2016-01-24
Ellen Sandell
Just over a year ago, the Victorian Greens made history by electing the first Greens lower house MPs in state Parliament. It was a big moment for our party.
The ground-breaking nature of the wins also put the old parties on notice: the Greens are continuing to grow, and we're not just here to keep the bastards honest, but to replace them in government and get our policies of compassion and sustainability implemented.
It has been an absolute privilege to represent Greens voters in a way we were not able to before we had lower house seats: delivering a Budget Reply Speech, asking questions directly of the Premier and Treasurer in Question Time, and introducing important Bills to be voted on in the lower house, where journalists are keenly watching.
However, being the first Greens MPs in the lower house also comes with its challenges. Our first days in Parliament were a shock for me and Sam Hibbins (Greens Member for Pahran). We were subjected to torrents of abuse from both sides of the house and sneaky tactics to try and lock us out of the debate. It was clear that the old parties felt like we had crashed their party!
Rather than deter us, this strengthens our resolve, as it shows the old parties are threatened by the growing power of the Greens and what might happen when we double or triple our numbers in the lower house and achieve balance of power, as is possible at the next state election.
Our campaign wasn't won through flashy TV ads, and the Labor Party sent more direct mail to voters than we did. Instead, we built and joined broad coalitions in Melbourne around issues like stopping the East West toll road, replacing the Hazelwood coal power station with renewable power, and banning donations from property developers to politicians. And of course, we door-knocked and phone-called every voter we could find.
My personal highlight was Labor announcing they would change their policy and stop the disastrous East West toll road. This would not have happened had it not been for the Greens threatening to take lower-house seats from Labor in the inner city, giving extra political power to the local community campaign.
We hope to replicate this model of success this year in our campaigns for a permanent ban on CSG and unconventional gas in Victoria, to replace our country's dirtiest power station (Hazelwood) with clean energy, and to ban developers donating to political parties and candidates.
Beyond campaigning on key issues, being a lower house MP creates opportunities to deliver tangible outcomes for the community, solidifying our standing with the electorate and acting on our commitment to being responsive, community-focused parliamentarians.
My office has successfully helped restore funding to a local homelessness organisation, worked to get a pedestrian crossing built near a busy local mosque and public housing estate, and has elevated the issue of lack of public schooling in the inner city, which we are confident will help local parents win their campaign. As an electorate with a large amount of public housing, we also help individual tenants with their housing needs, in an unfortunately very broken system where tenants receive very little support or attention.
Winning the state seat of Melbourne from Labor has been incredibly strategically important. The more Labor feels under threat in the inner city, the more they should consider our issues when policy making, and move towards more compassionate social policy and better environmental policy, so as not to lose more seats. We saw this with the East West toll road, and with Labor's decision in 2010 to replace Hazelwood with clean energy (a promise they're unfortunately yet to honour).
And if Labor digs their heels in and doesn't change for the better, as may be the case, the Greens will continue to take seats from them and build our power in the lower house, putting us in a position of balance of power in the near future. This will bring with it huge opportunities for delivering on our policy platform.
The real possibility of winning more lower house seats (in Victoria and elsewhere) means further transformation of our growing party, as we strengthen our influence, raise our voice, and flex our political muscles in both houses. I am confident we will adapt to the new demands placed on the organisation as we carve out our (permanent) place in the Australian political landscape and grow our power, particularly in the house of Parliament that forms government.