Greens polling 10% in NSW
New South Wales is going to the polls tomorrow with the Labor Government looking very likely to win. But the Greens are polling well - 10% in the Herald/ACNeilsen poll this morning - which is good news. This is in spite of attacks by the Sydney Anglican diocese on the Greens because of the Greens’ support for gay and lesbian rights.
Additionally, one of the major issues in the state election is the federal Liberal /National Government’s industrial relations policy - Howard is trying to do something like the Employment Contracts Act that National passed in 1991 - with 18% of voters rating it the most important issue in the state election. The NSW Liberals are being punished for their association with Howard’s Liberals federally.
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March 23rd, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Any prospects of winning seats? Not much I expect, with first-past-the-preferential-post.
March 24th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Greens should win more seats in the upper house which is multi-member preferential with half elected each time from memory. Estimates are that they will end up with 4 Legislative Council members, which may well give Labor plus Greens a majority in the upper house. The NSW Greens have put out feelers to Labor saying maybe we should work together on a progressive agenda, but Labor, as usual on both sides of the Tasman, keener to work with any right wing independents that might get elected. So we’ll see how it pans out after today.
March 24th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Yes - each state has 12 senators elected using STV for 6 year terms. Six senators from each state elected at triennial elections (unless there’s a “double dissolution”).
March 24th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Ah, I meant the state upper house rather than the federal upper house. R
March 25th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
8.8% and no seats. NSW needs MMP.
March 25th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
8.8% represents the will of the majority, NSW is to be congratulated for not having an electoral system where the MINORITY hold the balance of power.
March 25th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
They do need a democratic system - ie one in which 10% of the votes produce 10% of the seats. Proportional systems are much more democratic.
However, while the Greens didn’t win any lower house seats, the results aren’t in yet for the upper house (that is the NSW upper house) so far as I can see.
March 25th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Russel
You know full well that MMP is about the least democratic system there is, the only way that democracy could be served with this corrupt system would be if the minority parties were barred by law of having any say in how the country is run.
Look at our Parliament, we have the ridiculous (and bordering on criminal) situation where a party that just scraped past the 5% threshold effectively holds the balance of power, what ever way you spin it that is not democracy.
March 25th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
BB
Exaggerations aplenty.
I don’t think you will have much luck converting them.
Barring minority parties, now that’s corrupt (in a true sense of the word). Hello Zimbabwe.
March 26th, 2007 at 8:27 am
I think BB has a point, the small parties can be the light wieghts that tip the scales. What is more we have list MP’s who would in all probability be unelectable driving policy in the small parties (and having a great time while they are at it).
jh
March 27th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
Hi jh,
Not sure that’s such a great analogy - the smalle marties may be the “light weights” that allow a major party to ensure a majority vote in Parliament, but that doesn’t mean they carry more than theiur own weight in policy determinations.
If they did I would agree with BB’s concerns, but experience suggests that they are still very much minor parties with only a minor influence on policy and budget spending initiatives - which is as it should be.
One could argue (on the evidence) that in terms of budget dollars spent on Green initiatives over the past 9 years the Green Party has been punching well below it’s “weight” in terms of proportion of votes.
Some commentators just seems to be aggrieved that minorities have anyt voice at all. maybe they hark for the days of Muldoon when the National Party could run Government with no need for a coalition partner even (at times) with a percentage vote less than Labour’s.
These arguments have been well rehearsed and repeated on this site. Some people will never agree and will keep throwing in extreme comments and characterisations of MMP as anti-democratic. But in a democracy it behoves us all to be tolerant and respectful of such minority views.