Latest news with #AustralianGreens
Malay Mail
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Hannah Thomas, daughter of ex-AG Tommy Thomas, contrasts Malaysian and Australian politics, highlights Palestine solidarity and warns of rising extremism
SYDNEY, May 17 — Australian Greens candidate Hannah Thomas said voter frustration was growing due to governments failing to address poverty, rising inequality and global conflicts. Thomas, who contested against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the recent federal election, told Malaysiakini that both major parties were out of touch with how Australians felt about key issues, including the war in Gaza. 'I think the Australian government is extremely out of touch with how people actually feel about what's going on in Gaza, especially in progressive areas like Grayndler, where I live and where I ran,' she said. 'People can see that bombing schools and hospitals, and refugee camps, is wrong, and slaughtering children is wrong, and targeting journalists is wrong.' Thomas, who is the daughter of former Malaysian attorney general Tommy Thomas, ran on a progressive platform focused on Palestine solidarity, refugee rights and the environment. She secured about one-third of the constituency's preferences in Grayndler, a multicultural seat in inner Sydney. Speaking about her experience as a woman of colour and a migrant candidate, Thomas said Parliament did not reflect the diversity of the Australian population. 'Parliament's full of mostly white, rich people, and I think people responded well to having a fresh face,' she said. Commenting on the global rise in extremism and right-wing sentiment, Thomas said liberal centrist governments had failed to protect working-class interests. 'People have gotten poorer, lives have gotten harder, and in those conditions, the far right and extremism thrive,' she said. She added that Donald Trump's presidency in the United States served as a warning. 'I think what could be a turning point and a circuit breaker is Trump's presidency, because people are seeing in real time what a disaster those extreme right-wing politics are,' she said. Thomas said she admired Malaysia's political engagement, particularly among youth, but noted that Australia had a stronger focus on policy debates. She praised politicians such as Muar MP Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman and movements like Muda for encouraging youth participation. Asked about the greatest failure a government could make, Thomas pointed to child poverty and housing inequality. 'This is an extremely wealthy country, and I think something like one in six children lives in poverty. That's an absolute failure,' she said, as quoted by Malaysiakini. She also cited the climate crisis and Australia's unresolved relationship with its Indigenous peoples as major shortcomings.
Epoch Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Greens Co-Founder Says Party Must Return to Environmental Roots After Election Setback
After losing most of its lower house seats at the recent election, the co-founder of the Australian Greens says the party needs to return to its environmental roots and adopt a more pragmatic approach. Drew Hutton founded the Queensland Greens, and co-founded the Australian Greens alongside retired Senator Bob Brown in the early 1990s. Hutton now is on the party outer and his membership suspended after opposing the participation of male-to-female trans people in women's activities and sports. The environmental activist, who once chained himself to a tree in the Brisbane's Queen Street Mall, said that if the Greens wanted to expand their base, they needed to promote proper green causes. 'It wasn't a disaster for the Greens. But the Greens have plateaued in their support,' Hutton told The Epoch Times, adding that preferences contributed to the end result. 'My concern is that they are not pursuing strategies which allow them to talk to ordinary Australians,' he said. Related Stories 4/9/2025 9/6/2022 Activist Drew Hutton in his heyday chained to a tree in Brisbane's Queen Street Mall. The co-founder of the Australian Greens and founder of the Queensland Greens, is now at odds with the party he founded over his support of women's rights. He remains active. Courtesy of Drew Hutton 'They locked into the youth vote, but the older people get, the less they vote the Greens.' While the party's overall vote only declined by 0.2 percent, the swing of preferences saw the party lose three of its four lower house seats, including party leader Adam Bandt's seat of Melbourne, which he has held since 2010. Bandt recorded a 4.8 percent primary swing away from him. 'I think what puts people off is they talk down to people too much and they're not pragmatic enough, they've been too combative,' Hutton said. 'I'm not convinced the Albanese government is going to be receptive to good environmental reforms ... the Greens need to take it right up to the Labor government. 'I've got no problem being aggressive on those things, but they have to be important (things).' A new Greens leader is yet to emerge and Hutton says the decision will be critical because it could either drive the party back to its origins, or see it drift further away. Greens for Gaza Last year, the Greens leadership had hoped to expand its share of seats across several elections, but this did not eventuate. One of the main factors blamed has been the party's focus on backing Palestine in the Israel-Hamas War. Greens MPs was often present at pro-Palestinian rallies and university encampments. In response, one Melbourne Jewish man even lodged Following the election, defeated Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the Gaza issue was their downfall. 'No spin by Adam Bandt can change the reality that he, and other Green members, lost their seats because of their appalling treatment of the Jewish community,' he said. 'Australians were rightly disgusted at their behaviour.' Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said Bandt's approach to the conflict, which levelled all blame on Israel for Oct. 7, 2023, was not supportive of Palestinians. 'It shows that he is not a supporter of Palestinians at all,' he told the Australian Jewish News. 'He is an exploiter of them. They only interest him as a gimmick through which he can express his hatred for Israel. 'The Greens claim to be counter-establishment and progressive. But they are rooted in the old, failed ideology of communism and the socialism of fools—anti-Semitism.' Labor's Foreign Minister Penny Wong criticised Bandt for his 'aggressive' approach. 'I think Australians rejected the politics of conflict and the politics of grievance,' she said. While Labor Minister Tanya Plibersek said the Greens were no longer a party of environmentalists. 'I don't think the Greens is the party of (founder) Bob Brown anymore,' she said.
