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The Greens NSW

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The Greens NSW
LeaderNo leader
Founded1991;33 years ago(1991)
HeadquartersSuite D, Level 1/275 Broadway
GlebeNSW 2037[1]
Membership(2019)Increase3,695[2]
IdeologyGreen politics
Progressivism
Factions:
Eco-socialism[3]
Green liberalism[4][5]
Political positionCentre-left[4][6]toleft-wing[7]
National affiliationAustralian Greens
ColoursGreen
Legislative Assembly
3 / 93
Legislative Council
4 / 42
Senate
2 / 12
(NSW seats)
Local government councillors
63 / 1,480
Local government mayors
2 / 128
Website
greens.org.au/nsw

The Greens NSW,also known as theNSW Greens,is agreenpolitical partyinNew South Walesand a member of theAustralian Greens.First formed in 1991, the Greens NSW began as a state-level party before joining with other green parties inAustraliato create the current federated structure.[8]

The Greens NSW continue to be separate to the other state and territory Greens parties in several regards. The Greens NSW tend to be moreleft-wingin their political positions in comparison to the other state parties,[9]and continues to maintain the original Greens policy of not having a single parliamentary leader, instead being based on principles of collective leadership.[10]

The party currently sits on thecrossbenchin theNew South Wales Parliament,and has representation federally in theSenate.

History

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The first Greens party was registered in 1984, but the Greens NSW did not take its current form until 1991, when six local groups in New South Wales federated as a state political party. Greens candidates have run in every federal election since 1984, when a single candidate ran in the federalDivision of Sydney.

The founding document of the Greens NSW described the organisation as the following:[11][12]

The Greens in Sydney come from many backgrounds. Environmental and resident activists.Nuclear disarmers.Dissidents from theLabor Partywho have witnessed betrayals by both wings of that party.Feminists.Anarchists.Those inspired by theGerman Greens.Socialistsof various kinds. What is distinctive and unifying about this new force in Sydney is the emphasis on encouraging people’s self-confidence in their right to have their say, their right to democratically determine matters – whether they are large or small – which affect their lives.

Local government

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The party endorses candidates to stand for election in many of the 128local government areasacross NSW, including in rural and regional areas where the major parties usually do not run candidates on party tickets. The Greens NSW currently have 58 councillors on 32 local councils around NSW.[13]

In NSW local government elections were held in September 2016 and September 2017.

In 2016 The Greens elected three mayors and 24 councillors in the 29 areas where candidates stood. Greens councillors were elected for the first time in:Albury,Broken Hill,Clarence Valley,Glen Innes Severn,Goulburn Mulwaree,KyogleandYass Valley.The Greens also grew their vote inBellingen,Byron,Shoalhaven,Campbelltown,Kiama,Hawkesbury,Wingecarribee,Lismore,Hawkesburyand theBlue Mountains.

In 2017 The Greens elected a further 31 Councillors in Armidale, Bathurst, Canterbury Bankstown, Canada Bay, Hornsby, Inner West, Newcastle, Northern Beaches, Orange, Parramatta, Queanbeyan Palerang, Randwick, Ryde. Snowy Mountains. Waverley, Willoughby, Woollahra, Wollongong.

New South Wales State Elections

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NSW Election Results
 Primary Vote (LA)

The party first came close to electing a candidate in 1991, whenIan Cohenwas the last Upper House candidate to be excluded in a contest againstChristian Democratic PartyleaderFred Nilefor the final statewide seat. In the subsequent 1995 election, Cohen was elected to the NSW Legislative Council and became the first Greens parliamentary representative in NSW. In 1999 he was joined byLee Rhiannonand in 2003 he was re-elected and joined bySylvia Hale.

Greens members celebrating during the 2015 NSW election.

In2007Lee Rhiannon was re-elected to the Legislative Council and joined byJohn Kaye,bringing the number of Members of the Legislative Council to four. In 2010 Lee Rhiannon resigned from the Legislative Council to contest and win a Senate seat, and Sylvia Hale also resigned her seat. The resultingcasual vacancieswere filled byCate FaehrmannandDavid Shoebridgerespectively.

At the2011 NSW state electionthe Greens further increased their vote, resulting in the election ofJamie Parkeras the first Greens member of the Legislative Assembly, representingBalmain.David Shoebridgewas re-elected and joined byJan BarhamandJeremy Buckinghamin the Legislative Council.

In 2013 Cate Faehrmann resigned from the Legislative Council to contest a Senate seat. The resulting casual vacancy was filled byMehreen Faruqiof the South Sydney Greens.

At the2015 State electioncurrent sitting membersJamie Parker,John KayeandMehreen Faruqiwere re-elected. Two new members were elected to the Legislative Assembly:Jenny Leongin the new seat ofNewtownandTamara Smithin the previously safe National seat ofBallina.The Greens primary vote inNewtownof 45.6% is the party's highest ever primary vote in a lower house electorate. This resulted in five Legislative Council seats and three Legislative Assembly seats.

