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I don't agree with all the policies of the Greens, but I've been through this before.

If you're still going on about the Exclusive Bretheren - I doubt too many have much sympathy for them.

Bob Brown personally doesn't believe our preferential voting system is fair, but has finally given in for the fairness of others in his party and his supporters. For the Greens to get some of their legislation through and become a viable third party, they need to play the same game as the two major parties.

You could liken it to Abbott not believing in abortions, but will allow abortions to stay legal if he gets into power.

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Since when have the Greens rorted their parliamentary allowances?

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Big deal - Sarah Hanson Young made a silly mistake of bringing her baby into Parliament to breastfeed. Is that really such a crime that the whole party should be condemned forevermore because of it?

Would she have been less offensive if she'd gone around sniffing seats?

I think you've just got sour grapes DT because if Abbott does get through - he'll have to battle to get some of his ridiculous legislation passed in the Senate.

The greens got the support they did because the two major parties suck. and the people responded accordingly.

The Greens are the breakthrough story of this election.

I want to make sure you're the first to understand how significant these results are—

Yesterday, the Greens won the balance of power in the Senate, as well as our first lower house seat at a general election in Melbourne. We've achieved so much together this election that it's hard to quantify, but here are some numbers that tell part of the story:

We won a Senate seat in every State, including our first ever Greens Senators in Queensland and Victoria. This gives us the power to shape the agenda of the new Government and achieve real outcomes on issues like climate change, a fair go for asylum seekers, same sex marriage, and improving public schools and hospitals; 
Our first ever lower house Greens Member of Parliament has been elected in a general election - congratulations to Adam Bandt who won the seat of Melbourne with a massive 13% swing to the Greens on primaries!
More than 4,500 of you signed up online to volunteer over the course of the campaign - knocking on doors, handing out how to votes, holding Greens stalls and events, and much more;
Together, we raised more than $300,000 from small online donations to run our fantastic, positive campaign advertising on TV, on billboards in capital cities, in major newspapers, and to build the biggest online advertising presence we've ever had; (with special thanks to the talented creative team at Make Believe for all their work on this campaign)
More than 20,000 people became Facebook fans of the Greens- and dozens of State and local Facebook groups sprung up to spread the Greens' message online
For me, as Campaign Manager, the last few months have been both exhilarating and exhausting. What's kept me going is the knowledge that you - the people out there reading these emails - have been working tirelessly in your own communities.

You've shared the Greens' positive vision for Australia with your neighbours, your colleagues and your families, and that's what's led to these stunning results.

Having the balance of power in the Senate from July 2011 isn't a magic wand, but it does mean we'll be in a powerful position to make legislation better, introduce new ideas to the Parliament and push both sides of politics to deliver smarter, more constructive and progressive outcomes for our nation. The results of this election won't be clear for another few days - or even weeks - and the Senators and I will be in touch with the latest developments.

You've believed all along that we can make tremendous change to Australian politics, and yesterday, your votes created a powerful change in the Parliament. It is truly an historic achievement for the Greens and it has been my absolute pleasure and privilege to be a part of it.


extract from an email sent from

Ebony Bennett
National Campaign Coordinator
Australian Greens

Yeah, it should make for interesting political times over the next few years.
The rise in informal votes sends a message, the swing to the greens sends a message, and independents holding sway on who will govern the nation also sends a message.
In the end, I'm pretty happy with the result. We've effectively voted for a political party that doesn't exist...yet.

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Same here Amadd. Let's hope the next coalition will have a new set of values and goals. If they get the mix right, we won't have to go to a DD.

I find it hard to believe that a party with the least votes ends up with all the power to run the country..bizarre, and so many on here happy about it..B ob Brown and Bob Katter holding the whip...good one australia we thought the last 3 years have been a disaster.. wait till you see what ahead. no matter whos in so called power.

muso wrote on Aug 23^rd, 2010 at 7:53am:


Nicely said and very accurate. The two major parties have the added incentive that they are both highly allergic to intelligent debate of any sort so working together should almost come naturally.

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Aug 22^nd, 2010 at 6:19am:


I doubt it will go 3 years, no matter who gets the nod, now!