Premature ej*c*lation by the Green Party in marginal Wentworth?Mood: 
accident proneTopic: election Oz 2007
Curious is the news from the weekend that the Green Party in Wentworth
marginal seat in east Sydney (apparently on the abc radio but I missed it) have already announced their preferences.
Here it is via Australian Jewish News too, a very influential cultural demographic there
NATIONAL (AUGUST 10, 2007)
Greens preference Newhouse
in Wentworth
melissa singer
GEORGE Newhouse believes
the Greens' announcement today that the party will deliver its preferences to Labor in Wentworth will significantly boost
his chances of wresting the seat off Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
"It [the preference deal] makes the seat
winnable," Newhouse told the AJN on Friday.
Earlier on Friday, Newhouse accompanied Labor Leader Kevin Rudd, shadow
education spokesman Stephen Smith and Melbourne Ports MP Michael Danby at Sydney's Moriah College, where the ALP unveiled
its $16 million plan to boost Jewish school funding and a $20 million pledge to boost security at Jewish and other "at-risk"
institutions in other communities.
While the Greens also preferenced Labor in Wentworth at the 2004 poll, a redistribution
of the once blue-ribbon seat means the votes will be "absolutely critical" if Newhouse is to get over the line.
"The
redistribution means the seat is much more marginal. The seat will come down to preferences, and the Greens' preferences are
critical," Newhouse said.
Newhouse, who is currently mayor of Waverley, will need a swing of 2.6 per cent to take Australia's
most Jewish federal seat from Turnbull.
The redistribution in 2006 has added Kings Cross, Woolloomooloo and Darlinghurst
to the seat, meaning the gay vote, as well as the Jewish vote, will be key to a win in Wentworth. Before the redistribution,
the Liberal Party held Wentworth by 11 per
.....................................
And yet back on July 11th 2007 local Village Voice/Wentworth Courier
(now News Ltd owned) published this by very experienced local journo Kim Shaw:
Senator Kerry Nettle with Wentworth Greens candidate
Susan Jarnason and John Kaye MLC.
The Greens announced their candidate for Wentworth last Sunday, declaring
that preference flows could unseat Malcolm Turnbull MP from the marginal Liberal electorate.
Susan Jarnason, a nurse and P&C activist, will stand against two high-
profile lawyers: Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Waverley Mayor George Newhouse, who will represent Liberal and
Labor respectively in the federal poll later this year.
Ms Jarnason pitched her campaign to people concerned about climate change,
public services such as health and education, and Aboriginal land rights.
"I am proud to represent the Greens, who are taking on the hard issues of
coalmining and building a strong renewable energy economy," Ms Jarnason said on Sunday.
"I will be challenging both Malcolm Turnbull and George Newhouse to justify
their parties' lack of meaningful greenhouse targets and their failure to protect Aboriginal land rights," she said.
Greens Senator Kerry Nettle said the party was expecting a strong vote in
Wentworth, where the community was looking for solutions to global warming and an alternative to the war in Iraq.
The Australian Electoral Commission has declared Wentworth a marginal seat.
Since the 2004 federal election the Electoral Commission has changed the boundaries of the seat to include more of Woolloomooloo,
a traditional Labor-voting area.
The Greens took 11.15 per cent of the vote in 2004; however, the Greens outpolled
Labor in the seat of Vaucluse in this year's state election.
.........................................
Raising some intriguing questions
1. announcing their prefernces fully 3 months from the vote, and
way before the formal campaign though its game on now of course
2. given their preferences to the ALP's George Newhouse, a credible
candidate no doubt but surely squandering any chance of policy commitments this far out from the ALP?
3. On face value seems to be defying the recent strong opinion
piece by Bob Brown in The Australian not to preference the ALP (or was that just in Tasmanian seats?).
Is it because Turnbull is such a dickhead in cosying up to the
pulp mill project or is it straight out rust on ideological sympathy with the ALP in Wentworth in isolation of all other
realities? Or is it a bit of all of these things in the way democracy is messy and pretty dumb at times? Or indeed a
secret deal we are not meant to know about?
Certainly not the way this writer would play electoral poker, indeed
as a candidate ... for Wentworth back in 1998 ..... for the Green Party .... now strictly non aligned. Back then we got 5%
of the vote in a tough polarised vote. As a candidate this writer theoretically would be after a bidding war in
Wentworth over say Tas forests and hold preference decison till late as decently possible.
Did the Wentworth Greens think Howard was finished and wanted to
kick him while he was down, only to see AC Nielsen poll and Monday headline in Fairfax 'Howard back in the game'. Oops. Premature?
Oh dear. What hope the forests in all this Tom says shaking his
head. We've contacted Turnbull's office, confirmed the Green Party decision with their state office and tipped off an ABC
journo. Waiting to see Bob Brown's office response with a call in there.
Can't say I'm surprised, I've found in the past the Eastern Suburbs
Greens determinedly pro ALP when the rubber hits the road in an election, no matter what the ALP actually does as a corporate
national body. Are they captured?. Seems to be a genetic thing with them. Is it just me who notices the ALP is Another Liberal
Party? And that's on social policy too like the NT intervention recently.
Our legal colleague and principal solicitor Alex Tees is now huffing
and puffing saying he wants to run as a genuine independent candidate, and blow the $500 filing fee, with a hotch
potch of left and right policies like:
1. human rights - close Villawood
2. simplify GST for small business
3. reduce unemployment/welfare even more by govt paid jobs for projects
(we can afford it) excepting disability, lone parents on welfare.
4. Save Tasmanian forests
... and now doubt more.
We think this would fracture an even more fracturous electorate.
So why the hell not? He's talking a grassroots meeting sometime in the next several weeks.
...............
Postscript #1 15th August 2005
The agitating against a nasty forest destroying pulp mill in Tasmania continues
page 3 of The Australian today here referring to Geof Cousins a senior of the Australian business community:
Go back to our newswire here
