHIANNON - NSW
With the federal election behind us we now have an important opportunity to take stock, evaluate our campaigns, and plan for the future. We launched a number of great initiatives during the election campaign, across all portfolio areas. Our challenge is to continue to raise the profile of our policy agenda and build community campaigns on the ground, in the context of a hostile Abbott government. Immediately after the election we hit the ground running with our campaign to reform the Senate voting system to end backroom preference deals and give voters control over their preferences. My office has launched a new website (reformsenatevoting.org.au) and a petition that has already received 2000 signatures. We will work closely with Greens members in developing this campaign and are open to your feedback on what we should be calling for. Higher education was a huge priority issue for The Greens in the last federal election, with the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) taking the unprecedented step of politically and financially backing The Greens campaign.
The Coalition have announced they will be legislating the previous Labor Government’s $2.3 billion proposed cuts to the higher education budget next year. I have already met with the NTEU to discuss a joint strategy around fighting these cuts. My office is also preparing materials for O-Week in 2014 and we are very keen to work with Young Greens across the country to build the campaign to stop Abbott’s cuts. The Greens will continue to work closely with TAFE activists to fight against the contestability model for federal funding, supported by Labor and the Coalition that sees hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding flow to private providers instead of TAFEs. senator.rhiannon@aph.gov.au
PHOTO: NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION 20 AUG 2013 ORGANISED BY NUS, NTEU AND CAPA IN SUPPORT OF PUBLICLY FUNDED HIGHER EDUCATION.
SENATOR RICHARD DI NATALE - VIC
We’ve just been through a long election campaign and I’ve never been prouder to represent the people of Victoria and fight for Greens’ values. Yet again the Greens led the way on the major policy challenges facing our country and indeed our globe. We campaigned on addressing climate change and transforming our economy for the future. And we stood up for a more caring society by supporting equal marriage, fighting for better schools and by being the lone the voice of compassion in the asylum seeker debate. As health spokesperson I announced our fully costed $9 billion health package; a package designed to put Australia back on the path towards the Greens’ ideal of universal healthcare and to tackle the alarming trend of increasing out-ofpocket medical costs for Australians. The package includes a huge boost to preventative health, stronger action on pollution of our air, land and water, investments in Medicare, funding boosts for public hospitals, investing in rural health, targeted plans for mental health, eye health and hearing health, and commitments to medical research and innovation. As spokesperson for gambling and sport I campaigned for $1 bet limits on poker machines and for commonsense restrictions on the promotion of gambling. People should be able to sit down with their kids and watch the footy without being bombarded with messages to bet. Thanks to the many generous Greens supporters who donated or volunteered to door knock or hand out how-to-vote cards we were able to achieve something historic in Victoria. Not only did Adam Bandt manage to retain the seat of Melbourne in his own right, but the Greens also won their second Victorian Senate seat. I look forward to having Janet Rice join me in the red chamber but most of all I am looking forward to taking the fight to Tony Abbott and continuing to stand up for Greens’ values in the new parliament. senator.dinatale@aph.gov.au
SENATOR LARISSA WATERS - QLD
Thanks to the hardworking members and campaign team at the Queensland Greens for an excellent federal election campaign. Sadly, all that hard work didn’t translate into the marvellous Adam Stone joining us in the Senate. We will throw everything we have at continuing to build our support and campaigning against the environmentally bankrupt federal and state governments – particularly with the Palmer United Party in a scarily influential role. We will certainly have a lot to campaign on! Since the election, Tony Abbott and Campbell Newman have been buddying up to wreak havoc on Queensland’s environment and let the big mining company magnates, like Clive Palmer, have open slather across our beautiful state. Tony Abbott is set on weakening environmental protection by handing national environmental responsibilities to state governments across Australia – starting with Queensland. This dangerous plan will see Campbell (we’re in the coal business) Newman with sole control over threatened species, RAMSAR wetlands and World Heritage areas. Last year, the Greens led a strong community campaign against this reckless idea when it was proposed by former Prime Minister Gillard. And it’s going to take an even stronger community campaign to stop Abbott and Newman. We’re ready for the fight – our threatened species and wild places are too precious to lose. We are alarmed by recent revelations that some members of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority board have links to the coal and gas industry. The board entrusted to protect the Reef needs to be free of the influence of the fossil fuel industry while the Reef continues to be threatened by new and expanded coal and gas ports. I will be campaigning with the community to ensure protection of our Reef and the 63,000 jobs that rely on a healthy Reef are put before the profits of coal and gas exporters. With the old parties continuing to ignore UNESCO’s warning that the Reef could be listed as ‘World Heritage in Danger’ by mid next year, Queensland needs the Greens more than ever. senator.waters@aph.gov.au
SENATOR PENNY WRIGHT - SA
What a busy time it has been, both in the Parliament and on the campaign trail! I’m encouraged by people who tell me that the Greens’ work is making a difference to them. After a great deal of lobbying and rallying, it was rewarding to see the historic Gonski legislation pass through the Parliament. The Greens have championed better, fairer school funding for decades and will continue to fiercely advocate for public schools under the new government. Our education policies set the standard during the election campaign and I’ll keep working on important issues like teacher and student wellbeing in this next phase. The Greens remain the only party that recognises the need to fix our mental health system. We were the only ones with comprehensive, fully costed policy solutions during the election campaign, including a rural mental health policy. Shaped by my rural mental health report, our plan was described by the peak rural mental health body as ‘…one of the most sensible pieces of policy work…from a political party, on rural mental health, in the last 25 years”. The momentum for our campaign to protect South Australia’s iconic Kangaroo Island from offshore oil and gas exploration grows as we join with the local community in saying that this stunning place is too precious to lose. I’ve already written to the new Environment Minister and will keep putting pressure on him to recognise that oil and gas is all risk and no gain for Kangaroo Island. August 30th marked the end of a long campaign to have the names of Australian Peacekeepers who had been killed during deployments included on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll. This was a major achievement and a significant day for the peacekeepers’ families who finally have proper recognition for their loved ones. I’m looking forward to being a part of the Greens’ contribution to a better Australia as we stand up to Tony Abbott and the retrograde actions he has planned for our future. We’ll fight for what is important - along with our dedicated members and supporters. senator.wright@aph.gov.au
