Adam Bandt rules out Greens coalition with Labor

Greens leader Adam Bandt has vowed he will not form a ‘Liberal/National-style coalition with Labor’ after the party suffered its sharpest Newspoll drop in almost a decade.

Adam Bandt says ‘the Greens want to change the government, but not to be in a Liberal/National-style coalition with Labor’. Picture: AAP

Greens leader Adam Bandt has promised his party’s supporters he would not form a “Liberal/National-style coalition with Labor” after the party suffered its sharpest Newspoll drop in almost a decade, falling to 8 per cent primary vote.

Mr Bandt’s move to distance himself from Labor came after he pledged last week to work with Anthony Albanese following the election, accusing the opposition of siding with the Coalition on tax cuts and driving up emissions.

“Let’s knock one final thing on the head. The Greens want to change the government, but not to be in a Liberal/National-style coalition with Labor,” Mr Bandt writes in The Australian.

“Being forced to vote with Labor for more coal and gas mines, or give tax cuts to billionaires, doesn’t interest us in the least. We’ll maintain our independence as we push the next government to act on the climate and inequality crises.”

Mr Bandt also hit back at Josh Frydenberg after the Treasurer warned voters against a Labor-Greens government, which he claimed would increase taxes on trusts, workers, superannuation, housing and death duties.

The Greens leader said Mr Frydenberg’s inner-Melbourne seat of Kooyong was now a “Liberal v Greens seat” and he was “terrified”.

“At the last election the Liberal party spent like a drunken sailor to hold it. The growing pressure on the Treasurer is clearly starting to show,” he writes.

“Despite Frydenberg’s frantic claims, the Greens are not proposing new taxes on superannuation, death duties, or lifting income tax rates for everyday people. Instead, our costed policy platform is based on taking on those the Liberals like the Treasurer really care about: the billionaires and big corporations.”

In question time, Mr Frydenberg and Defence Minister Peter Dutton prosecuted the government’s attack that a Labor-Greens coalition would put the economic recovery and national security at risk.

Deputy Opposition Leader Richard Marles said on Monday Labor would not govern in ­partnership with the Greens and accused Mr Frydenberg of trying to “rattle cages as much as they can”.

“These are acts of desperation on their part. And what they are about is trying to divert attention from their total failure to govern this country,” Mr Marles said.

After the Greens’ plunge in the polls, and the additional threat from cashed-up pro-climate change independents in inner-city seats, Mr Bandt attempted to differentiate the left-wing party from Labor and the Liberals.

“It is true that the Greens are the real opposition to Frydenberg’s illiberal Liberals,” Mr Bandt writes. “While Labor sides with the Liberals to pass stage three tax cuts that give 75 per cent of the benefit to the richest 20 per cent, and votes with Barnaby Joyce to spend public money to open up the Betaloo gas basin that will lift Australia’s emissions by up to 13 per cent, the Greens stand opposed.

“There’s plenty of points of difference for Frydenberg to find without making them up. So let’s clear things up.

“The Greens have a strong policy platform, determined by our members, which sets our direction. Each election, we take a set of costed initiatives to the electorate, which is our plan for the coming term.”

Mr Bandt – who last week declared he would negotiate with Mr Albanese on climate change legislation in return for a temporary pause on all new coal, gas and oil projects – said the Greens would push for a new billionaires tax and campaign against the Coalition because of the “climate debt they are leaving to future generations”.

“It used to be a core value not to leave an enormous debt to your kids, but the Liberals are threatening our children’s very survival.

“If the Liberals do lose, what will be their legacy? Record climate pollution. Record inequality. Underfunded health, education and aged care.”