‘It’s an outright lie’: David Shoebridge slams anxious Labor MP’s misleading preferencing posts

A senate hopeful has slammed the comments of a Labor MP who has repeatedly suggested voting for the Greens was a vote to retain the Scott Morrison government.

An under-pressure Labor MP has been called out for repeatedly suggesting a vote for the Greens is a vote for a Scott Morrison government.

The Member for Griffith, Terri Butler, is in a fight to hold on to her Brisbane seat with Greens candidate Max Chandler-Mather seen as a strong chance breaking into the Lower House.

The scrutiny in Kevin Rudd’s former seat has seen Ms Butler resort to posting on social media that voting for the left-wing party is somehow an endorsement of the Coalition.

The Greens are preferencing Labor first in every electorate while Labor, for the most part, are preferencing the Greens first – including in the seat of Griffith.

“It is an outright lie and it’s very unfortunate that they think that’s the way to do politics,” Greens senate prospect David Shoebridge said.

“Adam Bandt and every Greens candidate has made it abundantly clear that they would never support a Morrison government and Labor knows how preferences work.

“If people vote ‘1’ Greens and vote ‘2’ Labor, if the Greens candidate is not elected the preferences flow through at the full value to Labor so it’s disappointing and quite sad to see Labor stoop to these lows.”

The flow of preferences could have a pivotal part to play on the South Coast in the key electorate of Gilmore where Labor’s Fiona Phillips holds the seat by just 2.6 per cent.

In 2019, the Greens polled 10 per cent of the vote in Gilmore with 87.2 per cent of their preferences flowing through to Labor which helped Mrs Phillips beat Liberal candidate Warren Mundine.

The Nationals haven’t fielded a candidate in Gilmore this time around which means the influence of Greens preferences is likely to play an even greater role in determining who wins between the incumbent and Liberal challenger Andrew Constance.

The Greens’ candidate in Gilmore Carmel McCallum has garnered around 10 per cent of the vote at the last two elections, but she wouldn’t be drawn on Ms Butler’s insinuations.

The Greens’ Gilmore candidate Carmel McCallum had little comment on the issue.

“It’s not an issue in Gilmore as it’s not Fiona who is making those comments,” she said.

“It will be very interesting to see how it goes on Saturday, or maybe even Sunday.”

The deputy leader of the Opposition, Richard Marles, was quizzed about whether Ms Butler’s comments were disinformation during a doorstop in Shoalhaven Heads this week.

“The important message here this week at pre-poll and on Saturday is if you want to change government, you put ‘1’ in the Labor box,” he said.

“If you want to change the government, you vote for Fiona Phillips in Gilmore. That’s the only way we guarantee we see no more of Scott Morrison and we elect an Albanese government.

“The vote that will most ensure Anthony Albanese will become the next prime minister of Australia and ensure we don’t have more of the same with Scott Morrison is by people voting Labor – that’s what we are asking for people to do.”