The Tasmanian ALP, trying to smear the Greens, torpedoes its own chances:
The Labor Party caused [a nine-year old girl named] Alice Bellamy’s phone to ring at her home in Spreyton. When she answered, an ALP robocall, an automated message, told her that a vote for the Greens would be a vote to legalise heroin in Tasmania. Alice had to ask her mum what heroin was.
That single event, lasting less than a minute, reported on the front page of the Advocate newspaper on Wednesday, represents the nadir of Tasmanian Labor’s appalling campaign for Saturday’s poll.
Their rationale apparently was that with one quarter of the voting population still undecided, it was time to nail the Greens once and for all. Former premier Paul Lennon had already corralled his Labor and Liberal predecessors Rundle, Field and Gray to put their names to a document warning of the end of the world as we know it if the Greens held the balance of power.
Labor backed it up with its robocalls warning that the Greens would not only decriminalise heroin but what would give long-serving prisoners at Risdon Prison the vote. Think Port Arthur mass murderer Martin Bryant.
If a journalist had written such a libellous summary, they would have transgressed Tasmania’s electoral laws, yet those laws do nothing to stop this garbage being broadcast over the phone lines, with no identification, no authorisation.
It’s weird, isn’t it – there’s a part of the ALP that would rather the Liberals, Family First, anyone to win a seat instead of actual progressives, the Greens. And yet the same people cry foul if they don’t automatically get Green preferences.
It’ll be hard to mourn their passing on the weekend.
Meanwhile, the AEC really needs to do something about unregulated automated political advertising telephone calls, quick smart.
Moved On 
God I wish more people would pay attention to that kind of politicking. There’s no finesse in Australian politics these days, it’s all ham handed attempts to paint a person into a box in a corner, and they can get away with it because no one cares what they say, unless it’s accidentally said to a kid.
These robocalls must have been going on for at least a day or so (I dont know), but if the Journo had said something about it, just as an issue with libel in a robocall, they’d be laughed and jeered at as some wishy washy lefty getting their knickers in a twist over “serious policy discussion”.
This country is so fucking backwards when it comes to politics, these days, that it makes my teeth hurt. MY TEETH.
As much as I question the sanity of anyone who would vote for the coalition over the ALP, after reading this article on Crikey, I hope and want the ALP to lose in Tas.
When will the ALP learn that the Greens didnt pop out of thin air – the Greens are/were part of the ALP base. I mean, the majority of Green supporters would have come from the ALP not the Libs. And until the ALP treat the Greens as an ally and part of their ideological support base, it will keep biting them in the ass.
Obviously another example of the ALP treating the Greens like shit and it hitting them in the ass is when the Victorian ALP preferenced Fielding over the Green candidate…..yeah that worked out great.
STOP DOING THIS!
This isn’t about politics its about power. The Greens are a threat to the ALP’s power.
“It’s weird, isn’t it – there’s a part of the ALP that would rather the Liberals, Family First, anyone to win a seat instead of actual progressives, the Greens.” – Jeremy
The Greens are the only ones that could challenge the ALPs “progressive” base and start taking voters from it.
The Greens are on the ALPs territory (anything left of the Libs) and the ALP is responding like anything does when its territory is threatened.
The ALP probably see the Greens as a much bigger long term threat than anything else in Australian politics.
The Greens are a major threat to Labor, they appeal to the traditional Labor base (Lefties – like me). But it’s not surprising that Labor hates the Greens because Rudd’s ALP is far more closely related (policy wise) to the Liberals and Family First nut cases. The Greens represent the left whilst ALP, Lib’s and family first are all well right of centre.
Anyway it will be funny tomorrow, or Sunday, both Labor and Liberals have categorically ruled out dealing with the Greens…….We’ll see!
The traditional Labor base is working men and women. The left is a virulant infestation that ravishes the ALP from time to time. Recently it has manifested itself with the rise of the urban ‘intellectual’ elite within the ranks.
As Kim Beaxley Sr said: “When I joined the Labor Party, it contained the cream of the working class. But as I look about me now all I see are the dregs of the middle class.”
The Greens represent the interests of the working class much better than the two major parties.
They advocate for public services, funded by taxation, to ensure that all people – including the working class – have decent access to healthcare, education, transport, and so on.
When the Liberal and ALP parties get their way, the working class gets screwed in favour of the privileged class.
Pingback: Vote for candidates I like, or go to hell – Pure Poison
Most working class people think the greens will stop construction of paper mills, mines, auto-plants to save some trees. They aren’t wrong either.
Hug a tree, kill a Holden.
They are wrong. The Greens aren’t anti-industry, they’re anti-unsustainable industry. And they’re pro the workers who rely on those industries for jobs – unlike say conservatives like Margaret Thatcher, shutting down the mines to smash the unions not caring a tinker’s cuss for the workers laid off, the Greens advocate for services to help the unemployed back into gainful employment. There are plenty of sustainable industries that need support and would provide employment.
“they’re anti-unsustainable industry”
And I would question the sanity or motivations of anyone who is for non-sustainable industry! It just makes no sense…
“Most working class people think the greens will stop construction of paper mills, mines, auto-plants to save some trees. They aren’t wrong either.”
So you believe the shit that the major parties peddle? Why? They have form as liars. I guess the problem with most working/middle class people is they get their info from the Sun or Channel 7, 9 or 10.
Hey Northern Exposure, do you realise that the Greens are NOT opposed to a pulp mill in Tasmania? They are opposed to a pulp mill that causes too much pollution and uses UNSUSTAINABLE old growth wood!
Robo calls are just silly – remember when Howard robo called us all? Annoying, and if you tell lies on your robo call, you deserve to be called out for it.
Antony Green is predicting a hung parliament with 10-10-5. Personally, if that happens I’d prefer Bartlett to resign, calling the result a vote of no confidence in his government, and leave the Liberals with the difficult job of forming and maintaining a minority government with the Greens.
If history is anything to go by, Labor will then win the following election with a majority in their own right.
Things like this make me embarrassed to be a member of the party – and what makes people like me think about a permanent shift to the Greens.
“If history is anything to go by,” Then I predict both Lib and Lab will all of a sudden be prepared to deal with the Greens contrary to their promises not to. They’re politicians confessions, what they say and what they do are two totally different things.
Maybe, we’ll see. But the last time Labor had a minority government with the Greens it was a disaster: bitching, internal squabbles, disputes. Labor was thrown out at the following election and the Libs got back with a huge majority. I can understand why Bartlett has refused to form government with them, it does appear to be a poisoned chalice.
There has never been a minority government that I am aware of that has been in coalition with the Greens.
RobJ: There have been two such governments in Tas: 1989 with Labor, and mid-90s (I think) with the Libs.
Errr, That wasn’t me @ 12:59 pm
Well this election certainly shows us that having proportional representation is a recipe for unstable government.
But I agree that robotic telephone messages are NOT a good way to conduct any part of an election campaign.
“Well this election certainly shows us that having proportional representation is a recipe for unstable government.”
By which you mean a more democratic government, one in which people are represented and not limited to two major parties.
Lack of proportional representation is just a means of spreading minor party votes thin so they can be ignored.
“But I agree that robotic telephone messages are NOT a good way to conduct any part of an election campaign.”
We agree on something.
Errr, That wasn’t me @ 12:59 pm
No worries Rob, thought it was a strange comment coming from you! I should of known.
Pingback: SA and Tas vs appalling Labor governments « An Onymous Lefty