Senate deals now on the table as Greens flex increased muscle
Anthony Albanese will be forced into making deals with the Greens in the Senate to push through legislation, after Adam Bandt led the left-wing party to its most dominant election result.
Anthony Albanese will be forced into making deals with the Greens in the Senate to push through legislation, after Adam Bandt led the left-wing party to its most dominant election result in history.
On the back of swings to the Greens across the country and a 12 per cent national primary vote, Mr Bandt is on track to increase his partyroom numbers by at least seven and exert pressure on Labor over greater climate change action.
The Greens picked up the Brisbane seats of Ryan and Griffith from the LNP and ALP and added three senators in Queensland, South Australia and NSW.
Mr Bandt, who became the first Greens MP elected to the lower house in 2010, predicted the “Greenslide is set to grow in the coming days”.
The Greens were increasingly confident of edging Labor in Brisbane, and coming close in the northern NSW electorate of Richmond and the Melbourne seat of Macnamara.
“People have delivered a mandate for action on climate and inequality,” Mr Bandt said.
“A record number of people have voted for the Greens and we will be in the balance of power in the Senate. The Greens are the most powerful third party in the parliament.
“Voters have made it clear they want the Greens to push the Albanese government to go further and faster on climate change and inequality.
“We want to work with Anthony Albanese to deliver the stable, effective, progressive government that Australians have voted for, but he will need to work constructively with the Greens and the rest of the crossbench.”
Mr Bandt was credited with winning lower house seats in Brisbane, after pouring resources into southeast Queensland Greens operations soon after replacing Richard Di Natale as leader in early 2020.
The Greens leader, who blitzed multiple states and battleground seats across the country, executed a campaign strategy focused on positioning the party as a legitimate third party power and not a fringe movement.
Greens strategists said focus groups had reported that some voters, who were keen to support the party, were worried their vote had little consequence.
Mr Bandt’s campaign was anchored by themes that the Greens would “hold the balance of power” and keep a Labor government accountable on climate change and integrity.
With the Climate 200 teal independents running in seats outside Queensland, the Greens ramped up their efforts to win disaffected Labor and LNP voters in inner-city Brisbane seats.
Labor’s historically low 32.8 per cent primary vote was directly linked with a surge in support for the Greens, whose preferences were key to Labor winning enough seats to form government.
After holding their Senate seats in Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania, and picking up three additional seats, the Greens now boast a record 12 senators.
Calling for a plan to get out of coal and gas to “meet net-zero targets”, Mr Bandt said Labor would need to negotiate with the Greens.
“This is the best result for the Greens in our history. More people have voted for the Greens than ever before. The Greens will be the biggest third party in the Senate. The Greens will be in balance of power in the Senate,” he said.
“This result is a mandate for action on climate and inequality. The Liberal vote went backwards, the Labor vote went backwards. More people turned to the Greens than ever because we said politics needs to be done differently.”
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