Brown predicts more Greens in Canberra after next election
June 14, 2012


Former Greens leader Bob Brown says he has no regrets about quitting federal parliament and predicts there will be three more Greens senators after the next federal election.   

Senator Brown said that if the Greens kept up poll results similar to their current 14 per cent primary vote, they will boost their numbers in federal parliament.

''There will be three more senators for a start, but there will be more Greens in the parliament,'' he told reporters in Canberra today.   


The Greens had a 11.8 per cent primary vote in the 2010 election and have nine Greens senators and one lower house MP (deputy leader Adam Bandt) in Canberra.   

''Look at those polls for the Greens, they've gone up since I got out. Quite clearly I should have done it earlier,'' he joked.

Tomorrow Senator Brown - who resigned as Greens leader in April - will formally resign from the Senate.

''And that's that,'' he said.

Senator Brown joined the Senate in 1996 and had been leader of the Australian Greens since 1992.

He insisted that in hindsight, he had no regrets about his decision to go: ''I'm very happy''.

It's not all smooth sailing for the Greens, however. Senator Brown said the party needed more donations and called for more financial support.

''We're short of funds and we'd like a lot more,'' he said, encouraging any large donors to get in contact via his post office box.

''I'd be very happy to go as a middle person.'' Former foreign minister Gareth Evans famously complained of ''relevance deprivation syndrome'' after leaving parliament but Senator Brown said he had no fears he would suffer the same plight.

''I'm a more casual, easygoing guy,'' Senator Brown said.

Senator Brown will also continue to campaign for the Greens and other environmental causes.   

His parting gift to all his parliamentary colleagues was a poster of James Price Point in Western Australia, in a bid to save the area from a gas plant.

He also pledged to continue supporting Greens candidates at both state and federal elections.

''I'll be campaigning with the Greens candidates to the very day they put me in a box,'' he said.

Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/opinion/political-news/brown-predicts-more-greens-in-canberra-after-next-election-20120614-20cck.html#ixzz1xk6b9Iqb

I'd give him points if he was honest

"They are up sh*t creek but I couldn't give a monkeys anymore. I am going back to play Kylie and watch Muriel's Wedding with my fancy man"

Brown predicts that aliens have extincted themselves too. So what of his other predictions. NOT MUCH BETTER.

The thing with the greens is they have a stigma attached to them. Queenslanders will NEVER vote for them. old joh did his job on the ppl well. South Park (the cartoon) is prolly partly to blame too. greens also have some pretty nasty policies. Weird ones. Tasmania is strange.

SOB

rock n roll.  Pffft.  More like panpipes.

How wonderful having the Australian Greens, holding the balance of power in the senate.  A very good insurance policy.   

What about the Greens organized crime links?

Primary might be up, but seats like old mate Bandts will be in trouble because I dont see the Libs giving them preferences again for a while.

Thats gonna hurt them.