SENATOR PETER WHISH-WILSON - TAS
It has been a long and exciting year and I am very pleased to have retained my seat as a Senator representing Tasmania. I look forward to six more productive years in the Australian Senate. While this is a great result and reward for the dedicated work of the party and all the volunteers, a new conservative government means we have to steel ourselves for the next three years. The new Government’s intention to retract the carbon price will not only be bad for the environment, but it will have a direct financial impact on Tasmania. The state government receives a dividend from Hydro Tasmania directly related to the carbon tax of around $70 million per year which will be lost if the carbon price is overturned. My party room colleagues and I will work hard to prevent this from occurring and will seek compensation for Tasmania should the CleanEnergy legislation be repealed. Earlier in the year I launched a Greens 20 year economic vision for Tasmania; ‘Tasmania 2030’. It is intended to drive discussion and be a platform for the future economic development policies of the Tasmanian Greens. Now the election is over I look forward to continuing the development of this vision which highlights the Greens as the only party with a real plan to build the economy of Tasmania. Another focus for my team and I is the continued promotion of the issue of marine plastic pollution. Over the past few months I have been out all over Tasmania collecting beverage containers from roadsides, riverbeds and waterways, and near some of Tasmania’s best known tourist attractions. This has demonstrated the need for a national container deposit scheme and dedicated federal funding for marine debris studies and initiatives. Since the election I have been travelling around Tasmania and meeting groups to continue the conversation about these issues. A “cash for containers” scheme is one basic first step the country can take to help prevent plastic entering our oceans and incentivise the clean-up of our environment. senator.whish-wilson@aph.gov.au
ADAM BANDT - MEMBER FOR MELBOURNE DEPUTY LEADER
After a hard fought election campaign, we were able to achieve a remarkable result in Melbourne and in Victoria. In the face of a national swing against the Greens of over 3%, here in Melbourne we managed to lift our primary vote by 7% and record the highest Greens Senate vote of any federal division at just under 35%. This result is not something that was made possible overnight. It reflects three years of hard work building on the 2010 election, a well thought through strategy and an effective team that was able to lead a strong grassroots election campaign over the last 12 months. Our community organising team mobilised 584 active volunteers and 12,588 active supporters. Together we knocked on 46,219 doors including 10,555 in one weekend, made more than 23, 273 phone calls and reached out to people with 233,000 emails. Even in the last 24 hours of the campaign we were able to engage in a doorknocking blitz with at least 2,042 doors on polling day. These one-on-one conversations were the core to our communications effort, which was backed up with grassroots fundraising that meant we could invest in advertising and resources. People in Melbourne responded to our clear message about standing up for what matters and the need for politicians who will stand up for a clean economy and a caring society. Many of the surrounding electorates next to Melbourne also saw an increase in their vote and I am confident that if we are able to extend our approach into the next election we will be able to win more lower house seats. With Melbourne secure, I am now working with Christine Miline and the whole Greens team on the task of providing the real opposition to Tony Abbott as he seeks to dismantle action on climate change. adam.bandt.mp@aph.gov.au
FROM THE STATES & TERRITORIES AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
This will be my final contribution to Green Paty News as ACT Greens Convenor, and it has been a very eventful year. Many members and new supporters have been energised by our groundbreaking campaign to elect Simon Sheikh to the Senate. Although we missed out on a seat, we can celebrate many achievements. We had the largest and most active volunteer base of any campaign in our history, we won many booths for the first time, we covered every polling booth in Canberra, we outnumbered the Liberals on Election Day, and we forced the Liberals below quota. Once again, the ACT can boast the highest Green vote of any state or territory. Had we been contesting six seats, as were electors in each of the states, we would have easily won a Senate seat and been strong contenders for a second. Simon was joined by Indra Esguerra as the second Senate candidate, Julie Melrose as the candidate for Canberra, and Adam Verwey as the candidate for Fraser. Our candidates were supported by Ellen Sandell, our campaign manager. My thanks goes to our entire campaign team for their work. As we move on from the federal campaign our focus will now turn to supporting Shane Rattenbury and his efforts in the ACT Legislative Assembly. It has now been a year since Shane became one of only a few Greens representatives in the world to serve in government as a Minister and the coming years in the lead up to 2016 will be both exciting and challenging for the party. We have already seen Shane drive many exciting milestones in the Assembly, such as the historic passage of the marriage equality legislation last month. If the past year is anything to go by, we can look forward to more successes on issues such as light rail, renewable energy, and gay rights as a result of work by the Greens.
MAIY AZIZE OUTGOING ACT CONVENOR
ACT GREENS GPO Box 2019 Canberra ACT 2601 Ph: 02 6140 3220 office@act.greens.org.au www.act.greens.org.au
NEW SOUTH WALES
As the outgoing NSW Convenor after three years I would like to thank all those people who work so hard behind the scenes to make it happen. During an election campaign our star candidates naturally attract most of the attention and do a lot of hard work, but our members also put in a lot of hard work and are seldom recognised. Letter boxing, phoning for donations, manning stalls, going to rallies, doing the pre-poll, and then the long, long Saturday of election day (and taking down all the signs on Sunday) are all essential roles to play within our grassroots party. While our vote went down across the country it is our members, our local Councillors, and our community activists across the country who are our everyday representatives in a more constant sense than our Parliamentarians. It is from this network of members and supporters, from this commitment to grassroots democracy and participation that our endurance and survival as a political party springs. It is by staying true to our principles, by honouring our roots and not being beguiled by polls that our longevity and effectiveness will be built. After the highs of the 2010 election we went to the recent Federal election carrying the perception of being a partner to Government. Consequently, 2013 was hard for us. Our task now in NSW is to build again for the NSW State Election in March 2015, to re-emphasise that we are a party of principle and that we will fearlessly advocate for our planet and not ignore the morally difficult issues. In NSW all of our local Member Groups have an equal say in determining policy; our members have an equal say in preselection. It is that sort of opportunity to participate which makes standing on the polling booth for those long, long election Saturdays worthwhile. It is our community support from our activist roots, the constant search for peace, sustainability and justice that will keep the Greens strong when the fickle political times sway back and forth.
