Fed: Greens confident of emerging as third political force

AAP General News (Australia)
04-09-2001
Fed: Greens confident of emerging as third political force

By Linda McSweeny

CANBERRA, April 9 AAP - The Australian Greens were emerging as the third political
force, their only federal representative, Senator Bob Brown, said today.

Senator Brown was confident the Greens would secure between two and five Senate seats
at the next federal election, due later this year.

"That would be the first step towards the Greens replacing the Democrats as the so-called
third force in federal politics," Senator Brown told AAP.

He believes the party could secure a seat in Western Australia and possibly in New
South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.

The Greens took 6.3 per cent of the primary vote in the recent Ryan by-election in
Queensland. This followed 3.6 per cent in Ryan at the 1998 federal election.

The party secured five West Australian seats and took seven per cent of the primary
vote in contested seats at the recent Queensland state election.

The Greens subsequently directed preferences to Labor in Ryan after Opposition Leader
Kim Beazley put forward a policy to cut land clearing, an area of specific concern to
the party.

Senator Brown said the Greens had already held the balance of power in Tasmania.

"We've been there in Tasmania with the balance of power and we made massive gains there,"

he said.

The party also had more than 30 of its members on local councils in Tasmania and New South Wales.

"And that is going to follow into federal politics, and into the federal arena, beginning
with the Senate."

The Greens would continue to urge Labor to put forward a clear commitment to distinguish
itself from the federal government on green issues and respond to the public's calls for
addressing environmental issues.

"You have to lock the big party in because they'll welch," he said.

"You have to be engaged. You can't stay out of it.

"You have to realise you're not the government, but you have to use the leverage to
get gains for the people who voted you in.

"And we can do that."

AAP lm/sw/cjh/de

KEYWORD: GREENS BROWN

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