The Greens have vowed to take on both Labor and the Liberals in Victoria, claiming that the two major parties’ policies are causing voters to desert them and look for an alternative.
Sam Hibbins was confirmed as Greens MP for the state seat of Prahran on Tuesday night, displacing Liberal member Clem Newton-Brown following a protracted count from a close contest.
The Greens will have two MPs in Victoria’s lower house for the first time, with Hibbins joining Ellen Sandell, who beat Labor incumbent Jennifer Kanis in the seat of Melbourne.
Hibbins said the result showed that the Greens could win in demographically diverse electorates such as Prahran, which includes wealthy suburbs such as South Yarra as well as areas of relative disadvantage.
“We won votes off Labor and Liberal, we put forward an alternative and when people can see the Greens can put forward a viable alternative they will vote for us,” he said.
“I think [Labor] know what happens if they go back on their promises – they will lose more seats to the Greens. The issues of trust and integrity are now live and on the table.”
Hibbins, who said he will ride his bicycle to parliament rather than take a parliamentary car, said the Greens would use their two lower house and potential five upper house seats to press the new Labor government to deliver public transport and action on climate change.
The new MP ran on a ticket of not accepting any donations from developers, calling for the practice to be banned.
Greg Barber, the Greens’ Victorian leader, said Labor had “no unity of purpose” like the Greens and should take heed of the election result.
“Voters want decisions made in the broader public interest, not for some lobby group,” he said. “The fundamental rejection of [lobbyists] should be clear – the Greens and micro-parties got a third of the vote in the upper house.”
Barber added that Kelly O’Dwyer, the local federal Coalition MP, was “rabidly anti-Greens” and would face a tough challenge from the party at the next election.
The election of Hibbins will allow the Greens to further push policies such as the establishment of a new national park to protect the Leadbeater’s possum, as well as the scaling back of Victoria’s highly-polluting brown source energy base.
Newton-Brown congratulated Hibbins and said the vote count since the 29 November election had been a “rollercoaster ride” for the candidates.
“It has been such a privilege to represent Prahran and I hope that the many people who have supported me over the years feel that I have made some positive contribution to both Prahran and the wider community,” he said.
Newton-Brown told Guardian Australia he was a “moderate Liberal” and that his party needed to appeal to a wide range of voters.
“I think [it’s] important the Liberal party appeals to all Victorians,” he said. “Many people in Prahran are attracted to moderate liberalism. It’s important that as the party rebuilds, it provides appeal to all of those voters.”
Newton-Brown, who led reform around expunging gay sex convictions and decriminalising ‘sexting’ for young people, declined to say whether the prime minister, Tony Abbott, had damaged his chances of retaining Prahran.