JAMES RYAN OUTGOING NSW CONVENOR
NSW GREENS 19 Eve St Erskineville NSW 2043 Ph: 02 9045 6999 office@nsw.greens.org.au www.nsw.greens.org.au
SENATOR SARAH HANSON-YOUNG - SA
I want to start by saying thank you. Our win in South Australia, which returned me to the Senate for another six years, wouldn’t have been possible without the overwhelming backing of people like you; our supporters. It was a hard fought campaign in SA and, with an army of over 1000 volunteers posted to polling booths on Election Day, we took that fight right up to the old parties. Many political commentators said it couldn’t happen but, thanks to your support, we got over the line and proved them wrong. We have spent some time reflecting, regrouping and reenergising after the election and we’re now looking ahead to the first sitting period of the new Parliament. We’re ready to stand up for what matters once again and will be the real opposition to this ultra-conservative Coalition government. However, the election isn’t the only big thing that’s happened in recent weeks. In a big win for equality, the ACT Legislative Assembly passed Australia’s first same-sex marriage laws in October. While it isn’t the federal marriage reform that we’ve been fighting for, this is a crucial step along the road to equality and a giant leap forward for same-sex marriage in Australia. I am a believer in love and a believer in marriage equality. This is about basic human rights, it’s about family and it’s about equality. I’m thrilled that there is finally a place where gay and lesbian Australians can go to have their relationships recognised as equal in the eyes of the law. Cheers to the ACT and to my federal colleagues I can only say, let’s get on with it! We have a lot of work to do over the coming months and years. In the face of an Abbott government we have to redouble our efforts and stand up for vulnerable Australians and the environment. It’s an honour to serve in Federal Parliament and, with your support, the Greens will hold this government to account and continue to be a voice for Australians who would otherwise be voiceless. senator.hanson-young@aph.gov.au
SENATOR LEE RHIANNON - NSW
With the federal election behind us we now have an important opportunity to take stock, evaluate our campaigns, and plan for the future. We launched a number of great initiatives during the election campaign, across all portfolio areas. Our challenge is to continue to raise the profile of our policy agenda and build community campaigns on the ground, in the context of a hostile Abbott government. Immediately after the election we hit the ground running with our campaign to reform the Senate voting system to end backroom preference deals and give voters control over their preferences. My office has launched a new website (reformsenatevoting.org.au) and a petition that has already received 2000 signatures. We will work closely with Greens members in developing this campaign and are open to your feedback on what we should be calling for. Higher education was a huge priority issue for The Greens in the last federal election, with the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) taking the unprecedented step of politically and financially backing The Greens campaign.
The Coalition have announced they will be legislating the previous Labor Government’s $2.3 billion proposed cuts to the higher education budget next year. I have already met with the NTEU to discuss a joint strategy around fighting these cuts. My office is also preparing materials for O-Week in 2014 and we are very keen to work with Young Greens across the country to build the campaign to stop Abbott’s cuts. The Greens will continue to work closely with TAFE activists to fight against the contestability model for federal funding, supported by Labor and the Coalition that sees hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding flow to private providers instead of TAFEs. senator.rhiannon@aph.gov.au
PHOTO: NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION 20 AUG 2013 ORGANISED BY NUS, NTEU AND CAPA IN SUPPORT OF PUBLICLY FUNDED HIGHER EDUCATION.
SENATOR RICHARD DI NATALE - VIC
We’ve just been through a long election campaign and I’ve never been prouder to represent the people of Victoria and fight for Greens’ values. Yet again the Greens led the way on the major policy challenges facing our country and indeed our globe. We campaigned on addressing climate change and transforming our economy for the future. And we stood up for a more caring society by supporting equal marriage, fighting for better schools and by being the lone the voice of compassion in the asylum seeker debate. As health spokesperson I announced our fully costed $9 billion health package; a package designed to put Australia back on the path towards the Greens’ ideal of universal healthcare and to tackle the alarming trend of increasing out-ofpocket medical costs for Australians. The package includes a huge boost to preventative health, stronger action on pollution of our air, land and water, investments in Medicare, funding boosts for public hospitals, investing in rural health, targeted plans for mental health, eye health and hearing health, and commitments to medical research and innovation. As spokesperson for gambling and sport I campaigned for $1 bet limits on poker machines and for commonsense restrictions on the promotion of gambling. People should be able to sit down with their kids and watch the footy without being bombarded with messages to bet. Thanks to the many generous Greens supporters who donated or volunteered to door knock or hand out how-to-vote cards we were able to achieve something historic in Victoria. Not only did Adam Bandt manage to retain the seat of Melbourne in his own right, but the Greens also won their second Victorian Senate seat. I look forward to having Janet Rice join me in the red chamber but most of all I am looking forward to taking the fight to Tony Abbott and continuing to stand up for Greens’ values in the new parliament. senator.dinatale@aph.gov.au
SENATOR LARISSA WATERS - QLD
Thanks to the hardworking members and campaign team at the Queensland Greens for an excellent federal election campaign. Sadly, all that hard work didn’t translate into the marvellous Adam Stone joining us in the Senate. We will throw everything we have at continuing to build our support and campaigning against the environmentally bankrupt federal and state governments – particularly with the Palmer United Party in a scarily influential role. We will certainly have a lot to campaign on! Since the election, Tony Abbott and Campbell Newman have been buddying up to wreak havoc on Queensland’s environment and let the big mining company magnates, like Clive Palmer, have open slather across our beautiful state. Tony Abbott is set on weakening environmental protection by handing national environmental responsibilities to state governments across Australia – starting with Queensland. This dangerous plan will see Campbell (we’re in the coal business) Newman with sole control over threatened species, RAMSAR wetlands and World Heritage areas. Last year, the Greens led a strong community campaign against this reckless idea when it was proposed by former Prime Minister Gillard. And it’s going to take an even stronger community campaign to stop Abbott and Newman. We’re ready for the fight – our threatened species and wild places are too precious to lose. We are alarmed by recent revelations that some members of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority board have links to the coal and gas industry. The board entrusted to protect the Reef needs to be free of the influence of the fossil fuel industry while the Reef continues to be threatened by new and expanded coal and gas ports. I will be campaigning with the community to ensure protection of our Reef and the 63,000 jobs that rely on a healthy Reef are put before the profits of coal and gas exporters. With the old parties continuing to ignore UNESCO’s warning that the Reef could be listed as ‘World Heritage in Danger’ by mid next year, Queensland needs the Greens more than ever. senator.waters@aph.gov.au
SENATOR PENNY WRIGHT - SA