In October 2016,Jan Barhamresigned and the casual vacancy was filled a few months later by former federal candidate forRichmond,Dawn Walker.

In December 2018,Jeremy Buckinghamresigned from the Greens NSW.[14]Buckingham described the party as more focused on "bringing down capitalism" and "divisive identity politics" than acting on climate change.[15]

At the2019 state electionthere were two upper house Greens seats up for contest as was Buckingham's. David Shoebridge was re-elected, Abigail Boyd (former federal candidate forDobell) won one but Dawn Walker lost hers. Each of the three lower house seats were returned with a favourable swing.

Constitutional Convention

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Greens NSW members representing their local groups at an SDC meeting in 2015

In 1997 The Greens NSW formed part of a joint ticket calledGreens, Bill of Rights, Indigenous Peoplesfor the1998 Constitutional Conventionheld in Canberra in February 1998. Catherine Moore led the ticket and was elected for NSW. She joinedChristine Milnefrom Tasmania to focus on ensuring that the overall process was more inclusive.[16]

Structure

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The Greens NSW was founded when local Greens groups federated into a statewide party.

The Greens NSW retain the same basic structure which was created in 1991, with the formation of the statewide party.

State Delegates Council

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The Greens NSW make decisions affecting the state party through the State Delegates Council (SDC), a meeting that consists of a delegate from each local group. The SDC is the highest decision-making body, and controls election campaigns for statewide candidatures (such as the Senate and Legislative Council). It also decides on admitting new local groups as members of the Greens NSW.

Local groups

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The party is made up of 'local groups', who cover a specific geographical area. Local groups have complete responsibility for elections held in their area, particularly elections for the House of Representatives, theNew South Wales Legislative Assemblyor Local Government. There are currently 56 affiliated local groups in NSW.[17]

Working groups

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A variety of working groups have been established by the SDC, which are directly accessible to all Greens members. Working groups perform an advisory function by developing policy, conducting issues-based campaigns, or performing other tasks assigned by the SDC. These include:

  • Young Greens
  • Sex, Sexuality and Gender Identity Working Group
  • Women's Working Group
  • Refugee Working Group
  • Economics Working Group

Ideology and policies

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The party has described itself as being based on the principles of:ecological sustainability,grassroots democracy,social justice,peaceandnon-violence.[18]

The NSW Greens want to ban new coal and gas projects, as well as ban logging in public native forests,[19]and aim for net-zero carbon emissions in NSW by 2035.[20]They want to transition towards acircular economythat eliminates waste[21]and expand the protected areas network in NSW to at least 30% of the total landmass.[22]

On economic issues, the NSW Greens want to tax big business and redirect the money towards public services.[23]The NSW Greens want to make public education free,[24]including early childhood education,[25]as well as make healthcare free and move towards more public ownership over hospitals and health clinics.[26]The party supports nationalisation of public transport and making itfree to useinNew South Wales.[27]The party wants to strengthen renters rights and imposerent controls,[28]as well as invest in public housing. The NSW Greens want to expand worker's rights.[29]

The party supports a legal and regulated market for the sale of cannabis.[30]

The party also supports a legal and regulated market for vaping. In this regard it supports elements such as: limits on nicotine levels in vapes, prohibiting the use of harmful chemicals in vapes, the requirement of health warnings on all vaping products, regulate vaping products so that nicotine vapes are only available to those aged over 18-years-old, to fund education programs targeted at teenagers to warn them of the dangers of vaping, and reduce the waste caused by vaping by placing requirements on producers to minimise waste and recycle used nicotine vapourisers.[31]

Political factions

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There is only one publicly acknowledged faction within Greens New South Wales which is theLeft Renewalfaction. It was formed in late 2016 and presents itself as the far-left, anti-capitalist wing of state's party.[32][33]As of 2021, Left Renewal is not active within the party.[citation needed]

Electoral results

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Election Legislative Assembly Legislative Council
Votes % of votes Seats won +/– Votes % of votes Seats won Overall seats +/–
1991 16,556 0.54
0 / 99
 106,325 3.32
0 / 15
0 / 42
1995 87,862 2.57
0 / 99
 Steady0 126,591 3.75
1 / 21
1 / 42
 Increase1
1999 145,019 3.88
0 / 93
 Steady0 103,463 2.91
1 / 21
2 / 42
 Increase1
2003 315,370 8.25
0 / 93
 Steady0 320,010 8.60
2 / 21
3 / 42
 Increase1
2007 352,805 8.95
0 / 93
 Steady0 347,548 9.12
2 / 21
4 / 42
 Increase1
2011 427,144 10.28
1 / 93
 Increase1 453,125 11.12
3 / 21
5 / 42
 Increase1
2015 453,031 10.29
3 / 93
 Increase2 412,660 9.92
2 / 21
5 / 42
 Steady0
2019 435,401 9.57
3 / 93
 Steady0 432,999 9.73
2 / 21
4 / 42
 Decrease1
2023 455,960 9.70
3 / 93
 Steady0 419,346 9.08
2 / 21
4 / 42
 Steady0

