By Christine Milne, leader of The Greens
Yesterday the Labor factions gave Tony Abbott a major leg-up in the federal election campaign.
The ALP’s shambolic display over leadership not only undermined the dignity of the national apology on forced adoptions, it put at risk critical reforms that must be done before we go to the polls.
Only the Greens are united and committed to taking the fight to Tony Abbott.
But we need your help. Can you chip in $20, $40 or $100 to power our campaign?
Thanks to the 1.6 million people that voted Greens at the last election, Australians now have a price on pollution, free dental care for kids, and children in Aboriginal communities are protected from petrol sniffing.
You can’t trust Labor to act with integrity and put the best interests of the community ahead of ego and personal political gain. And we know that Tony Abbott’s real agenda will always be that of big business and mining.
That means the only way to protect these gains and achieve more is to elect more Greens at the election this year – can you donate $20, $40 or $100 to make that happen?
Whilst Labor is embroiled with in-fighting, we want the months leading up to the election to deliver a strong mining tax so that we have the revenue to fund a $50 a week increase to Newstart and introduce the Gonski school reforms.
Please, give whatever amount that you can today to help us keep campaigning to make that happen.
Yours,
Christine
Comments
The Greens need to back Labor and Gillard
The Greens abandoned their agreement with Labor. The Greens united with the coalition to prevent the Malaysia solution. The Greens failed to negotiate with Rudd on the emissions trading scheme. The Greens called for war against Lybia.
So for the Greens to put themselves forward as somehow holier than thou is a bit rich.
Who created this farce in Labor ranks on Thursday? None other than Kevin Rudd and his supporters. Julia Gillard continues to govern in the national interest, as her apology to those affected by forced adoptions clearly demonstrates. Gillard has been undermined every step of the way, and when she has needed the support of those who helped form her government she has found them cutting the ground from underneath her.
The greens are certainly not pure, but they are indeed fanciful. They believe they can control an abbot government through the Senate. But it is not at all clear given a double dissolution that the Greens would maintain control of the senate.
The best way to keep tony Abbott from running the country is to support the Gillard government. In six months anything can happen, and probably will. If nothing else the Rudd camp should be a bit shy of further destabilisation of Gillard.
The Greens need to back Labor and Gillard. That is their clear choice, not protesting too much and claiming to be pure. That is just a nonsense.
Also the idea that only the Greens are united against Tony Abbott is insulting to every other group that is opposed to Abbott's crazy agenda.
The Greens initiated so much good legislation
The Australian Greens have provided a real alternative to the major parties, which have failed the nation in so many ways. The obsession with the deficit that is minute in the global context and has drained political discourse of focus on matters that are important for the people of Australia now and for the future of the nation. We are governed without vision. The Tea Party tactics of Tony Abbott and the Opposition and the failure of the Labor Government to turn the discourse away from the vituperative abuse between the front benches and stay true to its ideals have jointly disrupted the Parliament's obligation to Australians.
The Greens initiated so much good legislation such as Denticare and the Clean Air Act while the ALP and LNP lost the plot. It is the one party that has maintained a forward vision for Australian communities, genuine protection of the environment and championing social justice issues as the ALP and LNP together dumped our international obligations to refugees and agreed to push single parents into deep poverty.