What a busy time it has been, both in the Parliament and on the campaign trail! I’m encouraged by people who tell me that the Greens’ work is making a difference to them. After a great deal of lobbying and rallying, it was rewarding to see the historic Gonski legislation pass through the Parliament. The Greens have championed better, fairer school funding for decades and will continue to fiercely advocate for public schools under the new government. Our education policies set the standard during the election campaign and I’ll keep working on important issues like teacher and student wellbeing in this next phase. The Greens remain the only party that recognises the need to fix our mental health system. We were the only ones with comprehensive, fully costed policy solutions during the election campaign, including a rural mental health policy. Shaped by my rural mental health report, our plan was described by the peak rural mental health body as ‘…one of the most sensible pieces of policy work…from a political party, on rural mental health, in the last 25 years”. The momentum for our campaign to protect South Australia’s iconic Kangaroo Island from offshore oil and gas exploration grows as we join with the local community in saying that this stunning place is too precious to lose. I’ve already written to the new Environment Minister and will keep putting pressure on him to recognise that oil and gas is all risk and no gain for Kangaroo Island. August 30th marked the end of a long campaign to have the names of Australian Peacekeepers who had been killed during deployments included on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll. This was a major achievement and a significant day for the peacekeepers’ families who finally have proper recognition for their loved ones. I’m looking forward to being a part of the Greens’ contribution to a better Australia as we stand up to Tony Abbott and the retrograde actions he has planned for our future. We’ll fight for what is important - along with our dedicated members and supporters. senator.wright@aph.gov.au
SENATOR PETER WHISH-WILSON - TAS
It has been a long and exciting year and I am very pleased to have retained my seat as a Senator representing Tasmania. I look forward to six more productive years in the Australian Senate. While this is a great result and reward for the dedicated work of the party and all the volunteers, a new conservative government means we have to steel ourselves for the next three years. The new Government’s intention to retract the carbon price will not only be bad for the environment, but it will have a direct financial impact on Tasmania. The state government receives a dividend from Hydro Tasmania directly related to the carbon tax of around $70 million per year which will be lost if the carbon price is overturned. My party room colleagues and I will work hard to prevent this from occurring and will seek compensation for Tasmania should the CleanEnergy legislation be repealed. Earlier in the year I launched a Greens 20 year economic vision for Tasmania; ‘Tasmania 2030’. It is intended to drive discussion and be a platform for the future economic development policies of the Tasmanian Greens. Now the election is over I look forward to continuing the development of this vision which highlights the Greens as the only party with a real plan to build the economy of Tasmania. Another focus for my team and I is the continued promotion of the issue of marine plastic pollution. Over the past few months I have been out all over Tasmania collecting beverage containers from roadsides, riverbeds and waterways, and near some of Tasmania’s best known tourist attractions. This has demonstrated the need for a national container deposit scheme and dedicated federal funding for marine debris studies and initiatives. Since the election I have been travelling around Tasmania and meeting groups to continue the conversation about these issues. A “cash for containers” scheme is one basic first step the country can take to help prevent plastic entering our oceans and incentivise the clean-up of our environment. senator.whish-wilson@aph.gov.au
ADAM BANDT - MEMBER FOR MELBOURNE DEPUTY LEADER
After a hard fought election campaign, we were able to achieve a remarkable result in Melbourne and in Victoria. In the face of a national swing against the Greens of over 3%, here in Melbourne we managed to lift our primary vote by 7% and record the highest Greens Senate vote of any federal division at just under 35%. This result is not something that was made possible overnight. It reflects three years of hard work building on the 2010 election, a well thought through strategy and an effective team that was able to lead a strong grassroots election campaign over the last 12 months. Our community organising team mobilised 584 active volunteers and 12,588 active supporters. Together we knocked on 46,219 doors including 10,555 in one weekend, made more than 23, 273 phone calls and reached out to people with 233,000 emails. Even in the last 24 hours of the campaign we were able to engage in a doorknocking blitz with at least 2,042 doors on polling day. These one-on-one conversations were the core to our communications effort, which was backed up with grassroots fundraising that meant we could invest in advertising and resources. People in Melbourne responded to our clear message about standing up for what matters and the need for politicians who will stand up for a clean economy and a caring society. Many of the surrounding electorates next to Melbourne also saw an increase in their vote and I am confident that if we are able to extend our approach into the next election we will be able to win more lower house seats. With Melbourne secure, I am now working with Christine Miline and the whole Greens team on the task of providing the real opposition to Tony Abbott as he seeks to dismantle action on climate change. adam.bandt.mp@aph.gov.au
FROM THE STATES & TERRITORIES AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
This will be my final contribution to Green Paty News as ACT Greens Convenor, and it has been a very eventful year. Many members and new supporters have been energised by our groundbreaking campaign to elect Simon Sheikh to the Senate. Although we missed out on a seat, we can celebrate many achievements. We had the largest and most active volunteer base of any campaign in our history, we won many booths for the first time, we covered every polling booth in Canberra, we outnumbered the Liberals on Election Day, and we forced the Liberals below quota. Once again, the ACT can boast the highest Green vote of any state or territory. Had we been contesting six seats, as were electors in each of the states, we would have easily won a Senate seat and been strong contenders for a second. Simon was joined by Indra Esguerra as the second Senate candidate, Julie Melrose as the candidate for Canberra, and Adam Verwey as the candidate for Fraser. Our candidates were supported by Ellen Sandell, our campaign manager. My thanks goes to our entire campaign team for their work. As we move on from the federal campaign our focus will now turn to supporting Shane Rattenbury and his efforts in the ACT Legislative Assembly. It has now been a year since Shane became one of only a few Greens representatives in the world to serve in government as a Minister and the coming years in the lead up to 2016 will be both exciting and challenging for the party. We have already seen Shane drive many exciting milestones in the Assembly, such as the historic passage of the marriage equality legislation last month. If the past year is anything to go by, we can look forward to more successes on issues such as light rail, renewable energy, and gay rights as a result of work by the Greens.
MAIY AZIZE OUTGOING ACT CONVENOR
ACT GREENS GPO Box 2019 Canberra ACT 2601 Ph: 02 6140 3220 office@act.greens.org.au www.act.greens.org.au
NEW SOUTH WALES
As the outgoing NSW Convenor after three years I would like to thank all those people who work so hard behind the scenes to make it happen. During an election campaign our star candidates naturally attract most of the attention and do a lot of hard work, but our members also put in a lot of hard work and are seldom recognised. Letter boxing, phoning for donations, manning stalls, going to rallies, doing the pre-poll, and then the long, long Saturday of election day (and taking down all the signs on Sunday) are all essential roles to play within our grassroots party. While our vote went down across the country it is our members, our local Councillors, and our community activists across the country who are our everyday representatives in a more constant sense than our Parliamentarians. It is from this network of members and supporters, from this commitment to grassroots democracy and participation that our endurance and survival as a political party springs. It is by staying true to our principles, by honouring our roots and not being beguiled by polls that our longevity and effectiveness will be built. After the highs of the 2010 election we went to the recent Federal election carrying the perception of being a partner to Government. Consequently, 2013 was hard for us. Our task now in NSW is to build again for the NSW State Election in March 2015, to re-emphasise that we are a party of principle and that we will fearlessly advocate for our planet and not ignore the morally difficult issues. In NSW all of our local Member Groups have an equal say in determining policy; our members have an equal say in preselection. It is that sort of opportunity to participate which makes standing on the polling booth for those long, long election Saturdays worthwhile. It is our community support from our activist roots, the constant search for peace, sustainability and justice that will keep the Greens strong when the fickle political times sway back and forth.
