Greens face oblivion after biting off more than they could chew

The flagging Queensland Greens are blaming Labor for their failure to pick up any new seats and potentially losing one, in a shock state election drubbing.

Michael Berkman addresses the faithful at the Greens party on election night at the Story Bridge Hotel. Picture: Steve Pohlner

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The flagging Queensland Greens are blaming Labor for their failure to pick up any new seats and potentially losing one, in a shock state election drubbing.

But Labor and LNP insiders alike say the Greens overextended themselves by targeting 10 electorates, with voters also abandoning a progressive minor party that was increasingly belligerent at a federal level.

Greens MP Michael Berkman looked likely to hold on to his leafy western suburb electorate of Maiwar on Sunday despite a 7.3 per cent primary swing against him.

Labor’s Dr Barbara O’Shea is on track to retake South Brisbane from the clutches of the Greens after just one term, but a wafer-thin pathway to victory remains for incumbent Dr Amy MacMahon should the LNP overtake Labor on the primary vote.

The Greens had boasted of wanting to win up to 10 seats in the lead-up to the election, with particular zest for Cooper, McConnel, Greenslopes, Moggill, Clayfield, Miller.

Greens MP Michael Berkman talks at a press conference at Milton Common on Sunday. Picture: Lachie Millard

But it ultimately failed to secure any and was instead sliding backwards in McConnel, Clayfield, Cooper, and Moggill.

Mr Berkman asserted Labor had managed to recover some of their plummeting vote by rolling out “popular Greens policies” like 50 cent fares, free school lunches, and free GP visits.

He also took aim at Labor for pouring more resources into keeping the Greens at bay then fighting the LNP, and in turn delivering a conservative government to Queensland.

It was a sentiment echoed by Federal Greens leader Adam Bandt who said Queensland Labor’s focus had been “fighting the Greens” and “giving up on government”.

But Labor and Liberal MPs and insiders said the Greens had been on the nose in the state in the lead up to the election.

Greens Member for South Brisbane Amy MacMahon might still win her seat. Picture: Dan Peled / NewsWire

Overwhelmingly the view is the Greens had overextended themselves by vying for too many seats at once and failing to protect those it already held.

Voters were also turned off by the antics of the federal Greens, including Griffith MP Max Chandler-Mather’s support for the CFMEU and the perception it was sowing community division in the discourse over the Israel-Gaza war.

The Greens’ shift from being a minor party focused on the environment to also focusing on renters rights and housing had alienated its older more affluent support base — particularly those in Maiwar.

Outgoing Premier Steven Miles declined to get into “political commentary” over the collapse of Greens’ support but said he had always been of the view the best way to deliver results on things like the environment was through governing.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who will hope to claim Green federal seats in Queensland like Brisbane and Griffith, said the result in the Sunshine State sent a “message” to the minor party to “play a progressive role, not to play a blocking role”.

Originally published as Greens face oblivion after biting off more than they could chew