Election 2022: Greens put price on Labor support: coal, gas ban

A national ban on new coal and gas projects would be sought by Greens leader Adam Bandt for Labor to secure the minority party’s support in the event of a hung parliament.

Greens leader Adam Bandt, left, senator Larissa Waters, centre, and Queensland Senate candidate Penny Allman-Payne in Brisbane on Monday. Picture: AAP

A national ban on new coal and gas projects would be sought by Greens leader Adam Bandt for Labor to secure the minority party’s support in the event of a hung parliament.

Revealing his list of demands if the Greens hold the balance of power after the election, Mr Bandt said the “climate crisis” could not be addressed if new coal and gas projects continued to be approved.

“You can’t put the fire out while pouring petrol on it,” the Greens leader said.

“We will go into it with open minds but strong principles, and what we are doing in a very close election is putting on the table ­beforehand what we will be pushing for on climate change and cost of living.”

Mr Bandt said the Greens’ policy demands on a minority Labor government would be based on the principles it took to the last election, which also include making dental and mental health care part of Medicare, wiping student, debt and making housing more ­affordable.

“We are not about threatening supply. We know public servants need to continue to be paid, the services of government need to continue to run,” Mr Bandt said.

“We are not in a position of making threats; what we are saying is if there is a situation … that is what we will be pushing for.”

Mr Bandt ruled out negotiating with Scott Morrison, believing Mr Albanese would make a “better prime minister”. However, Labor has repeatedly ruled out making a deal with the Greens in order to form government.

Confident of picking up the Greens’ first lower house seat in Queensland as well as having a second senator elected to sit alongside Larissa Waters, Mr Bandt flew straight to Brisbane on Monday for the first full day of the election campaign.

“Queensland will be crucial in this election, and the inner city seats like Griffith, Brisbane and Ryan may be key to determining what action the next government takes on the climate crisis and the cost of living,” he said.

The Greens have converted their increasing popularity in Queensland to electoral success in the past five years, winning two Brisbane-based seats in state ­parliament and electing their first representative to Brisbane City Council.

Max Chandler-Mather, the ­architect behind the three wins, is running against Labor frontbencher Terri Butler in Griffith where he recorded a 6.7 per cent swing at the 2019 election – the largest swing to the party in Australia.

In a doorknocking blitz, Mr Chandler-Mather’s team have spoken with 20,000 people at their homes in Brisbane’s inner south in the past year, surpassing the record of 11,200 during Mr Bandt’s 2013 campaign in Melbourne.

In the nearby electorates of Brisbane and Ryan, where the Greens secured more than 20 per cent of the primary vote at the last election, the party is growing more confident of sweeping to power on the back of Labor preferences.

Brisbane and Ryan were the only two Queensland Coalition seats that had reduced margins in Mr Morrison’s 2019 win, making them more vulnerable to swings.

The Greens ran third in Ryan, held by Coalition MP Julian Simmonds, in 2019, receiving 20.5 per cent of the primary vote, behind Labor’s 24.4 per cent and the LNP’s 48.6 per cent.

In the neighbouring seat of Brisbane, Liberal Trevor Evans is also under threat after the Greens secured 22.4 per cent of the primary vote at the 2019 election.