Jewish-led anti-Greens campaign launches
Prahran by election will be first test of strategy in Victoria
A new Jewish-led grassroots political campaign urging voters to place the Greens last on their ballot papers has launched in Victoria.
It aims to imitate a similar initiative in Queensland that saw the Greens retain just one of their four seats in recent state elections.
Sharon Mason, spokesperson for the Victorian Put the Greens Last Campaign, said the movement aims to educate voters about how preference flows can affect electoral outcomes.
The campaign is under the auspices of J-United and is also backed by the right-leaning political group Advance.
It has received support from diverse community groups including Iranian, Hindu and Christian organisations.
“The Iranians and Hindu groups in Queensland were very important allies who volunteered and participated and shared their messaging as well, and that will be the case in Melbourne too,” Mason explained.
The movement’s first focus will be the Prahran by-election on February 8, followed by targeted campaigns in federal seats at the next election including Macnamara, Goldstein, Kooyong and Chisholm.
Prahran will see a three-way contest between the Greens, Liberals and a former Labor MP who is standing as an independent.
Labor is not putting forward a candidate.
Mason emphasised that personal voter engagement would be key to their strategy, citing lessons learned from the Queensland campaign.
“The electoral booth that had the most volunteers on the day actually had the greatest swing against the Greens,” Mason said.
“It’s going to be really important to have a very successful volunteer drive, and informed, well-educated volunteers actually with face to face with voters.”
The campaign plans to establish “listening posts” at shopping centres and conduct letterbox drops, with a particular focus on pre-polling and election day presence.
Mason stressed that their message goes beyond simply not voting for the Greens.
“It’s really important to distinguish between not just ‘don’t vote for the Greens’ but actually put the Greens last.”
Mason illustrated how preference flows can affect outcomes, using the example of the former seat of Higgins.
“In Higgins, Liberal Katie Allen received close to 39,000 votes, while Labor got 27,000. The Greens, who finished third with 21,000 votes, directed their preferences to Labor, putting the second-placed candidate into power,” she said.
The campaign follows a model developed by the Queensland Jewish Collective, whose efforts contributed to the Greens only hanging on to a single seat in that state last year.
Mason said the success demonstrated the effectiveness of grassroots community engagement in achieving targeted electoral change.
The Greens have seen some electoral setbacks in Australian local elections recently, and worldwide their vote appears to have peaked.
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