Richard Di Natale’s speech promising a continuation of progressive Greens policies has failed to quell growing discontent from within the party, with one MP criticising the “growing tendency within the Greens to take a cautious approach” to social reforms.
Meanwhile Di Natale has acknowledged the “political cost” of working with a conservative government, while denying his leadership has seen the party shift from its left roots.
Di Natale’s National Press Club speech had been viewed as a “resetting” of Greens policies by some critics, who were quick, in the 24 hours ahead of his appearance, to question what some labelled “ a sudden pivot back to the left”.
“Just months ago, he and others in the party leadership were rejecting the push to really strike out against capitalism. And now suddenly, we are back to progressive policies? Could losing Batman and Tasmania have anything to do with that?” one member said, in a summation of the complaints heard by Guardian Australia.
David Shoebridge has openly questioned factors of the party’s direction.
In a “manifesto” authorised by the NSW MP, Shoebridge argued for the Greens to follow in the footsteps of Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders and “undermine, disrupt and bring major change to the current economic and political system”.
“If we use our static federal electoral support as a metric, the Australian Greens are not providing the inspiration the electorate is looking for. The recent disappointing result in Tasmania confirms this.
“… Popular movements including those around Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders have harnessed this loss of political legitimacy to offer an alternative vision … here, our party, furthest left on the political spectrum, and with a stated commitment to social justice is best placed to replicate the same approach and some of its successes.
“There is a growing tendency within the Greens to take a cautious approach to social reform, casting the party as part of the political mainstream seeking achievable reforms.”
Key among the grievances of members considered to sit to the left of Di Natale and an “established” group of candidates and representatives, was what they saw as the deliberate positioning of the Greens closer to the centre of the political divide.
“I’ve never used those words, I want to put that on the record,” Di Natale said.
But Di Natale acknowledged that the Greens’ work with the Turnbull government, which at one stage, included negotiations on school funding, had led to “confusion”.
“There are times when our role in the Senate, as legislators, where we’re faced with an opportunity to improve a piece of government legislation, [and it’s] something we take very, very seriously,” he said.
“We take that responsibility very seriously.
“We also know that working to improve conservative government legislation can come at a political cost.
“What we’re trying to do is improve government legislation in the here and now, but continue to advocate for those big bold ideas.
“And those are the two things that we do, and we do consistently, and we do because we think they’re both critical. That should never be confused with a narrative that says, somehow, by doing one, you’re compromising on the other.”
Discontent within the party, which spilled over during the recent Batman by-election, continues to plague the Greens as it attempts to move forward.
Labor won the by-election with 43.08% of the primary vote, while the Greens saw a slight drop in support, in what is considered one of Australia’s most progressive electorates.
The recent Tasmanian election saw support for the Greens drop from 13% to 10.3%, reducing the party’s numbers from three to two seats. The South Australian election ended with a 2.1% swing against the party, and while the Queensland election made history with the first Greens MP elected, the party had expected to do better.
Di Natale had vowed to find and expel those members found to have leaked against the party during the Batman campaign, but the threat has not appeared to stop discontented members from speaking out.
“I’m not sure how he expects to credibly claim the progressive mantle, when the party has been moving to the centre,” another Greens source said.
“Are we trying to appeal to Liberal voters? Because ultimately, that’s just going to lead us to failure.”