JAMES RYAN OUTGOING NSW CONVENOR
NSW GREENS 19 Eve St Erskineville NSW 2043 Ph: 02 9045 6999 office@nsw.greens.org.au www.nsw.greens.org.au
NORTHERN TERRITORY
The Northern Territory Greens are proud to have been able to field candidates in all four seats in the federal election, and especially to have had two strong, local Aboriginal candidates. Almost 9,000 people voted 1 Greens in the Northern Territory (8-9%) which is on par with elsewhere. Although we received 5-6% less votes than the last federal election, we are still clearly a force. Once again incumbent ALP member Warren Snowdon relied on Greens’ preferences to keep his seat of Lingiari. Let’s hope he recognises this, and is greener in his decisions in future. We are recovering from running a very positive election campaign with no campaign manager in Darwin, and are looking forward to having a couple of election-free years. Priorities for NT Greens now are updating our constitution and website, revising and finalising our policies and procedures, fundraising, and supporting our three diligent and hardworking Greens local government councillors. We will need to do some serious preparation in anticipation of the expected triple election year of 2016.
CHRISTINE MILNE AND WARREN H. WILLIAMS VISIT WARREN’S HOME COMMUNITY NTARIA DURING SENATOR MILNE’S ALICE SPRINGS VISIT, OCT 2013
It is heartening to see many new members joining the NT Greens and also the keen few who remain committed to organising the Party and doing the work that needs to be done. Hopefully we will also see a growing number of committed volunteers in the months to come. Major issues that keep us on our toes in the NT are climate change, the proposed nuclear waste dump, and the vast expansion of fracking. Local social challenges include the intervention, poverty, inequality in education, the skyrocketing rates of incarceration and suicide, and the dire situation for asylum seekers. We are also concerned about the expansion of military forces, particularly the presence of foreign military in the NT. There is much work to be done.
QUEENSLAND
The federal election produced some significant disappointments for the Greens in Queensland, the most obvious being the significant drop in our vote in both the Senate - going from nearly 13% to just over 6% - and the House of Representatives - going from around 11% to 6.2%. However, despite this, we did have some positives, most noticeably in the increased number of people who volunteered to help out during the course of the campaign. With improving use of integrated databases, we are also getting better at retaining more of these volunteers for future campaigns. Our fundraising results also contained some positives, and the quality of our candidates and the local campaigning that they and their branches ran was also improved from the 2010 election. Queensland also had the extra challenge of being the home base of the wellfunded Clive Palmer and his party, as well as Bob Katter and his party who performed very well in the state election eighteen months earlier. The Palmer party produced a very large amount of advertising and promotional material in the final period of the campaign, which not only boosted their vote but also crowded out other contestants from outside the two main parties. The results gained by the Palmer party exceeded most peoples’ expectations, although that was balanced to some extent by the Katter party doing a lot worse than expected. The rapid decline in the Katter party vote mirrored similar declines in previous populist right wing parties. This pattern does raise significant questions about whether or not the Palmer party will be able to hold its vote once it has to take positions on every issue and the lack of substance beneath the veneer becomes more apparent. Either way, the conservatives in Queensland do have increased competition which may lead to splits in the vote come the next state election which could be held as early as next year. The Greens need to re-establish our public presence and build on the bedrock of support which is still present despite the disappointing federal election result.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The last few months have been a busy but rewarding time for the South Australian Greens. We were delighted to see Senator Hanson-Young returned to the senate for a second term, after a hard fought campaign. Our thanks go to all of the party staff, members and volunteers who worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. In particular, we would like to acknowledge the work of Jacob Johannesen, Senator HansonYoung’s Campaign Manager who passed away just before Election Day. He was a tremendous talent who will be greatly missed by us all. We had our AGM in early October and our new state office bearers have commenced their terms. As we head towards 2014, the new Coordinating Group is conducting a review of the party office to identify any cost-savings that can be implemented in light of reduced revenue after the result in the federal election. We look forward to talking to other states about their own initiatives in this area. Meanwhile, our State Election Campaign Committee is working tirelessly to re-elect Mark Parnell to the SA upper-house and candidate preselections for lower house seats are well underway. The South Australian state election will be held in March 2014 so we will be keeping our foot on the pedal between now and then. If anyone would like to volunteer on the SA campaign, please get in touch with the state office by emailing saoffice@sa.greens.org.au or giving us a call on 08 8212 4888. We are enthusiastic about 2014 and look forward to another positive year for the Greens, in South Australia and across the country!
ROBERT SIMMS AND LISA ADAMS SA CO-CONVENORS
TASMANIA
I have recently been elected State Convenor (at the September 2013 State Conference) at a time of relative turmoil and re-consideration after the Federal Election. Obviously we Greens have to look closely at the outcomes of the Federal election and what the implications are for us. My response was to immediately leave the country as a political refugee from Abbottland! [More seriously I was going to the US on a trip linked to my interest in wolf conservation.] Although the election results include some good and some bad outcomes, we were delighted that Peter Whish-Wilson retained his Senate seat. It was never going to be easy given the general lurch to the right in Australian politics, but Peter has managed to establish his own niche in the political landscape. We had some excellent candidates and good campaigning in the House of Representatives seats, so certainly the Greens were a visible presence but this was not enough for us to get anywhere near actually winning seats. Controversy around the issue of preferences caused some confusion even amongst our own members and, of course, provided some grist for our opponents. Our focus now is firmly on the upcoming State elections, due in March 2014, with planning already well advanced. Our Campaign Director, Daniel Patman, has scarcely had time to recover from the Federal election before starting work on the State level election. Broad themes have been identified Pride in Tasmania and ‘selling’ the State, no logging in World Heritage areas, economic transition (including jobs for the future), and literacy/numeracy issues. The specifics are to be dealt with in the overall campaign with the under-pinning of the importance of cooperative politics as the mechanism for delivering on these and other issues. I look forward to a lively time!
AUSTRA MADDOX TASMANIA CONVENOR
ANDREW BARTLETT QLD CONVENOR
The Greens Victoria are still celebrating the results of the Federal election with Adam Bandt being re-elected in the seat of Melbourne (a first time for a Green in a lower house seat) and founding member of the Victorian Greens, Janet Rice, being elected to join Senator Richard Di Natale in the senate. We are also gearing up for the Victorian State election due to be held in November 2014. We currently have three upper house members in Victoria; Greg Barber, Sue Pennicuik and Colleen Hartland, and will be aiming to increase this number and gain the balance of power. We will also be working hard to break through into the lower house in what we anticipate will be a tightly contested election. Our priorities at present are the review of our state policy platform and finalisation of the state election campaign strategy. Member participation in policy development is one of the key strengths of the Greens and we urge all members to get involved by joining the online policy forum in addition to providing feedback through your branches and state council.
Amongst the excitement over the Federal election, the Victorian Greens have also had some sad news. Greens member Janet Powell (pictured) who was a former Senator and Leader of the Democrats as well as a Greens state election candidate passed away in October. Many of us in the Greens have worked alongside Janet and her work has been an inspiration to us all. Janet’s memorial was attended by many Greens and supporters. Former Leader of the Australian Greens, Bob Brown, spoke of her commitment to social justice and the environment. She will not be forgotten and we are committed to ensuring her memory and her work lives on.
