2020-10-23
It’s been the toughest year in memory for so many of us. But what we’re seeing now is a green wave across the country – and for the first time in a long time, hope.
By Adam Bandt
Politics should give us hope for a better future.
In the midst of what has been the toughest year in memory for so many of us, we need to know that there can be brighter days ahead; that not only can we recover from the climate driven bushfire crisis and the health and economic crises, but we can build back better and fairer.
For the first time in a long time, politics is giving me hope. 💚
Saturday the 17th of October was a good day to be a Green. In the ACT and in New Zealand, voters turned out in force to back the Greens and send a powerful message that it’s time for a politics of hope and care, not fear and division.
In both NZ and the ACT we saw swings toward the Greens as the conservatives went backwards. At least 20 percent of the ACT Parliament is now Green, with the 3 percent swing to us coming at the same time as a 3 percent swing against the Liberals. In NZ, the strong Green vote complements a more progressive Labour party, led by Jacinda Ardern, and the combined progressive vote soared over 57 percent.
What’s driving these exciting gains and what’s next for our movement? Here’s some of the things I think are key:
The Greens are on the rise because we put people ahead of the big corporations
The Greens are the only ones not taking donations from big corporations, including fossil fuel companies, developers, and the banks. We’re pushing back against the establishment parties’ failed trickle-down economic policies and tax cuts for millionaires.
We are fighting for direct investment in public schools, hospitals, public housing and public services to create jobs and a better life for everyone.
And we want to fund it by making big corporations pay their fair share. It’s all possible and I’m so proud it’s what the Greens are fighting for.
Voters are rejecting the trickle-down recovery plans that embrace gas and coal
Liberal and Labor want to open up new gas fields across the country, locking in dangerous global heating, but voters know there is a better way.
Australia can become a renewable energy superpower, exporting our sunshine and wind and creating thousands of good jobs in the process. This is the recovery that people voted for this weekend.
These results are a huge endorsement for Greens in power
The Greens were in shared government in the last terms in both NZ and the ACT. It’s clear that voters have seen that Greens in shared government deliver results for our community and for our climate.
It’s time to turf out Scott Morrison and the Liberals in Federal parliament and get Greens in the balance of power, so we can push a Labor government to be bolder, act faster on the climate crisis and invest directly in people, not their corporate donors.
This is our pathway to a safe and prosperous future for all of us.
Our people-powered movement can change the country
Politics should work for the people, not the big corporations.
In New Zealand and in the ACT, we’ve seen powerful grassroots campaigns mobilise communities and win.
Just over 10 years ago, when the Melbourne community put the Greens into shared power in the Federal Parliament, we helped transform our country. That can happen again.
Together we can shape the national agenda and refocus the power of government on solving the problems that threaten to divide our society and destroy our planet.
There are more fights ahead. Right now, we look north.
With voting for the Queensland election now on, we have an historic opportunity to win a number of new seats and seriously transform Queensland politics so that it works for the people, not the mining billionaires and property developers.
What you’re seeing now is a green wave across the country. The timing could not be more significant.
Thank you for being part of this movement.
PS. In case you missed it, here is my explanation video of the awful Federal Budget - WITH RICE.
Image credit: Julian Meehan.