Greens endorse Teal candidate in Bradfield as Albanese prepares to call election

A Greens representative has urged voters in a key Sydney electorate to vote for a Teal independent.

A Greens candidate is urging voters in a key federal electorate to vote for Teal independents — as the Liberal Party ramps up its campaign accusing climate conscious independents of being Greens in disguise.

At a community event Heather Armstrong, listed as “Greens spokesman for Harjit Singh (the party candidate)” ended her closing remarks urging people to vote for Nicolette Boele.

Mr Singh is the party’s candidate for the Liberal-held seat of Bradfield in Sydney’s north shore.

Nicolette Boele has rebranded herself as the Shadow Representative for Bradfield. Picture with Simon Holmes a Court. Picture: Supplied

Bradfield is one of the last remaining Liberal seats in the area that has not yet been taken by the Climate-200 backed Teal movement.

Nicolette Boele is the Teal candidate who is running again after coming within just a few thousand votes of stealing the seat at the 2022 election.

The Telegraph spoke to multiple attendees at the event to verify the comments.

One attendee and lifelong Bradfield resident said: “Each of the candidates were given the opportunity to make a closing statement. It was pretty brief and the last to speak was the representative for the Greens which was Heather Armstrong.

“She made a few points and ended by saying I recommend that you give your preference to Nicolette and she said she was a lovely lady.”

Federal Arts Minister and Member for Bradfield Paul Fletcher in his Lidfield electoral office. Picture: John Appleyard

A second attendee said Ms Armstrong said voters should preference Ms Boele before briefly mentioning the Labor candidate for the seat.

Ms Boele’s chances this time around are bolstered by sitting MP Paul Fletcher’s decision to retire.

Liberals have seized the comments as more evidence the Teal independents are aligned with the Greens.

The coalition previously launched a website deep-diving into the Teal’s voting record and how often they have voted with the Greens.

The party says Teal MPs have voted with the Greens 77 per cent of the time in their first term in parliament.

Liberal Senator James Paterson said a vote for the Teals was a vote for the Greens.

“It’s no surprise that the Greens are encouraging voters to back the Teals — after all Teal politicians have voted with Greens 77 per cent of the time,” he said.

“The so called independents claim to represent the communities but their voting record tells a different story: they are more aligned with the extreme Greens than with the mainstream values of their electorates.”

Ms Boele’s office said she will not be preferencing the Greens.

“The people of Bradfield don’t want more party politics, they want a local representative who just listens to them and acts on the issues they care about the most: cheaper and more accessible childcare, help for small businesses, and serious action to reduce electricity prices and respond to climate change.”

The NSW Greens were contacted for a comment.

It’s understood the party has not finalised its preferences and how to vote cards in every seat closer to prepoll.

A Greens spokesperson said lower house campaigns would make their own preference deals.

“Lower House campaigns will make their own decisions on recommending preferences based on our values and who the other local candidates are, but we will never make a preference deal that will help get Peter Dutton or the Liberals elected to government.”

Originally published as Greens endorse Teal candidate in Bradfield as Albanese prepares to call election