QUEENSLAND GREENS PO Box 661, Albion BC, 4010 Ph: 07 3173 1127 office@qld.greens.org.au www.qld.greens.org.au
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GREENS 239 Wright Street Adelaide SA 5000 Ph: 08 8212 4888 saoffice@sa.greens.org.au www.sa.greens.org.au
TASMANIAN GREENS GPO Box 1132 Hobart TAS 7001 Ph: 03 6236 9334 party@tas.greens.org.au www.tas.greens.org.au
VICTORIAN GREENS GPO Box 4589 Melbourne VIC 3001 Ph: 03 9602 1141 office@vic.greens.org.au www.vic.greens.org.au
GREEN PARTY NEWS
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The main news from WA this time around is the amazing final result in the 2013 Senate Election. The original count saw sitting Greens senator Scott Ludlam defeated in a result that hinged on a mere 14 votes that decided a preference flow against us. At our request a full recount was ordered, which has resulted in the re-election of Scott Ludlam. However it now appears that due to the unfortunate loss of a small but significant number of votes, there is a real possibility of an unprecedented state wide re-election for the upper house early next year! I would like to thank all the people who volunteered to help scrutineer the recount. We put in a stellar effort, and more than matched the number of scrutineers from the major parties (and the PUPs). The current outcome would have been impossible without these people giving up their precious time. Well done everyone! At present, all federal election results that come down to a margin of less than 100 votes in the lower house are automatically subject to a recount to ensure the validity of the vote. The Greens feel that a similar situation should be applied to the upper house too. We will be seeking reforms to ensure that from now on, all tight senate races are subject to an automatic recount just as the lower house results are. One outcome of this election is already clear; a significant surge in Green membership! The priority now is to put them to good use by involving them in our continuous campaigning effort. Plans for this are still being drawn up, but it will involve an increased level of community campaigning between elections and increased activity by the Young Greens. This will be my last report as CoConvenor, as my two terms came to an end at our October AGM. The role will now be in the capable hands of Giz Watson, who many of you will know as a long serving state MP. I wish her all the best in the role, and thank you for the last 2 years.
CHRIS DICKINSON WA CONVENOR
DINESH MATHEW & TONY KELLY AGV CO-CONVENORS
MARLENE HODDER NT GREENS DEPUTY CONVENOR NT GREENS PO Box 421 Nightcliff NT 0814 Ph: 0402 617 416 convenor@nt.greens.org.au www.nt.greens.org.au
VICTORIA
WA GREENS PO Box Y3022 Perth WA 6832 Ph: 08 9221 8333 office@wa.greens.org.au www.wa.greens.org.au
The latest news from our federal MPs and state convenors
SUMMER 2013 OUR FEDERAL MPS There is no piece from Senator Christine Milne in this edition of GPN as all updates are covered in Green magazine.
SENATOR RACHEL SIEWERT - WA
Tony Abbott and the Coalition have wasted little time in signalling a tougher approach when it comes to vulnerable Australians. The future of important reforms like that of the Australian Charities and Not-forprofits Commission are in doubt, there has been talk of an expansion of income management, reversing the pay increase for aged care workers and no mention of addressing critical social issues that contribute to Australia’s growing level of poverty. The Greens took a suite of strong and costed policies to the election, and we can be proud of our role in leading the debate on some of the most important issues Australia is facing including poverty, income support, single parents, mental
health, housing and homelessness. We’re not sitting back on these issues now the election is over. In the last few weeks Australia has recognised AntiPoverty Week and Carers Week and the Greens have again been leading the debate, calling for the development of a National Anti-Poverty Strategy, to address our country’s growing level of disadvantage. There are now 2.6 million Australians living under the poverty line, and almost half a million are under 15. The report by UnitingCare (Poverty, Social Exclusion and Disadvantage in Australia) found that 20% of single parent families are in poverty; double the rate of couples. This growing poverty is placing an increasing burden on our community sector. Foodbank’s End Hunger in Australia Report for 2013 shows that 65,000 people are being turned away from charities each month because there isn’t
enough food and 80% of agencies report being unable to meet demand. Here in WA, a survey we organised of 31 charity organisations found that all but four had experienced an increase in demand for services over the last six months. This growing demand is coming in the most fundamental areas like housing, food, and inadequate income which is leaving people unable to pay bills or afford the basics. A National Anti-Poverty Strategy would coordinate efforts across all levels of government, the community sector and other organisations to address the wide variety of factors that contribute to poverty in Australia. As part of our ongoing work to reduce poverty, we’ll continue working across portfolios to deliver better outcomes for all Australians. senator.siewert@aph.gov.au
HOW THE WEST WAS WON LOST UM, WON NO WAIT… SENATOR SCOTT LUDLAM - WA
The biggest problem with writing up the WA election campaign is that by the time you get to read it, the report will be obsolete.
Along with the rest of the country, we cheered Adam and his talented team on election night, delighted in the news that Janet would join the party room, and celebrated good wins in SA and Tasmania. Amidst the sobering reality of what an AbbottMurdoch government could do to the country, at least we knew there’d be a strong Greens team in Parliament to take it up to them. What we didn’t know was, whether or not we’d won WA. And now, looking back over the agonisingly slow count, announcement of our loss, first appeal to the AEC, second successful appeal, a massive recount mobilisation and then a razor-fine win marred by the unprecedented loss of 1375 ballot
papers… the surprises keep coming. No reason to assume there won’t be more. To our fine army of sharp-eyed scrutineers, our thanks – to local crew who had already worked their hearts out on the campaign to the interstate cavalry who gave up weeks to look for needles in the warehouse sized haystack. To everyone else who showed your support over past weeks, you are so much appreciated. You know who you are. From here perhaps, the road leads to a fresh election in 2014, but first, an appointment with the Court of Disputed Returns. If the court does decide that way, we’ll be ready. We’ve begun fundraising and preliminary planning, and one way or another, we’re going to hold this seat for the Greens.
