Victorian Greens blame Labor smear campaign, preference deals for losses

The Greens have blamed a smear campaign and backroom preference deals for their disastrous showing in Saturday’s election, lashing out at Labor after the party’s primary vote plummeted.

The Greens have blamed a Labor smear campaign and backroom preference deals for their disastrous showing in Saturday’s election.

At tonight’s count, the Greens looked like they would lose Northcote and had failed to gain Richmond from Labor after their primary vote plummeted.

Their fate seems worse in the Legislative Council, with up to four MPs in the Upper House likely to lose their spots, with only leader Samantha Ratnam in their Northern Metropolitan stronghold securing her spot.

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Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam has lashed out at Labor for the party’s disastrous result. Picture: Mark Stewart

Ms Ratnam hit out at the deals struck on preference flows that will see MPs from new minnow parties elected with a fraction of the vote.

“If Dan Andrews was truly committed to a progressive state, he should have spent less time attacking the Greens and more time worrying about the backroom deals that have the potential to see a host of Right-wing MPs controlling the agenda in the Upper House,” she said.

The campaign was mired in scandal — from the misogynistic rap lyrics of one candidate, Angus McAlpine, the resignation of candidate Joanna Nilson over shoplifting boasts, to the untested rape allegation against candidate Dominic Phillips, which forced him to stand down, and the resignation of a staffer who joked about paedophilia.

Ms Nilson said the party needed to reflect on the losses.

“True, pure and meaningful change is always painful,” she said.

Angus McAlpine says he will step aside from politics.

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Mr McAlpine — who rapped under the stage name “FatGut” — announced he would step aside from politics after his loss in Footscray.

“It was an incredibly tough campaign, and my heart goes out to all Greens across Victoria right now,” he said.

Ms Ratnam said Labor had used grubby politics against the party.

“Now that the Labor Party see us as a genuine threat, they’re fighting us the only way they know how: by running one of the dirtiest smear campaigns we’ve seen in a generation.”

Tonight, Ellen Sandell appeared to have triumphed for the Greens in Melbourne, Sam Hibbins was leading in Prahran while the party’s hopes in Brunswick remained on a knife’s edge.