I won’t sell my soul to Greens, says NSW Labor leader Chris Minns

NSW Labor leader Chris Minns has vowed there will be no special deals or formal agreements with Greens MPs and ruled out giving them ministerial positions in return for parliamentary support.

NSW Labor leader Chris Minns. Picture: Richard Dobson

NSW Labor leader Chris Minns has vowed there will be no special deals or formal agreements with Greens MPs and ruled out giving them ministerial positions in return for parliamentary support if his party falls short of a majority at the March 25 election.

In an exclusive interview, Mr Minns said he would seek guarantees of supply and confidence if necessary from Greens and crossbench MPs, but would not allow his policy agenda to be compromised by crossing these “red lines”.

“No deals, no agreements, no ministerial positions,” Mr Minns said. “We’d look for confidence and supply on the floor of the legislative assembly. But it’s important that the people of NSW know that if they vote Labor, they’re going to get a Labor agenda.

“Now, obviously, we’re going for majority government, but it’s up to the voters to make a decision about (the) composition of the next parliament. But they deserve to know that I’m not going to go in there with a compromised vision of what the state will get under a Labor government.”

With Newspoll showing a tight contest and many voters still undecided, the fear among some in Labor ranks is they may not win the nine seats necessary for a majority of 47 in the lower house and could have to form government with support of the three incumbent Green MPs or several independents.

Labor figures are nervous about a close contest against the Greens in Lismore, won by Labor’s Janelle Saffin with just 25.6 per cent of the vote in 2019, and independent challenges in Cabramatta and Fairfield.

Frank Carbone, the popular mayor of Fairfield, is contemplating running in Cabramatta and supporting an independent challenger in Fairfield.

Mr Minns said Labor would not be diverted from its agenda if forced to rely on support from minor parties and independents to form a government.

“We’ve got our own agenda,” he insisted. “Our record over the last two years under my leadership has been a unique position for NSW Labor on contentious issues, social policy, economic policy. We’ve driven ahead often in spite of withering criticism from the Greens and commentators in major mastheads in Sydney.

“Yet I’ve decided that Labor is going to pursue the agenda we think is right for the state. That’ll be the same situation in government. And I realise that – I don’t think that will limit our negotiating ­position if we were to have to bargain for government – but they’re the red lines that we’re articulating now.”

Mr Minns said he had learnt the lessons from Labor’s last period in government, and the March 2011 election drubbing, when Kristina Keneally led Labor to its worst ever defeat, was justified. Several ministers and MPs during the Keneally government, including Tony Kelly, Ian Macdonald, Joe Tripodi and Karyn Paluzzano, were found to have acted corruptly by ICAC.

“The voters heavily punished Labor for those indiscretions at the ballot box,” Mr Minns said. “We ­accept that. So, you know, anything other than a complete recognition that there was bad elements inside Labor in previous administrations is not going to happen from me. I acknowledge it and we have to do far, far better.

“Part of our policy response is to make sure that the ICAC stays in NSW, that it’s independently ­funded, that it’s got the full scope of powers to make sure that it can follow entrenched corruption wherever they find it, either in political parties or in government departments. We will ensure that it’s got that independence so that it can conduct those inquiries.”

Mr Minns has not invited the last Labor premier to campaign with him during the election and has no plans to do so.

Read Troy Bramston’s interview with Chris Minns in The Weekend Australian