Sky News AU
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Greens co-founder Drew Hutton blames 'hyper militant' approach and sense of 'moral superiority' for party's loss
An environmental activist who co-founded the Australian Greens alongside Bob Brown has blamed the party's loss of seats on a 'hyper militant' approach and sense of 'moral superiority' over ordinary Australians. An environmental activist who co-founded the Australian Greens has blamed the party's loss of seats on a 'hyper militant' approach and an inability to communicate with ordinary Australians. The Greens were all but wiped out in the lower house at the federal election, losing leader Adam Bandt's seat of Melbourne as well as two of the three inner Brisbane seats they won in 2022 – despite only suffering a 0.5 per cent drop in their national vote. Addressing the cause of the defeat, environmental activist Drew Hutton said the Greens had experimented with a 'hyper-militant approach' in the last term of government. 'I'm a bit of a hyper-militant myself, in many ways, but you need to know when to hold them and when to fold them,' Mr Hutton told the Sydney Morning Herald. 'What will broaden their base is if they lose this terrible way they have of expressing their moral superiority over everyone else and their refusal to talk meaningfully with ordinary Australians.' Mr Hutton, who played a crucial role in the formation of the Queensland Greens before co-founding the Australian Greens in the early 1990s, said the party had also suffered from taking an obstructionist approach to Labor's housing policies, and had overreached on Gaza. 'They also overplayed their hand on Gaza and needed to make it a bit clearer they were totally opposed to the politics of Hamas,' he said. Despite his long history with the Greens, Mr Hutton was suspended from the party's Queensland branch in 2023 after he refused to delete a social media post criticising the expulsion of a Victorian Greens member who had expressed dissenting views on the trans rights debate. 'It's using authoritarian means to force members to shut up. And that's what my suspension is all about,' he told the Saturday Paper. Mr Hutton's views about the Greens loss echoed those of key Coalition and Labor figures, as well as members of the Jewish community. — Peter Dutton (@PeterDutton_MP) May 8, 2025 In a post on Thursday evening, Peter Dutton responded to outgoing Greens leader Adam Bandt's claims his loss in Melbourne was due to a damaging redistribution and a surge in support for Labor caused by hostility to the Coalition. 'No spin by Adam Bandt can change the reality that he, and other Green members, lost their seats because of their appalling treatment of the Jewish community,' Mr Dutton said. 'Australians were rightly disgusted at their behaviour. 'We were proud to preference the Greens last, helping to ensure Adam Bandt's loss.' The comments echo those of Jewish groups, with Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin stating that it was a 'good thing' Mr Bandt had been purged from federal parliament. '... At a time when Jews were being doxxed, threatened, boycotted and firebombed, the Greens, under Bandt's leadership turned their influence and resources against our community and did so while leading the lie that they were progressive and anti-racist," Mr Ryvchin said. 'Bandt's defeat is a blow for socialism, that ideology of poverty that crushes the human spirit, and it is an even greater defeat for antisemitism, the socialism of fools.' Mr Hutton's claim that the Greens had been hurt by their obstructionist approach was likely echoed by Trade Minister Don Farrell. 'They paid a political price for blocking sensible policies, progressive policies, particularly in the housing space, in the last parliament," Mr Farrell told Sky News Australia. "And I'm hopeful that as a result of this, the Greens will learn a lesson and that they'll support sensible, constructive policies from the incoming Albanese government." However other Greens figures have disagreed, with the party's long-time former leader and fellow co-founder Brown rejecting the claim they had been too hardline. 'I don't think they were hardline enough,' Mr Brown said. According to the former Tasmanian Senator, the Greens' loss was the result of a negative and false campaign run against them.
The Star
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Voting in Australia election closes in populous eastern states
A person walks past electoral placards of the Australian Greens, of the Labor Party with the picture of Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and of the Liberal Party with a picture of Liberal candidate David Smallbone in Grayndler during the Australian federal election, in Sydney, Australia, May 3, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams SYDNEY (Reuters) - General election voting has closed in Australia's populous eastern states, including the cities of Sydney and Melbourne, with two more hours of voting left on Saturday in Western Australia in what has been a closely fought race. Opinion polls showed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor Party with a narrow lead over the conservative opposition after a campaign dominated by concerns over the high cost of living and the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump. Labor had trailed in the polls as recently as February. Polls closed at 6 p.m. (0800 GMT) in Australia's most populous eastern time zone, which also includes Brisbane and the capital, Canberra. The state of South Australia and the Northern Territory will close at 0830 GMT, followed by Western Australia, home to the city of Perth, at 1000 GMT. Results could start coming in for individual constituencies within a few hours after polls close, although it could take several more hours or even days for a final result, depending on how close the vote is. Analysts say Albanese has run a solid campaign while opposition leader Peter Dutton has suffered from policy missteps and a perceived ideological closeness to Trump, which has become a top concern for voters. The bounce in the centre-left Labor Party's fortunes mirrors those of Canada's Liberal Party, which returned to power this week in a come-from-behind victory after Trump's tariffs and remarks on Canadian sovereignty sparked a backlash from voters. (Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
