Election 2018: Greens fuel insults, one-liners among major leaders at environment debate

IT WAS the one debate that Jay Weatherill, Steven Marshall and Nick Xenophon could never hope to win.

Greens Leader Mark Parnell, SA Best Leader Nick Xenophon, Liberal Leader Steven Marshall and Premier Jay Weaherill at the environment debate. AAP Image/David Mariuz

• Labor accuses Steven Marshall of not disclosing bank shares
• Election 2018 HQ: The latest news and announcements

IT WAS the one debate that Jay Weatherill, Steven Marshall and Nick Xenophon could never hope to win.

Greens leader Mark Parnell had the support of those gathered at the Leaders’ environment debate before he’d even uttered a word.

The heartfelt applause started with his opposition to all nuclear proposals, and it didn’t stop until the end. You would have thought it was Captain Planet gracing the stage, not a bespectacled environmental lawyer.

In the absence of new policy, it was the tactics of the three men vying to be premier that were most intriguing.

Opposition Leader Steven Marshall, instead of talking up his withdrawal of support for a high level nuclear waste facility or a 10-year moratorium in the South-East, went on the attack.

He twice needled SA Best leader Nick Xenophon about a lack of policy and said his “well read” opponent was able to hide a lack of solutions through clever one-liners.

And like the Liberal leader, Premier Jay Weatherill was happy to throw around some insults. He derided Mr Marshall for his comments in the immediate aftermath of the statewide blackout and Mr Xenophon for comments about “wind farm refugees”.

But they were a series of one-liners – not a planned salvo like his infamous attack on federal Minister Josh Frydenberg.

Greens preferences flowing to Labor will be crucial as they try to prevent seats from flowing to SA Best, so policy should have been king.

Mr Xenophon has expressed staunch opposition to drilling in the Great Australian Bight and strong support for the River Murray, and received the odd enthusiastic response with his well articulated answers. But while he posed with a futuristically dressed Fringe performer at the forum’s close, his address was relatively low on sizzle, as he was yet again buffered with insults from all sides – and was again very light on policy.