Members of Parliament

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Current

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Australian Parliament

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New South Wales Legislative Council

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New South Wales Legislative Assembly

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Former

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Australian Parliament

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New South Wales Legislative Council

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New South Wales Legislative Assembly

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See also

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References

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  1. ^Karp, Paul (20 February 2018)."Factional infighting erupts in NSW Greens over Lee Rhiannon claims".The Guardian Australia.The Guardian Australia.Retrieved28 May2018.
  2. ^Hannam, Peter (4 October 2020)."'Shocked': quarter of Nationals members quit since coming to power ".Sydney Morning Herald.Retrieved2 April2021.
  3. ^SeeLeft Renewal
  4. ^abMcGowan, Michael (12 December 2018)."NSW Greens on brink of 'irrevocable split', two right faction MPS warn".The Guardian.
  5. ^Brull, Michael (22 February 2019)."The Incredible Wrecking Campaign Inside the Greens NSW".New Matilda.
  6. ^"The Incredible Wrecking Campaign Inside the Greens NSW".
  7. ^Chan, Gabrielle (22 December 2016)."Richard Di Natale says Greens group that wants end to capitalism does not represent party".The Guardian.
  8. ^Sally Neighbour (2 February 2012)."Divided We Fall".Retrieved25 January2021.
  9. ^Tom Raue (29 May 2018)."Is there a future for the left in the Greens?".Retrieved25 January2021.
  10. ^Christine Cunningham (1 January 2014)."Leadership and the Australian Greens".Retrieved25 January2021.
  11. ^"Eggs Over Albanese: Labor's Green Ham-Fisted Attempt To Distract On Stacking".New Matilda.29 June 2020.
  12. ^Raue, Tom."Is there a future for the left in the Greens?".Overland literary journal.
  13. ^"Greens on Council".
  14. ^Josh Taylor (20 December 2018)."Jeremy Buckingham Is Quitting The" Corrupt "NSW Greens".BuzzFeed.Retrieved25 January2021.
  15. ^Michael McGowan (20 December 2018)."NSW MP Jeremy Buckingham quits Greens and will run as an independent at election".TheGuardian.Retrieved25 January2021.
  16. ^[1]ArchivedSeptember 21, 2006, at theWayback Machine
  17. ^"Local Groups".greens.org.au.6 September 2014.Retrieved15 October2016.
  18. ^"About Greens NSW".greens.org.au/nsw.The Greens NSW.Retrieved8 May2023.
  19. ^Parkes-Hupton, Heath (11 March 2023)."Greens eye holding balance of power as experts predict tight result in New South Wales election".ABC News.Retrieved8 May2023.
  20. ^"Climate Change | Greens NSW".The Greens NSW.Retrieved24 September2023.
  21. ^"Waste Elimination | Greens NSW".The Greens NSW.Retrieved24 September2023.
  22. ^"National Parks and Other Protected Areas | Greens NSW".The Greens NSW.Retrieved24 September2023.
  23. ^"Increasing Coal Royalties | Greens NSW".The Greens NSW.Retrieved24 September2023.
  24. ^"Education | Greens NSW".The Greens NSW.Retrieved24 September2023.
  25. ^"Early Childhood Education | Greens NSW".The Greens NSW.Retrieved24 September2023.
  26. ^"Health including Mental Health | Greens NSW".The Greens NSW.Retrieved24 September2023.
  27. ^"Public Transport".greens.org.au/nsw.The Greens NSW.Retrieved8 May2023.
  28. ^Wang, Jessica (11 March 2023)."NSW Election 2023: Greens list demands for Labor".news.au.Retrieved8 May2023.
  29. ^"Work and Industrial Relations | Greens NSW".The Greens NSW.Retrieved24 September2023.
  30. ^"Drug Regulation and Harm Minimisation | Greens NSW".The Greens NSW.Retrieved24 September2023.
  31. ^"Greens Propose Plan to Regulate Vaping to Reduce Harms".greens.org.au/nsw.The Greens NSW. 28 February 2023.Retrieved8 May2023.
  32. ^"Lee Rhiannon downplays reports Left Renewal faction is splintering Greens".theguardian.The Guardian Australia.Retrieved5 March2019.
  33. ^Aston, Heath (22 December 2016)."Hard-left faction forms inside Greens aiming to 'end capitalism'"– via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  34. ^"NSW Greens MP Justin Field quits party to sit on crossbench".The Guardian.4 April 2019.Retrieved14 April2019.

Notes

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  1. ^Field left the party over against internal division and "hyper-partisanship" that plague the Party's chapter.[34]He continued to sit in the Chamber.
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