The Victorian Greens have called on all parties running in the state election to put the far-right and religious right last in their preferences before early voting begins on Monday.
The Greens are also calling on Labor to preference the Greens and other progressive independents ahead of the Liberals this election.
The Greens are focused on pushing the next government to go further and faster on climate action, housing affordability and integrity.
With the Liberal party lurching further and further to the right, the Greens will preference Labor above the Liberals in every seat across the state.
The Greens say that due to the undemocratic voting system in the Upper House there is a very real chance that a far-right candidate could be elected to the next cross-bench.
The voting system allows micro-parties to game the system by paying tens of thousands of dollars to ‘preference whisperers’ who then coordinate group voting tickets.
Victoria’s last state election saw a number of candidates with very small primary votes elected to the upper house, at the expense of others who had received ten times as many votes.
The Greens say with a number of far-right and religious right parties registered for the upcoming November 26 election, there is a risk that one of them could get elected even if it is against the will of the overwhelming majority of voters.
This election the Greens will be putting One Nation, United Australia Party, Freedom Party, Family First and the DLP last.
As stated by Leader of the Victorian Greens, Samantha Ratnam MLC:
“Parties like One Nation, United Australia Party and Freedom Party are anathema to the vast majority of Victorians.
“The Greens-initiated inquiry into the far right earlier this year exposed how their conspiracy-driven Trumpian politics is a danger to our political system.
“Family First and DLP are running on explicitly transphobic and homophobic campaigns and their politics of hate has no place in the Victorian Parliament.
“The failure of Labor to reform the corrupt group voting ticket system means a party can get elected into parliament on as little as 0.5% of the vote.
“To keep these hateful parties out of our parliament they need to be put last on everyone else’s group voting tickets this year.
“The Greens will be recommending preferences to Labor ahead of the Liberals in every seat in Victoria. If Labor is serious about a progressive parliament, they must commit to preferencing the Greens and progressive independents ahead of the Liberals across the state.
“What the Liberals do is up to the Liberals. We have not met with them and there is no Greens-Liberal deal. We’ll direct preferences to Labor and progressive parties across the state, and we’re calling on Labor to do the same.”
