The Greens: Overview : SBS Insight

Overview

This week we look at The Greens

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As the election nears, the Greens' polling is the highest in the party's history.

So high, that pollsters and election analysts are predicting that they could end up with the balance of power in the Senate. The Greens could even be poised to win their very first Lower House seat, after the retirement of Labor's Lindsay Tanner in the electorate of Melbourne.

But who votes for the Greens and why? Apart from their views on the environment and asylum seekers, what else do they stand for?

Greens leader Bob Brown will join Insight as we ask what all of this means for the next Government.

And our panel of swinging voters will also deliver their verdict on Australia's "third party".

Find out more about The Panel and follow them online here.

Meet the Guests

Bob Brown

Bob Brown is the leader of the Australian Greens and Senator for Tasmania. He was elected to Federal Parliament in 1996, then again in 2001 and 2007. A one-time GP in Launceston, then director of the Tasmanian Wilderness Society, Brown campaigned to prevent the Franklin Dam in the late 1970s and served in theTasmanian parliament for a decade from 1983 to 1993. Bob Brown is the author of a number of books including, 'Memo for a Saner World' (Penguin, 2004).

Eric Abetz

Eric Abetz is a Liberal Senator for Tasmania as well as the leader of the Opposition in the Senate. When Labor announced their preference deal with the Greens, Senator Abetz said that the Greens would kill job security with their unrealistic and extreme policies.

Lindsay Tanner

Lindsay Tanner is Labor's Minister for Finance and Deregulation and, after 17 years in Parliament, will retire and not re-contest his electorate of Melbourne. Some analysts predict Melbourne could become the first lower house seat won by the Greens. Greens candidate Adam Bandt could take the seat with less than a 5 percent swing.

Adam Bandt

Adam could be the first Greens candidate to enter the House of Representatives. Bandt is contesting the seat of Melbourne which has been held by Labor since 1904. The industrial lawyer was once a partner at Slater and Gordon, the same law firm where Prime Minister Julia Gillard once worked. In 2007, Adam Bandt passed the Liberal candidate during preference counting, pushing into second place to come within a close margin of Lindsay Tanner.With Tanner resigning at this election, this contest will be closely watched.

Nick Economou

Dr. Nick Economou is a senior lecturer in political science at Monash University. A keen political commentator, he has written about how the electoral system makes it difficult for minor parties like the Greens to win seats.