Changing Preferences: Teal Over Green at Fatima Payman’s Party Instead of Labor
In response to Labor not directing preferences to any party in Macnamara, a seat the Greens hoped to win, the Greens have decided to support Teal and Australia’s Voice candidates over Labor in several key electorates, as announced by leader Adam Bandt.
Reportedly, this decision to advocate for ranking independents, including Palestinian activist candidates in Sydney and Melbourne, is a retaliatory move against Labor’s open ticket strategy in the Melbourne federal seat of Macnamara.
With the popular vote evenly split between Labor, Greens, and the Coalition in Macnamara, the Greens see a real opportunity if Labor directs preferences to them.
Instead, the Greens will prioritize Muslim candidates over Labor in seats like Calwell, Blaxland, and Watson, where Labor holds significant margins, potentially limiting the impact of the Greens’ decision.
In tighter races, such as the one in Gilmore, New South Wales, where the margin is just 0.2 percent, Greens voters following how-to-vote cards could impact Labor’s chances.
Independent candidates, like Kate Hulett in Fremantle and Peter George in Franklin, pose challenges to Labor in their respective seats, while Greens preferences to independents in seats like Casey and Deakin in Victoria may lead to unexpected outcomes.
Additionally, Greens will support Teal candidates in Coalition-held seats like Wannon, Cowper, Flinders, and Monash, where opposition MPs have slim margins, potentially shaking up the results.
Senate races will also see Greens preferences going to the Australia’s Voice Party, established by Fatima Payman after leaving Labor in support of Palestinian statehood.
Bandt’s spokesman emphasized that preference decisions were made by Greens officials, not MPs, although there was dissatisfaction within the party over Labor’s Macnamara strategy. Bandt criticized the Labor-Liberal deal, suggesting it could benefit Peter Dutton.
According to a recent Roy Morgan poll, both major parties are gaining support at the expense of independents and small parties, while the Greens maintain a six-month high of 14.5 percent. Support for independents has dropped, and other parties have also seen decreases in support.
