Greens to suffer as Turnbull offers preferences to Labor

PM DROPS a bomb in announcing the Libs have offered preferences to Labor, a resounding smackdown for the Greens.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull along with Environment Minister Greg Hunt on the campaign trail Sunday. Picture: Adam Taylor

THE Liberals may have dallied with the Greens in some electorates but no one should be surprised by a decision to offer preferences to Labor.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says his party will urge its voters to put the Greens after Labor in all lower house seats. “This is a call that I have made in the national interest,” he told reporters in Sydney on Sunday morning.

“It hasn’t surprised anybody.” But he warned voters not to risk “an unstable, chaotic minority Labor-Greens-independent government” and to vote for the coalition. Labor had strongly campaigned on a “dirty deal” it believed the Liberals were doing with the Greens in several Victorian seats the minor party is hoping to win from the ALP.

It has run ads showing the Liberal logo turning green, warning die-hard conservative voters the party may not be what they think it is.

But the Greens announced on Wednesday the party would suggest its voters preference Labor in the Melbourne seats of Batman, Higgins, Melbourne, Melbourne Ports and Wills but may run open tickets elsewhere.

Labor frontbencher Brendan O’Connor said on Sunday his party was not going to be upset by the Liberals’ decision.

Mr Turnbull said the question of preferences had been under consideration for some time and he made the decision in consultation with party director Tony Nutt.

The prime minister has repeatedly insisted throughout the campaign a decision on preferences was one for the party organisation, telling reporters that as recently as Saturday. On Sunday he tweaked his message: “It is a decision made by the party organisation in consultation with the party’s leader and that is me.”

Meantime, the PM has a snappy new tool in his social media arsenal.

But he may have risked any connection with younger voters via Snapchat by making fun of his youngest minister in his first snap. The Prime Minister tweeted he’d signed up to the messaging app at the behest of 26-year-old Wyatt Roy, the Assistant Minister for Innovation and youngest member of parliament.

The pair kicked things off at a pub in Mr Roy’s seat of Longman in Queensland on Friday with Mr Roy introducing the prime minister. “Friday night at the pub, the most exciting time to launch your Snapchat,” Mr Roy said.

Mr Turnbull then quipped: “And they didn’t even ask for your ID”.

Mr Roy replied with a weak: “Mate, innovative.” Mr Turnbull joins a fledgling band of politicians snapping away to connect with younger voters throughout the election campaign.

The popular app lets users send pictures and videos that self-destruct after they’ve been seen, and also allows users to broadcast “stories” - a collection of photo and video snippets that last for 24 hours - to their followers.

Parliamentary Snapchat veterans include foreign minister Julie Bishop, a prolific user who snaps emoji-decorated selfies and videos daily from the campaign trail, and Labor MPs Sam Dastyari and Ed Husic, who likes to deploy the “puppy dog” face-recognition filter in his stories.

Overseas users include UK Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn and US White House contenders Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders who used the app’s special geo-filters to marshal votes. Social media has become a central tool for both major parties this Australian election with campaign ads launched on Facebook and Twitter pages, and the prime minister choosing to hold the third leaders’ debate this week online for the first time.

Originally published as Greens to suffer as Turnbull offers preferences to Labor