‘Greenslide’ on the way with boost to minor party in Brisbane seats

The Greens are predicting a “greenslide” in the lower house and holding the balance of power in the Senate in their own right after swings towards them across the country.

The minor party is on track to pick up former prime minister Kevin Rudd’s old seat of Griffith and is in the hunt in nearby Ryan and Brisbane, Richmond on the NSW north coast, and potentially Melbourne-based Macnamara as well.

Greens leader Adam Bandt is upbeat about the party’s prospects of adding to its numbers in both the Senate and the lower house.Credit: Getty

Deputy leader Larissa Waters said the results were looking “very, very promising for a real greenslide” in her state of Queensland.

“We have more people than ever flock to want to help us to campaign to win those seats,” she said.

“In many of those areas people have elected Greens at both other levels of government, and they really liked what they got and so it emboldened them to consider Greens federally as well.”

Nationally, the party has had a swing of about 2 points towards it on first preferences.

On the basis of that strong lower house vote, leader Adam Bandt was confident the party would add at least one senator to the nine already in parliament.

“With so many people switching to the Greens this election, the signs are that we will be in balance of power in the Senate, potentially in our own right,” he said.

“But obviously, there’s a lot of factors at play there and it may be a couple of weeks before we know that.”

He was pleased with the number of independents set to be elected in the lower house. While he hadn’t spoken to any of the victorious “teal” candidates on Saturday night, he said in approaching the new parliament the Greens would prioritise “stable, effective and progressive government”.

“I think that’s going to make for a stronger parliament and will ultimately make the next government more effective because it’s clear that there’s a wide range of interests now that need to be taken into account when government makes decisions,” he said.

In Griffith, held by Labor’s Terri Butler, there was an 11.4-point swing to the Greens largely at the expense of the Liberals. Greens candidate Max Chandler-Mather led on the primary votes, followed by the Liberal candidate and Butler in third.

Greens candidate for the seat of Griffith Max Chandler-Mather.Credit: Getty

Rudd, who held the seat for 15 years, said the Greens had run a very effective grassroots campaign, first at local council level, then in the state election and now federally.

“Therefore, it’s been a very difficult challenge for the sitting member, Terri Butler,” he said.

Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten said Butler was still alive in the seat until the pre-poll and postal votes came in but “the test is if we’re behind the Libs, we’re stuffed”. And former Labor minister Kate Ellis said Butler should have a huge future and for her to go would be a “very, very big loss”.

Bandt said the results were the culmination of a three-pronged approach the party had taken over several years, running a people-powered campaign, spending time in regional areas of Queensland and NSW as well as inner-city seats talking about how the nation could transition away from coal and gas, and offering a clear economic alternative to the Coalition government.

Greens volunteers had had more than 30,000 conversations at front doors and on the phones with voters in Griffith alone, he said.

“People in Brisbane and Melbourne want to know that there’s a plan to support those [coal and gas mining] communities through the transition as well and be upfront about it,” Bandt said.

“And we went and had those conversations in those coal and gas areas and people liked that there was a plan.”

In Ryan, held by Liberal first-term MP Julian Simmons, the Greens are coming second on first-preference votes and Labor third. The Greens and Labor are neck and neck on first preferences in Brisbane, with Liberal incumbent Trevor Evans suffering a 10.9-point swing against him.

In Richmond, held by Labor’s Justine Elliot, the Greens are leading on first preferences while in Macnamara, Labor’s Josh Burns is only a couple of hundred votes ahead of the minor party.

Macnamara Greens candidate Steph Hodgins-May said she was “proud, exuberant and hopeful”, but maintained the seat was too close to call, noting the result was much closer on Saturday night compared to 2019. She said there “was a real disillusionment with both major parties”.

“There was no optimism or vision for the country presented. It was a contest of who’s a little bit better than the other guy, and we offered hope and optimism. We had more young people than I’ve ever had the privilege to campaign with, turning up at the campaign office every night.”

With Sumeyya Ilanbey

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