Mike Kelly: Jewish community in Macnamara would ‘certainly not be well served by a Greens MP’
Former federal Labor minister Mike Kelly has criticised the ‘like-for-like’ Greens and Liberal Victorian boundary proposals for ALP-held Macnamara with the inclusion of ‘solid Greens booths’.
Former federal Labor minister Mike Kelly has criticised the “like-for-like” Greens and Liberal Victorian boundary proposals that could affect ALP-held Macnamara with the inclusion of “solid Greens booths”.
The intervention of Dr Kelly, a co-convener of Labor Friends of Israel, comes amid calls to preference the Greens last, but also recent joint Labor and Liberal messaging about that party’s parliamentary dangers.
“I’m totally sympathetic to comments from former colleagues on both sides about the need to ensure the Greens don’t increase their parliamentary representation, given its current state,” Dr Kelly said.
“But I was very shocked to see the Liberal submission (for boundary changes) in Victoria mirror the exact same as the Greens’ in Macnamara.”
The inner-city Melbourne seat is held by Labor’s Josh Burns, a Jewish MP who has been one of parliament’s strongest voices on anti-Semitism.
The Australian revealed in June how strategists from the major parties were struggling to read Mr Burns’s re-election prospects, which has a high Jewish electorate but has long been seen as a potential Greens seat, given years of inner-city gentrification and large amounts of high-density housing and renters.
The Australian Electoral Commission’s proposals, released in May, suggested that about 5250 electors within the Windsor locality would be moved into Macnamara, given the possible abolishment of Higgins, and moving about 4430 from the Melbourne and South Yarra localities into the seat of Melbourne – a net gain of about 800 project electors as a result.
Both the Liberals and Greens have since suggested Macnamara also incorporate parts of Prahran and South Yarra from the Melbourne electorate, which is held by Greens leader Adam Bandt.
It is this suggestion that has Dr Kelly fearful of a Greens upset and surprised by the Liberals, who warned of the danger of that party winning more seats. “(The possible) inclusion of two solid Greens booths could turn it into a Greens seat,” he said. “Not only is that disturbing, but flies in the face of the logic the AEC has followed.”
Dr Kelly said one of the AEC’s criteria was “community of interests”, and the Jewish community in Macnamara would “certainly not be well served by a Greens MP”. He claimed the Greens had not “earned” an increased parliamentary presence, given what he called the party all but “parroting” some of Hamas’ propaganda.
“We should be working together to send a clear message to the Greens and prevent them getting any further representation in parliament,” Dr Kelly said.
“Their abandonment of any pretence of being a rational, reasonable party means they don’t belong anywhere near the mechanisms of government.
“So much of their narrative is irresponsible and has fermented social disruption.”
Liberal senator James Patterson, however, said such redistribution concerns would be redundant if Labor preferenced the Greens last. “The only way the Greens can win Macnamara is with Labor preferences, no matter the boundaries,” the Coalition's home affairs spokesman said.
“Given their (recent record), both major parties should agree to put the Greens last and ensure the Jewish community is not burdened by an MP hostile to Israel.”
Liberal insiders also pointed to how, on Saturday, the party’s Victorian division passed much stronger motions that reaffirmed its support for Israel and concern with preferencing the Greens than what Labor did at its NSW and ACT conferences, which instead called for Palestinian statehood as a “priority”, arguing that no party was more concerned about the Greens than it.
It comes after Mr Burns revealed how pro-Palestine protesters at the University of Melbourne were attempting to cancel his speech at its Alan Missen Oration on Tuesday, where he will speak on the need for a National Human Rights Act.
Dr Kelly in June led calls to “preference the Greens last”, which has since been echoed by the Liberals and former prime minister John Howard.
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