The Greens will preference the Labor party in a large number of seats in the New South Wales election, Greens upper house member John Kaye has said.
Kaye, who is number one on the Greens upper house ticket, said Labor was interested in Green preferences in 23 seats in the lower house while the Greens wanted Labor preferences in the upper house, which the Baird government does not control.
The Greens determine preferences via the party’s local groups and Kaye confirmed that “a large number” of groups had decided to preference Labor based on the party’s opposition to privatisation of poles and wires.
“This is not about endorsing Labor, it’s about Labor being better than government on the key issue of privatisation,” said Kaye.
“Despite [Labor’s] appalling track record, they are opposed to the poles and wires sell-off and tell us they will block it.
“In making their final decision on preferences, local [Green] groups were persuaded by a range of factors, including privatisation and cuts to TAFE, and although Labor is hopelessly conflicted on fossil fuels, they have agreed to a coal seam gas ban in the northern half of state.”
The parties will not swap preferences in the seat of Balmain, held by Greens MP Jamie Parker with a margin of 0.3%, or the new seat of Newtown, where Labor’s Penny Sharpe and the Greens’ Jenny Leong will battle for what the ABC election analyst, Antony Green, has called the “funkiest” electorate in the state.
“The door-knocking feels very strong but we have an uphill battle in those seats because there is an entrenched Labor aristocracy in the inner city that is hard to topple,” Kaye said.
The Greens are hoping the preference swap will benefit the party in the upper house, where it is hoping to get three candidates up, including Kaye, Mehreen Faruqi and a new candidate in the number three position, Justin Field.
Because NSW has optional preferential voting, the preferences will flow only if voters follow Labor how-to-vote cards.
Minor parties and independents who hope to use the upper house to win a position – much like some of the independent and minor party federal senators – have been told to preference the Coalition and the Greens last to maximise their chances.
