How the Greens' Historic Senate Vote Could Impact Labor's Strategy?

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Despite losing at least two lower house seats, the Greens are hoping to make the incoming parliament the “most progressive Australia has seen” through their voting power in the Senate.

Leader Adam Bandt says the party has received a record Senate vote this election. They are on track to take 11 upper house seats, he said.

He described this as a “remarkable achievement”, adding that he was confident he would retain his own electorate of Melbourne, .

“Because of that strong vote and the result we’ve got, the Greens are now in sole balance of power in the next parliament,” he told reporters on Monday morning.

In the previous Senate, Labor needed not just the support of the Greens, but also that of several crossbenchers to pass legislation that wasn’t backed by the Coalition.

If the Greens end up with the deciding vote in the new Senate, Labor would only require the Greens’ backing — a situation Bandt mentioned might be beneficial for achieving “real progress”.

What are the Greens priorities?

While the party has, at the time of publication, lost at least two seats in the lower house, its representation in the Senate still gives it significant influence over the government’s legislative agenda.

Outgoing MP Max Chandler-Mather has congratulated Labor’s candidate Renee Coffey who will now represent the seat of Griffith.

Bandt said he wants to “get Labor to act” on several of the party’s key policy areas.

“The only barrier to getting dental into Medicare now and passing it through the parliament is Labor,” he said.

“The only obstacle to making child care free is Labor.

“The only obstacle to stopping new coal and gas mines from being opened is Labor.

“We stand ready in the Senate to make this the most progressive parliament that Australia has seen.”

A woman speaking to the media behind some microphones

Greens senator Steph Hodgins-May is party spokesperson for early childhood education and care. Source: SBS News / Cameron Carr

Greens senator for Victoria Steph Hodgins-May said she would be actively advocating for her party’s agenda in the incoming parliament.

“In the Senate, I, along with my colleagues, will advocate for Labor to pursue the goals that families nationwide anticipate and deserve, especially regarding truly universal child care,” she stated on Tuesday morning.

Will the Greens block Labor policy in the Senate?

Bandt was asked if the Greens would respect Labor’s election victory and acknowledge its mandate to pass its election promises.

“When you look at actually what it is that they were proposing to get through, in many respects there’s a thin policy platform, there’s some that they adopted from us, but in other respects, there’s a blank slate,” he said.

“That actually means an opportunity to work together to get things done.

“Take child care for example, there was no platform being put forward.”

Mixed results in the Lower House

There were mixed results for the Greens on election night, including the loss of two of the three Brisbane seats the party won in 2022. The Greens are currently ahead in the seat of Ryan, held by Elizabeth Watson-Brown.

The party is yet to pick up any new seats, although Labor MP Peter Khalil is facing a tight contest against former Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam in the Melbourne seat of Wills, which at the time of publication is still undecided.

Bandt anticipates the party will finish with between one and four seats in the lower house.

When asked if Greens campaigning was too focused on Gaza and too little on climate change, Bandt said environmental issues had been a “priority”.

“We were the only ones talking about real action on climate change and calling for the government to stop opening new coal and gas mines,” he said.

“And we made it clear that that was going to be one of our priority positions.

“I had people coming up to us regularly throughout the campaign and all the polling booths saying, ‘thank you for being the only voice talking about peace and humanity’,” he added.

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