I have a confession to make: I have voted Greens many, many times.
After the demise of the Democrats, I felt it was up to the Greens to ‘keep the bastard honest’ (at least in the Senate) but over time that sentiment has faded.
Until now.
The Democrats seemed very South Australian, hence the attraction. I went to university with Democrat leader Natasha Stott Despoja, for example, and before her, Meg Lees was a teacher in my home town of Mt Gambier.
I later became a big fan of Cheryl Kernot, the party-hopping bananabender, who would have raised a glass when Peter Dutton was summarily executed at the polls in her former seat.
After the Democrats effectively imploded circa 2010, we were left without a centrist party of any real influence, and so my second vote swayed to the exciting new party of protest: the Greens.
Specifically, like many progressive Australians at the time, I was in awe of Dr Bob Brown.
But I always felt the Greens’ cult of personality was also its Achilles’ heel and, notwithstanding their glorious ascent into the House of Reps in 2010 with Adam Bandt, this proved correct and it’s been downhill ever since then.
That said, the Greens still always had my #2 slot, but I have wavered many times, unimpressed by their childish antics.
While Australia has been obsessing over the new Labor caucus and enjoying the bloodletting at LNP HQ, not much attention has been paid to the Greens who today announced their new leader.
Larissa Waters.
Hats off to the first woman ever to whip her tits out in Parliament. Motherhood should not stop a woman’s career and breastfeeding in the workplace should be the norm; but more important than boobage (if such as thing exists), her voting history is exceptional.
So maybe the worm has turned.
I have high hopes that under Larissa the party can return to core values, find a realistic way to fund their reforms, and once again become the party that keeps the majors in check.
The Greens’ voice is loudest in the red room, where laws are born.
Because we need that.
PM Albo’s hatred of the Greens is the only thing about the guy I dislike, and his vehemence makes me wonder why. Why do the major parties run scared of the Greens? Is it just because they are such pests in the Senate?
In any case, I hope Larissa can bring quell the Inner Westie despot within PM Albo; otherwise, we may have to unleash Sarah Hanson-Young on his ass.
