Greens leader Adam Bandt says the party has a mandate to stop new coal and gas mines and warned the Labor government that it will use its balance of power in the Senate to introduce legislation to block new mines.
The Greens appear willing to quadruple their representation in the lower house by stealing their Queensland seats from Brisbane and Ryan in the LNP and ousting Labor leader Terri Butler from Griffith headquarters.
Greens leader Adam Bandt says Labor must recognize how many people voted for stronger climate action. Credit: Tash Sorensen
Labor is still one seat away from securing the 76th seat it needs to rule by a majority and the Greens are expected to have 12 seats in the Senate, which will likely give the party a balance of power.
This means that where Labor fails to gain the support of the opposition, led by Peter Dutton, the government would need the votes of cross-banking to pass laws, turning them into kings capable of blocking or passing key legislation in the Senate. .
Bandt told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that the Greens wanted to be constructive from the start, but parties that advocated more coal and gas had to acknowledge that their votes were falling behind.
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“Workers can go through the majority in the lower house, we’ll see,” he said.
“Less than one in three people voted for them, they have to accept the reality of this, they are in government, but the Greens and the independents, whose presence increased in parliament, called for more ambitious climate action and in some cases. Labor point should recognize that this is what people want.
“Our preference is for a cooperative government, but we are not there for a rubber stamp, so they cannot take our votes in the Senate for granted … our clear and strong preference is to have a productive relationship.