And so we've got to have preference negotiations because you've got to put in a form for preferences to the Electoral Commission a week or two out from the election and that leads on to negotiations for the House of Rep's. But, I'll try again in the next Parliament to get rid of it.

It's up to voters to choose who they want to put number one, and they're quite intelligent enough to choose who they put number two, three, four and five. And we'd avoid such perverse outcomes as the election of Steven Fielding on less than two per cent of the vote with Labor preferences, which Labor voters hated in Victoria just a few years ago, if we were to leave it to the voters.

LEIGH SALES: But the rules that you're talking about only affect Upper House and Senate preferences, don't they? So why have you had to do a deal for Lower House preferences if you don't actually agree with it?

BOB BROWN: Well exactly. There shouldn't be preference negotiations for either, but there always are, because if you don't get involved in preference negotiations you get cut out and your voters do and your candidates do. It's a perverse system, it should be abolished, but it's there, the Greens take part in it the same as every other political party and there'll be how-to-vote cards as a result of that in, I'm told, 50 or so seats.

I heard that on the ABC today, and - but my advice is regardless of that people should go into the polling booth and vote for the people they want in the order of choice and people want to give - I'd advise them to vote Greens number one, but if they're going to do that, then go to Labor Party or the Liberals or the Nationals or the Socialist Alliance or for the Independent of their choice.

LEIGH SALES: So, basically you're saying to people, "Well, ignore the preference deal that my party's announced."

BOB BROWN: Exactly and ignore the preference deal that Labor's done and the Liberals have done and put your own preferences where you want to.

LEIGH SALES: But I can't imagine that Labor would be very happy having negotiated this deal then to give your their preferences for the Senate, I can't imagine that they'd be very happy to hear you saying this.

BOB BROWN: But, Leigh, I'm not here to make Labor happy. I'm here to do the right thing by voters. And what I want to - I'm concerned that voters hear about all this preference deals and think, "Oh, well, I must get a card and find out where I should put my preferences." And what I'm here to do is to tell people they have a right, and it's their democratic obligation, to put their preferences where they want to.

Sure, we're in this position where the preferences are required by electoral law in the Senate. We should move to the NSW Upper House situation where people vote for their own - the parties according to their own choice above the line and there's no preference deals of this variety allowed. It should be removed by law.

LEIGH SALES: But you just pointed out that, as you say, it's the preference deal is required for the Senate, but the Greens have also done a deal for preferences in the Lower House. If you're so opposed to it in principle, why didn't you as the party leader simply say, "Well actually I'm just not going along with this"?

BOB BROWN: Because, ah, the - I'm not - the party determines preferences and I've stayed out of it. And ...

LEIGH SALES: But you're the leader.

BOB BROWN: I am, and my job's to tell people about our policies and to promote our candidates, not to get involved in backroom deals on preferences. The party do that and I'm obliged to the people who do it, because I used to and I hated it, and I think there's much more productive things to do.

And we're talking about preferences now, Leigh, when I wanna be talking about the backdown on the minerals taxes and the need for a carbon price and the need for getting rid of discrimination against same sex people in marriage - things that the big parties don't want to talk about, but I want to talk about in the run to the election.

LEIGH SALES: I'll come to some of those policy questions in a second, but just let me ask one more question on the preferences.

BOB BROWN: Sure.

LEIGH SALES: How do you respond to the suggestion that you're trying to have it both ways here, that you want Labor's help through their preferences for the Greens to get the balance of power in the Senate, but you don't want people to be preferencing L

http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2010/s2958392.htm