Progressive lobby group GetUp has given the Nick Xenophon Team, and senators Glenn Lazarus and Ricky Muir a boost with the release of its Senate how-to-vote cards.
On Friday GetUp released how-to-vote cards in Senate and key lower house contests, the first time it has directed voters how to distribute preferences.
On election day GetUp will distribute more than 1m of the cards, which warn voters that “the Liberals are holding us back”, citing an 88% drop in investment in renewables.
GetUp advises voters to put the Greens and Labor first and second in any order in New South Wales and Western Australia. It advises voters in those states to put the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) third.
In Victoria, GetUp suggests voters put Labor, the Greens, NXT and Motoring Enthusiast senator Ricky Muir in any order in the top four preferences.
In Queensland, GetUp similarly advises Labor, the Greens, NXT and independent Glenn Lazarus receive voters’ top four preferences, in any order.
The how-to-vote cards give a small boost to NXT, Lazarus and Muir, advising voters to put them ahead of the Coalition, other minor parties and independents.
GetUp’s environment scorecard explained the decision was based on policies like NXT and Lazarus supporting a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of between 40% and 60% by 2030 on 2000 levels. Muir was uncommitted on that target but supported a goal of 50% renewable energy by 2030.
NXT, Lazarus and Muir got perfect scores on health and hospitals for committing to reverse $57bn of cuts to hospitals, unfreezing the Medicare rebate indexation and not increasing prescription medicine co-payments.
On political donations, NXT got ticks for supporting a ban on foreign donations and supporting continuous disclosure. Muir and Lazarus supported those policies and also agreed to a $5,000 cap on donations.
The Greens got a perfect score on all those policies. Labor’s policies got support from GetUp on most points except for not committing to reverse the $57bn hospital cut, caps on donations and continuous disclosure of donations.
GetUp has not issued a how-to-vote card in the South Australian Senate race.
Lower house seat how-to-vote cards provide less guidance, with split tickets giving voters choice over their preferences but advising for the Liberals and Nationals to be put last or near-last in many contests.
GetUp is targeting conservative Coalition MPs who, it says, are holding back more significant action to fight climate change.
GetUp expects several thousand volunteers out of its 1 million members to hand out how-to-vote cards, based on the fact that more than 5,000 volunteered on election day in 2013.