If you’re reading this, there’s a reasonable chance that one way or another you helped get us this far. Thankyou. Now we need your help to secure legal advice for the High Court challenge and to prepare for another Senate election in WA. Google ‘DONATE TO THE WA SENATE FIGHTING FUND’ to donate and support this next challenge. senator.ludlam@aph.gov.au
AUSTRALIAN GREENS National Office GPO Box 1108 Canberra ACT 2601 Ph: 02 6140 3217 (Canberra) 1800 017 011 greens@greens.org.au www.greens.org.au
NORTHERN TERRITORY
The Northern Territory Greens are proud to have been able to field candidates in all four seats in the federal election, and especially to have had two strong, local Aboriginal candidates. Almost 9,000 people voted 1 Greens in the Northern Territory (8-9%) which is on par with elsewhere. Although we received 5-6% less votes than the last federal election, we are still clearly a force. Once again incumbent ALP member Warren Snowdon relied on Greens’ preferences to keep his seat of Lingiari. Let’s hope he recognises this, and is greener in his decisions in future. We are recovering from running a very positive election campaign with no campaign manager in Darwin, and are looking forward to having a couple of election-free years. Priorities for NT Greens now are updating our constitution and website, revising and finalising our policies and procedures, fundraising, and supporting our three diligent and hardworking Greens local government councillors. We will need to do some serious preparation in anticipation of the expected triple election year of 2016.
CHRISTINE MILNE AND WARREN H. WILLIAMS VISIT WARREN’S HOME COMMUNITY NTARIA DURING SENATOR MILNE’S ALICE SPRINGS VISIT, OCT 2013
It is heartening to see many new members joining the NT Greens and also the keen few who remain committed to organising the Party and doing the work that needs to be done. Hopefully we will also see a growing number of committed volunteers in the months to come. Major issues that keep us on our toes in the NT are climate change, the proposed nuclear waste dump, and the vast expansion of fracking. Local social challenges include the intervention, poverty, inequality in education, the skyrocketing rates of incarceration and suicide, and the dire situation for asylum seekers. We are also concerned about the expansion of military forces, particularly the presence of foreign military in the NT. There is much work to be done.
QUEENSLAND
The federal election produced some significant disappointments for the Greens in Queensland, the most obvious being the significant drop in our vote in both the Senate - going from nearly 13% to just over 6% - and the House of Representatives - going from around 11% to 6.2%. However, despite this, we did have some positives, most noticeably in the increased number of people who volunteered to help out during the course of the campaign. With improving use of integrated databases, we are also getting better at retaining more of these volunteers for future campaigns. Our fundraising results also contained some positives, and the quality of our candidates and the local campaigning that they and their branches ran was also improved from the 2010 election. Queensland also had the extra challenge of being the home base of the wellfunded Clive Palmer and his party, as well as Bob Katter and his party who performed very well in the state election eighteen months earlier. The Palmer party produced a very large amount of advertising and promotional material in the final period of the campaign, which not only boosted their vote but also crowded out other contestants from outside the two main parties. The results gained by the Palmer party exceeded most peoples’ expectations, although that was balanced to some extent by the Katter party doing a lot worse than expected. The rapid decline in the Katter party vote mirrored similar declines in previous populist right wing parties. This pattern does raise significant questions about whether or not the Palmer party will be able to hold its vote once it has to take positions on every issue and the lack of substance beneath the veneer becomes more apparent. Either way, the conservatives in Queensland do have increased competition which may lead to splits in the vote come the next state election which could be held as early as next year. The Greens need to re-establish our public presence and build on the bedrock of support which is still present despite the disappointing federal election result.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The last few months have been a busy but rewarding time for the South Australian Greens. We were delighted to see Senator Hanson-Young returned to the senate for a second term, after a hard fought campaign. Our thanks go to all of the party staff, members and volunteers who worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. In particular, we would like to acknowledge the work of Jacob Johannesen, Senator HansonYoung’s Campaign Manager who passed away just before Election Day. He was a tremendous talent who will be greatly missed by us all. We had our AGM in early October and our new state office bearers have commenced their terms. As we head towards 2014, the new Coordinating Group is conducting a review of the party office to identify any cost-savings that can be implemented in light of reduced revenue after the result in the federal election. We look forward to talking to other states about their own initiatives in this area. Meanwhile, our State Election Campaign Committee is working tirelessly to re-elect Mark Parnell to the SA upper-house and candidate preselections for lower house seats are well underway. The South Australian state election will be held in March 2014 so we will be keeping our foot on the pedal between now and then. If anyone would like to volunteer on the SA campaign, please get in touch with the state office by emailing saoffice@sa.greens.org.au or giving us a call on 08 8212 4888. We are enthusiastic about 2014 and look forward to another positive year for the Greens, in South Australia and across the country!
ROBERT SIMMS AND LISA ADAMS SA CO-CONVENORS
TASMANIA
I have recently been elected State Convenor (at the September 2013 State Conference) at a time of relative turmoil and re-consideration after the Federal Election. Obviously we Greens have to look closely at the outcomes of the Federal election and what the implications are for us. My response was to immediately leave the country as a political refugee from Abbottland! [More seriously I was going to the US on a trip linked to my interest in wolf conservation.] Although the election results include some good and some bad outcomes, we were delighted that Peter Whish-Wilson retained his Senate seat. It was never going to be easy given the general lurch to the right in Australian politics, but Peter has managed to establish his own niche in the political landscape. We had some excellent candidates and good campaigning in the House of Representatives seats, so certainly the Greens were a visible presence but this was not enough for us to get anywhere near actually winning seats. Controversy around the issue of preferences caused some confusion even amongst our own members and, of course, provided some grist for our opponents. Our focus now is firmly on the upcoming State elections, due in March 2014, with planning already well advanced. Our Campaign Director, Daniel Patman, has scarcely had time to recover from the Federal election before starting work on the State level election. Broad themes have been identified Pride in Tasmania and ‘selling’ the State, no logging in World Heritage areas, economic transition (including jobs for the future), and literacy/numeracy issues. The specifics are to be dealt with in the overall campaign with the under-pinning of the importance of cooperative politics as the mechanism for delivering on these and other issues. I look forward to a lively time!
AUSTRA MADDOX TASMANIA CONVENOR
ANDREW BARTLETT QLD CONVENOR
The Greens Victoria are still celebrating the results of the Federal election with Adam Bandt being re-elected in the seat of Melbourne (a first time for a Green in a lower house seat) and founding member of the Victorian Greens, Janet Rice, being elected to join Senator Richard Di Natale in the senate. We are also gearing up for the Victorian State election due to be held in November 2014. We currently have three upper house members in Victoria; Greg Barber, Sue Pennicuik and Colleen Hartland, and will be aiming to increase this number and gain the balance of power. We will also be working hard to break through into the lower house in what we anticipate will be a tightly contested election. Our priorities at present are the review of our state policy platform and finalisation of the state election campaign strategy. Member participation in policy development is one of the key strengths of the Greens and we urge all members to get involved by joining the online policy forum in addition to providing feedback through your branches and state council.
