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Green electoral poison: State Labor Party attacks and vows never to work with Greens again

Tasmania, Australia. Map.After the dramatic loss in Tasmania at the May election the local state Labor party has realized they went too far Green left.  They are scrambling to distance themselves from the Greens — saying that working with the Greens  was a mistake. They are even talking about working people again as if they matter. It is a 180 shift from trying to win votes from the Greens by adopting their policies to openly isolating the Greens and pointing out their flaws.

Far from trying to fight “a climate election” they are even trying to fight on economic issues — ground that usually suits the Liberal (conservative) party. The problem for the Tasmanian branch is that they said something like this in 2010, then reneged when push came to shove and did a deal. Unless they get serious about pointing out why Greens policies are so toxic, the voters won’t believe them. The added advantage of scrutinizing the Greens (finally) would be that the Labor party might win votes from both the left and the right.

Rebecca White is the leader of the Labor Opposition in Tasmania.

Tasmanian Labor Party vows never to make ‘mistake’ of working with Greens again

Ms White will rise to her feet on Sunday to spruik Labor’s commitment to the working class, and to raise concerns about a “jobs emergency” in Tasmania.

She will use her speech to distance Labor from the Tasmanian Greens.

After working with the Greens earlier this year to pass transgender reforms through state parliament, Labor now seems intent on avoiding the appearance of being too cosy with the minor party.

Ms White’s speech will criticise the Greens’ positions on energy policy, tourism, and planning.

“As bad as the Liberal Government is on jobs — the Greens are just as bad,” Ms White’s speech reads.

“I am tired of the Greens standing in the way of Tasmanian jobs.

“They leave people behind. Working people. Our people.

In 2007 Ken Rudd ran his campaign on a promise of being great economic managers. The Australian Labor party won and did what they usually do –they blew away the surplus, raked up debt, built $800,000 tin-sheds for schools that needed libraries, and created a bubble in pink batts.  It’s very risky for any Labor Party to run a campaign on “the economy” — but finally they appear to realize the empty shell of the climate election — where everyone says “they believe” and “they care” but no one wants to pay, and every other issue rates higher. The votes just aren’t there.

The party appears to have decided the key to future electoral success lies in convincing voters it would be a stronger economic manager than the Liberals, both at a state level and federally.

“The Morrison Government is in denial about the economy. A soft economy has been their blind spot, and it’s becoming their weak spot.”

Matthew Denholm at The Australian points out that the Labor Party in Tasmania have done this before:

The Greens, Australia.

White admitted past alliances with the Greens, most recently from 2010-14, had been a mistake. She painted Labor’s former power-sharing partners as arrogant, anti-everything, job-destroying naysayers.

Her quest to distance herself from the tree-huggers went as far as endorsing roo shooting as a pastime.

Her problem is that Tasmanians have heard this song before. Former premier David Bartlett promised never to do a “deal with the (Greens) devil” in 2010, shortly before doing exactly that to cling to power. Many still recall the similar Faustian pact between Julia Gillard and Bob Brown in the same year.

In preferences, Scott Morrison put Labor ahead of One Nation. What are the odds the Labor party would put the Liberals ahead of the Greens? Close to nothing.

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