Greens keep Rhiannon away from Israel
GREENS leader Senator Bob Brown will retain responsibility for his party’s Israel policy, while incoming senator Lee Rhiannon, who was a lead voice in Marrickville Council’s boycott of Israel, will be responsible for democracy and local government.
GREENS leader Senator Bob Brown (pictured) will retain responsibility for his party’s Israel policy, while incoming senator Lee Rhiannon, who was a lead voice in Marrickville Council’s boycott of Israel, will be responsible for democracy and local government.
Senator Brown announced the portfolio breakdown at the weekend as the leftist party prepares to rise to its most powerful job yet – holding the balance of power in the Senate.
“Australians will be represented by the Greens in every state, for the first time. We are empowered by more than one and a half million voters to negotiate with Government and the Opposition to get better outcomes for the nation,” Senator Brown said.
Four new Greens senators – Victorian Richard di Natale, South Australian Penny Wright, Queensland’s Larissa Waters and Rhiannon from NSW – were elected at last year’s federal election. Because senators sit for fixed terms, the quartet will only take its seats in the upper house from next week.
They will join existing senators Brown, Christine Milne, Rachel Siewert, Sarah Hanson-Young and Scott Ludlam.
Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Dr Colin Rubenstein, said while the Greens influence is limited, there are concerns about the increasingly powerful party’s stance on issues of interest to the Jewish community.
“The official position of the Greens on the Middle East places the onus for making peace wholly on Israel, asking nothing of the Palestinians, and essentially supports a peace imposed by the United Nations,” Dr Rubenstein said. “There is a real possibility that the enhanced political role of the Greens will increase their opportunities to promote their problematic, unhelpful and poorly informed views on the Middle East.”
He added that the party’s “limp approach” to counter-terrorism and attitude toward funding independent schools needed to be monitored by the community.
Associate Professor Philip Mendes, who co-authored the book Jews and Australian Politics, agreed Greens clout would be limited despite their numbers. “The Greens greater strength in the Senate is likely to have little influence on government policy on Israel because the ALP can always count on far greater numerical support from the Coalition for its pro-Israel perspective,” he said.
Mendes added a call for the community to engage with the party’s pragmatists. “There are many Greens who recognise that they will only continue to advance in parliamentary numbers if they are seen as reflecting a range of community opinion, rather than some ideological dogma,” the Monash University academic said.
In terms of portfolio responsibilities, the founder of the party has shown he still has his hands firmly on the rudder, retaining responsibility for treasury, foreign affairs, defence and education.
His deputy Senator Milne, will continue overseeing Greens key focus areas of climate change and energy.
NAOMI LEVIN
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