3rd October 2008
GREENS PLACE ALP ON NOTICE FOR STATE ELECTION
The Illawarra Greens has put the Labor Party on notice that it cannot rely on Greens preferences to win the four State seats currently held by Lylea McMahon, David Campbell, Noreen Hay and Paul McLeay.
“Polling reported by the Mercury has identified the Labor vote plummeting. These seats will now all need to go to preferences to determine the result. The stench of corruption around Labor combined with the poor quality of local representation, and Labors’ poor record in planning, local democracy and infrastructure spending has made it far from certain that the Greens will preference Labor ahead of Liberal in the next state election,” said Illawarra Greens Convenor Jill Merrin.
“The Illawarra Greens believe we are the party most able to provide an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable future for the people of the Illawarra. If the Greens do not win the seats, past voting trends indicate our preferences will be pivotal in deciding which party represents the region,” said Jill Merrin.
As a grass-roots, democratic party the Greens determine preferences at a local level, and the decision will be made close to the election by the local group members. The local ALP’s role in corrupt approval of development on Wollongong Council over a long period of time weighs heavily against Labor. NSW Labor’s developer driven planning laws, privatization agenda, poor environmental record and lack of investment in the region also count against them.
Contact: Jill Merrin, Illawarra Greens, 0422 655 711