Bob Brown talks up Greens' chances in Victorian election

THE Greens are predicting they will not only “sweep” the inner-city in this month's state election, but also have an impact across the state.

THE Greens are predicting they will not only "sweep" the inner-city in this month's state election, but also have an impact across the state.

The third party launched their Victorian campaign today at a hotel in inner-city Richmond, where there was lots of “excitement”,  “hugs for the candidates” and reflection on how far they have come in the past 12 months.

The Greens have a real shot at winning four inner-city seats from Labor on November 27 and holding the balance of power in the Victorian Parliament if the Brumby Government looses its majority.

While the Greens were launching their campaign, Liberal leader Ted Baillieu was announcing initiatives to reduce hospital waiting lists and Premier John Brumby announced a raft of new playgrounds across the state.

At the Greens launch, Greens Leader Bob Brown refused to predict whether the Greens would hold the balance of power in the Victorian parliament after the November 27 poll.

“I can tell you as national leader of the party, it's very important to have confidence when you are getting a small number of people into a parliament, that they will all be performers, that they will all be able to hold their own and not only that, produce good results for the electorate,” he said.

“I feel that confidence with these candidates in Victoria.”.

Senator Brown predicted a greater Greens presence in the Victorian parliament - where it has upper house MPs, but no-one in the lower house - than ever before.

“We will have the biggest vote ever in Victorian history,” he said.

“I've been in this business far too long to make precise predictions about who may win and who may not, but all I know is we are prepared to put in the hard yards, put in the work and get our very, very optimistic and responsible policies out to the voters.”

Earlier, during the launch, new MP for the federal seat of Melbourne Adam Bandt and senator-elect Richard De Natale were received as conquering heroes.

The pair talked of their inroads into federal policy during their “five minutes” so far supporting a minority government.

Dr De Natale said a Green-tide was sweeping the nation.

“Some of our biggest swings occurred in regional Victoria in the last election,” he said.

And Mr Bandt said that the party's federal gains would be repeated in Victoria.

Voting preferences will play a crucial role in the outcome of the Victorian election, but Senator Brown was adamant his party was not in the business of striking preference deals.

“I haven't heard Liberal or Labor say where their preferences are going, and we are not a preference machine,” he said. “We're in this to get first votes, to get people to vote 1 Green.

“We are not a faction, we're not a ginger group, we're not a preference group, we're not a lobby group.

“We are now a dinkum major political party which is replacing the old, the incapable, the rusty and Labor and Liberal parties.”

Additional reporting: AAP