Amongst the excitement over the Federal election, the Victorian Greens have also had some sad news. Greens member Janet Powell (pictured) who was a former Senator and Leader of the Democrats as well as a Greens state election candidate passed away in October. Many of us in the Greens have worked alongside Janet and her work has been an inspiration to us all. Janet’s memorial was attended by many Greens and supporters. Former Leader of the Australian Greens, Bob Brown, spoke of her commitment to social justice and the environment. She will not be forgotten and we are committed to ensuring her memory and her work lives on.
QUEENSLAND GREENS PO Box 661, Albion BC, 4010 Ph: 07 3173 1127 office@qld.greens.org.au www.qld.greens.org.au
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GREENS 239 Wright Street Adelaide SA 5000 Ph: 08 8212 4888 saoffice@sa.greens.org.au www.sa.greens.org.au
TASMANIAN GREENS GPO Box 1132 Hobart TAS 7001 Ph: 03 6236 9334 party@tas.greens.org.au www.tas.greens.org.au
VICTORIAN GREENS GPO Box 4589 Melbourne VIC 3001 Ph: 03 9602 1141 office@vic.greens.org.au www.vic.greens.org.au
GREEN PARTY NEWS
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The main news from WA this time around is the amazing final result in the 2013 Senate Election. The original count saw sitting Greens senator Scott Ludlam defeated in a result that hinged on a mere 14 votes that decided a preference flow against us. At our request a full recount was ordered, which has resulted in the re-election of Scott Ludlam. However it now appears that due to the unfortunate loss of a small but significant number of votes, there is a real possibility of an unprecedented state wide re-election for the upper house early next year! I would like to thank all the people who volunteered to help scrutineer the recount. We put in a stellar effort, and more than matched the number of scrutineers from the major parties (and the PUPs). The current outcome would have been impossible without these people giving up their precious time. Well done everyone! At present, all federal election results that come down to a margin of less than 100 votes in the lower house are automatically subject to a recount to ensure the validity of the vote. The Greens feel that a similar situation should be applied to the upper house too. We will be seeking reforms to ensure that from now on, all tight senate races are subject to an automatic recount just as the lower house results are. One outcome of this election is already clear; a significant surge in Green membership! The priority now is to put them to good use by involving them in our continuous campaigning effort. Plans for this are still being drawn up, but it will involve an increased level of community campaigning between elections and increased activity by the Young Greens. This will be my last report as CoConvenor, as my two terms came to an end at our October AGM. The role will now be in the capable hands of Giz Watson, who many of you will know as a long serving state MP. I wish her all the best in the role, and thank you for the last 2 years.
CHRIS DICKINSON WA CONVENOR
DINESH MATHEW & TONY KELLY AGV CO-CONVENORS
MARLENE HODDER NT GREENS DEPUTY CONVENOR NT GREENS PO Box 421 Nightcliff NT 0814 Ph: 0402 617 416 convenor@nt.greens.org.au www.nt.greens.org.au
VICTORIA
WA GREENS PO Box Y3022 Perth WA 6832 Ph: 08 9221 8333 office@wa.greens.org.au www.wa.greens.org.au
The latest news from our federal MPs and state convenors
SUMMER 2013 OUR FEDERAL MPS There is no piece from Senator Christine Milne in this edition of GPN as all updates are covered in Green magazine.
SENATOR RACHEL SIEWERT - WA
Tony Abbott and the Coalition have wasted little time in signalling a tougher approach when it comes to vulnerable Australians. The future of important reforms like that of the Australian Charities and Not-forprofits Commission are in doubt, there has been talk of an expansion of income management, reversing the pay increase for aged care workers and no mention of addressing critical social issues that contribute to Australia’s growing level of poverty. The Greens took a suite of strong and costed policies to the election, and we can be proud of our role in leading the debate on some of the most important issues Australia is facing including poverty, income support, single parents, mental
health, housing and homelessness. We’re not sitting back on these issues now the election is over. In the last few weeks Australia has recognised AntiPoverty Week and Carers Week and the Greens have again been leading the debate, calling for the development of a National Anti-Poverty Strategy, to address our country’s growing level of disadvantage. There are now 2.6 million Australians living under the poverty line, and almost half a million are under 15. The report by UnitingCare (Poverty, Social Exclusion and Disadvantage in Australia) found that 20% of single parent families are in poverty; double the rate of couples. This growing poverty is placing an increasing burden on our community sector. Foodbank’s End Hunger in Australia Report for 2013 shows that 65,000 people are being turned away from charities each month because there isn’t
enough food and 80% of agencies report being unable to meet demand. Here in WA, a survey we organised of 31 charity organisations found that all but four had experienced an increase in demand for services over the last six months. This growing demand is coming in the most fundamental areas like housing, food, and inadequate income which is leaving people unable to pay bills or afford the basics. A National Anti-Poverty Strategy would coordinate efforts across all levels of government, the community sector and other organisations to address the wide variety of factors that contribute to poverty in Australia. As part of our ongoing work to reduce poverty, we’ll continue working across portfolios to deliver better outcomes for all Australians. senator.siewert@aph.gov.au
HOW THE WEST WAS WON LOST UM, WON NO WAIT… SENATOR SCOTT LUDLAM - WA
The biggest problem with writing up the WA election campaign is that by the time you get to read it, the report will be obsolete.
Along with the rest of the country, we cheered Adam and his talented team on election night, delighted in the news that Janet would join the party room, and celebrated good wins in SA and Tasmania. Amidst the sobering reality of what an AbbottMurdoch government could do to the country, at least we knew there’d be a strong Greens team in Parliament to take it up to them. What we didn’t know was, whether or not we’d won WA. And now, looking back over the agonisingly slow count, announcement of our loss, first appeal to the AEC, second successful appeal, a massive recount mobilisation and then a razor-fine win marred by the unprecedented loss of 1375 ballot
papers… the surprises keep coming. No reason to assume there won’t be more. To our fine army of sharp-eyed scrutineers, our thanks – to local crew who had already worked their hearts out on the campaign to the interstate cavalry who gave up weeks to look for needles in the warehouse sized haystack. To everyone else who showed your support over past weeks, you are so much appreciated. You know who you are. From here perhaps, the road leads to a fresh election in 2014, but first, an appointment with the Court of Disputed Returns. If the court does decide that way, we’ll be ready. We’ve begun fundraising and preliminary planning, and one way or another, we’re going to hold this seat for the Greens.
If you’re reading this, there’s a reasonable chance that one way or another you helped get us this far. Thankyou. Now we need your help to secure legal advice for the High Court challenge and to prepare for another Senate election in WA. Google ‘DONATE TO THE WA SENATE FIGHTING FUND’ to donate and support this next challenge. senator.ludlam@aph.gov.au
AUSTRALIAN GREENS National Office GPO Box 1108 Canberra ACT 2601 Ph: 02 6140 3217 (Canberra) 1800 017 011 greens@greens.org.au www.greens.org.au