Hmmm, I do remember the NSW Greens arguing over whether they should embargo trade with Israel.

And didn't Lee Rhiannon meet with a KGB station chief in Australia all those years ago? There are more faceless men and women in the Greens than ever haunted the corridors of the ALP in the 1950s.

Basically the loony side of the Greens were more or less held in check while Brown was in charge but now the Trotskyists, the Maoists, flat earthers, anti-populationist, anti-sport, anti-fun faction wants to run the show.

That's Milne's biggest problem. About half of the Green Party are anti-market and anti capitalist - but they hide that behind the cloak of social justice - which they stole from the Democrats.

I believe Paul Howe was right, inasmuch as Labour would likely improve it's long term future prospects, by placing the Greens, their competition for the left of centre vote, last on the ballot paper.
I Remember when it was very okay for the greens to preference anybody else except labour.
Typically, the greens seem much more bothered about the loss of a few trees than the hundreds of human lives lost at sea?
The Senate was conceived as a house of review, rather than a place where the tail wags the dog.
If the greens choose to, as they have done many times in the past, side with the coalition, the very party that says no to everything?
Then they need to expect to wear the political consequences.
We simply cannot continue to allow a criminal cartel to decide who gets access to our limited refugee resettlement response.
If getting on a dangerous leaky overcrowded boat simply resulted in being sent back to Malaysia, who then would destroy their documentation and pay a criminal organisation 10-15,000 dollars for a one way trip.
After all, all that is being asked for is a trial, which by the way, allows an additional 4,000 long term refugees to enter.
On a pro rata basis, we reportedly accept more refugees than anywhere else on earth?
Nor can we sit still, while the greens, oblige us to use fully imported fuel, that creates four time more carbon, than that they would have us lock away?
Sure preserving the Coral sea and our fish stocks is a worthy goal.
But how do we achieve that by locking our own people out and creating far less surveillance; that in times past, would have reported illegal foreign fishing boats?
It seems to me, that the greens, in the main simply, don't use the brains they were born with?
This is not how you win over the bush; and or, the pragmatic conservationists who inhabit it!
Rhrosty.

The first rule of journalism, as taught to any first-year journalism student, is check your facts. A simple check of Paul Howes' 'facts', involving a 5-minute perusal of both the national and NSW Greens websites regarding their sport and industrial relations policies would have revealed those 'facts' to be wrong. Any sub-editor worthy of his or her job would have either rejected the article or requested a rewrite.

Unfortunately, as those who work in the conservative dominated media well know, the object of articles like the one written by Paul Howes is NOT to present a truthful argument, but to spread falsities and myths knowing full well that the vast majority of readers have neither the time nor inclination to verify their accuracy.

Much the same approach is used for feminists, unionists, gay activists and any other group perceived to be threatening to those who rule the status quo. The point is to keep the flow of these articles at a continual level of momentum in order to maintain a corresponding level of mistrust within the community towards the targeted group.

As the pathetic comments above indicate, the skullduggery works.

Not so sure your reply added much to the debate Killarney by blaming the journo. The ALP believe they have a better chance of winning the next election without carrying a hyperactive, immature child on their shoulders. I'm all for gay marriage, forests, due process in detention camps (off shore or on) - I even want sheep and cattle to be happy on those Iraq bound ships but I'll be damned if I'll vote for a party that appear to consist of cranks.

Well you have to admit, Labor are pretty quick on the uptake.

It has only taken some of them 4 years to realise the greens are a poisonous bunch. Just as poisonous as their idle Chairman Mao, & willing to kill just as many to achieve their goals.

Even now some Laborites are still prepared to get into bed with this vicious bunch to gain & retain some form of power. It is only some form of power, as our lovely greens have managed to dictate so many of the group policies, the government has little resemblance to a Labor government.

It is probably too late for Labor now, they have committed suicide with their green love affair. We still do however have one last hope. That Tony will be brave & committed sufficiently to the welfare of Oz people, that he will give us that double dissolution election we need to clean out this vipers nest.

So come on Tony, once you are in power, screw all that courage onto a tight ball, & do the right thing by us all, even those who don't know how bad these people are.

Hi Jim,

I get the feeling that articles like this are an attempt to make the original article in the Sunday Telegraph sound interesting or significant. They aren’t.

Whatever seats the Greens hold after the next election will be irrelevant, therefore their policies will be irrelevant and their MP’s and senators will also be irrelevant. They will be an ex-political party. Within the 2PP, an ALP rant may cause some shuffling of the deckchairs but it’s still futile.

As for the Greens, their time has come and gone, sadly they failed to use that time constructively, which will also reflect very badly on the ALP, Independents and the Trade Unions. The trashing of their various brands has been total.

The rusted on supporters need to get a new political life, preferably before the one they have is flushed down the gurgle as in Queensland. Wishing it were different just won’t cut it.

Jim, at least 87% of Australians don’t give a rats about the Greens and 70% don’t give a rats about the ALP, so who cares what happens to them