Greens agenda to demolish mum-and-dad investors

In addition to smashing a wrecking ball through economic activity and opposing the US alliance and AUKUS, the Greens are aspiring to control the balance of power with an ugly, immoral agenda that is anathema to decent Australians. After aiding and abetting anti-Semitism and suggesting Hamas could have a role in Gaza’s future leadership, the party now has pledged its “unwavering’’ support for Mandy Nolan, the so-called comedian standing as the party’s candidate in the northern NSW seat of Richmond. It was held by former deputy prime minister Doug Anthony for 27 years.

Ms Nolan once joked that Hitler “had fun” – “Just ask six million Jews how they feel about that now and he still didn’t get his sociopathic fill – you just can’t do it, it’s ­unethical”. Two years ago she said cricketer Shane Warne’s death saved her from a backlash over her Hitler remarks: “I felt really lucky about that.”

Ms Nolan’s comments say “everything about the Greens political party”, NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said. They also should prompt a rethink on the part of the one in eight voters intending to give the Greens their first preferences, as the latest Newspoll shows.

Far from protecting seven million renters (the Greens’ target voters) by limiting negative gearing and capital gains tax breaks and imposing a blanket rent freeze, leader Adam Bandt’s policies would do the opposite. At the National Press Club on Wednesday he set out the Greens’ destructive demands in a pre-election ransom message to Anthony Albanese. The flight of capital from the housing sector would hurt tenants and mum-and-dad investors, especially those with more than one rental property. The rent freeze would cost investors with one property thousands of dollars. And taxpayers would lose from the party’s push for government to pay for solar panels if tenants asked for them under its “renters right to solar’’ policy. It would force landlords to allow tenants to put solar on roofs, setting a bad precedent in eroding owners’ rights. Greens’ economic policies in general work against hard workers, thrift, aspiration and incentive.

Mr Bandt has made it clear he wants to work with Labor, despite the Prime Minister and ministers disparaging the Greens as “crazy, anti-Semitic, not serious players” and “a protest group”. That accurate summary explains why Labor and the Coalition should put the national interest first by refusing to preference Greens in any seat and the Senate. That will be a big ask. In 2022, Labor preferences won the Greens the Queensland seats of Brisbane and Ryan, and Greens preferences won Labor seven seats.

Being forced to work with the Greens, however reluctantly, would push Labor’s big government/big spending agenda to extremes given the Greens’ demands for free childcare and Medicare-funded dental care. The fiscal damage would be irreparable for a generation or more. And approvals of new resources projects would grind to a halt.

Peter Dutton needs to make the Greens’ intention to infect Labor with their odious ideology work in his favour. The leaders’ debate on Tuesday night showed the race is close. Neither man made a major gaffe, nor did one trounce the other. After a slow start last week, the Opposition Leader had more to lose and he regained some of his mojo, emphasising that the government was the biggest spending in the nation’s history. On Wednesday, he and opposition climate change and energy spokesman Ted O’Brien made a clear case why increasing gas supplies would cut power prices.

Remaining debates will be important and a hung parliament is a distinct possibility, unfortunately. But by studying the Greens carefully,  many of the 12 per cent of voters who support them will see why they are a serious risk, with nothing of value to offer.