VIC:Greens' di Natale set for Senate

AAP General News (Australia)
08-13-2010
VIC:Greens' di Natale set for Senate

By Jeff Turnbull

MELBOURNE, Aug 13 AAP - Richard di Natale, the Greens candidate for a Victorian Senate
seat, is set to end the colourful political career of Family First Senator Steve Fielding
in next week's federal election.

The Labor Party, which handballed its preferences to Family First in 2004m, allowing
Senator Fielding into the Senate, has switched allegiances this time round in a deal with
the Greens.

Six Victorian senate seats are up for grabs in the August 21 poll.

The Nationals will field a new candidate in Bridget McKenzie, who takes the place of
retiring Liberal senator Judith Troeth.

Ms McKenzie is second on the coalition ticket, behind Liberal Senator Michael Ronaldson.

In an agreement between the two coalition parties, it is the Nationals' turn for the
winnable second seat in this election.

Senator Julian McGauran, who defected from the Nationals to the Liberals in 2006, is
third on the Liberal ticket and also likely to be re-elected.

On the Labor ticket, senators Kim Carr and Stephen Conroy are assured of being returned
while the third-placed candidate, Antony Thow, is destined to miss out because of growing
support for the Greens.

Monash University political analyst Dr Nick Economou says Dr di Natale will win the
sixth seat up for grabs in Victoria, giving the party a good chance of gaining nine seats
overall and the balance of power in the Senate.

"The polls are suggesting that there is a defection of Labor support to the Greens
and the Labor vote in the Senate is always lower than it is in the House of Representatives,"

Dr Economou said.

"The Greens vote is sitting on 10 per cent in the last election and it only needs to
go up one per cent for di Natale to be in a strong position."

Dr Di Natale, a surfing, cycling, part time organic farmer from the Otway Ranges on
Victoria's west coast, has spent several years working in indigenous health in the Northern
Territory and on HIV prevention in India.

Dr Economou said the implications of the growing strength of the Greens was that the
Senate would be controlled by the left-of-centre parties.

"That means whoever wins the prime ministership, they are going to have to deal with
the Greens," Dr Economou said.

"If Julia Gillard wins she is going to have to run legislation through the Greens,
but what's really interesting is, what would happen if Tony Abbott becomes prime minister.

"He would be the first prime minister since Gough Whitlam to face an ideologically
hostile senate.

"He would look upstairs and see a phalanx of left-of-centre senators looking back at him."

AAP jxt/ce/it

KEYWORD: POLL10 SENATE VIC

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