Labor revels in swing against ‘divisive’ Greens
The Greens suffered a 4 per cent swing in the Dunkley by-election, with Labor strategists saying the minor party could be paying the price for its “divisive” approach to politics.
The Greens suffered a near 4 per cent swing against them in the Dunkley by-election, and Labor strategists say the minor party could be paying the price for its “divisive” approach to politics.
Labor sources said it was obvious the Greens put hardly any resources into the campaign for candidate Alex Breskin.
One Labor strategist said the Greens “didn’t turn up” and ran a low-profile campaign with few members on the ground handing out how-to-vote cards. Their primary vote in the outer Melbourne seat dropped below 6.4 per cent.
Labor figures said the Greens were outnumbered four to one on some polling booths by the Victorian Socialists party – which ran for the first time in Dunkley and won 1.73 per cent of the vote.
“They have reminded everyone they are not going to compete in suburban Australia,” one Labor MP said.
Greens sources played down the result, saying Dunkley was not a target seat and the party typically underperformed in by-elections. But Labor figures believe the Greens’ aim to weaponise the Gaza conflict for domestic political purposes may be backfiring.
They also said the minor party’s pushback on housing legislation, seeking a more ambitious policy, could be seen by young people as a cynical political ploy.
Labor MPs also believe the cost-of-living crisis has encouraged voters to back practical solutions to problems rather than the idealism pushed by the Greens.
While the Greens’ primary vote has held up in Newspoll, Labor MPs question whether this could be the beginning of a national backlash.
Federal Labor MP Justine Elliot said the result was a “total rejection of Peter Dutton’s negativity and of the Greens’ constant blocking of Labor’s policies”.
Jewish leaders were critical of the Labor campaign for putting the Greens candidate second on its how-to-vote card for the Dunkley by-election.
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