Listen to the voice of the people? The voice of the people says we resent the fact that the Greens, with about 12% of the vote, have so much say in the running of the country. That's why you will be decimated at the next election. Its called Democracy.

To pretend that 'the people' want to be represented by a former pro-Stalin Communist turned Green is simply a bit delusional. Across the world, the demise of Communism saw a migration to Environmentalism to reestablish the same unwanted values under a more palatable banner.

Appeal to the Democratic tradition is disingenuous. Like their cousins the Communists, the Greens despise Democracy, because its the only thing which stands between them and full control of peoples lives.

Its not the media which prevents the Party from getting more votes. You're simply unpopular.

Excellent article by Senator Lee Rhiannon. Australian democracy needs constant innovation in order to deliver better outcomes for all Australians. New voices, new ideas and new solutions need to inform national, parliamentary and public policy debates.

The Australian Macedonian community has been struggling for the last 20 years to have its voice heard in the Australian Parliament in relation to the need for innovation of Australian foreign policy towards Macedonia and its diaspora in Australia. We can not afford policies by special interest groups to prevent open debates and innovation of public policy. By holding the balance of power in the Senate and by co-sharing the balance of power in the House of Reps, the Australian Greens can work in partnership with the major parties and the community to bring about positive change.

Yes, 21st century democracy definetly needs defending. Our country is being governed by a group with 12% of the vote. Is this democracy? - I don't think so. It seems to me that for a country to be democratic then we must be governed by more than 50% of the vote. That is not Australia to-day.
The author of this article should perhaps look at her own party before trying to tell others how to run.
I think the Greens have replaced the Communist Party.

If there is a word that implies the negation of Democracy, that word is ‘Party’ as a cohort of people intent in imposing their will to all people.

Politician is the one more vociferous in the cohort.

Democracy is annihilated by one or a group of ones who succeed in imposing their will to others.

I agree totally with Atman, a minority activist party attempting to exercise authority beyond its representation.

The solution

Return to a first past post voting system (possibly on a voluntary turnout basis). That will fix the minority agenda issue and also ensure a democratic equality where those who want to vote are allowed and those who don’t want a vote are not forced to turn up

I suppose the real issue for green activists is they lack corporate sponsorship…. I wonder if she considers Greenpeace a corporate entity?

Strange that she did not mention union sponsorship of the labor party

Macedonian advocacy… I do recall something which Peter Costello suggested… if you don’t like it here, go home

Assimilation is the only system which works. I would suggest if you want “Macedonian” representation you return to Macedonia to get it.

If you want to be part of the Australian community and vote in Australian elections… you would do well to start by putting “Australia” above and before any historic ethnic origins which you come from.

The notion of a “multicultural Australia” is a big fat joke as well as being a huge lie.

Imho Democracy needs to be defended mostly from the vested interests of economic morons and the environmental zealots (aka greens), who demand to regulate the actions of otherwise free people and impose immoral, unnecessary and unwanted carbon taxes upon them

It was Lenin who said "the way to deal with the bourgeoisie is to crush them between the millstones of taxation and inflation"

Julia Gizzards Carbon taxes are the “taxation”
Labor Party spending is the “inflation”

suggesting socialism has many names but too many policies in common with Communism to be distinguishable

And greens are simply watermelons anyway (the same revolutionary zeal of activists)

MAREELORRAINE” I think the Greens have replaced the Communist Party.”

Agree.

Margaret Thatcher said it before

"Socialists have always spent much of their time seeking new titles for their beliefs, because the old versions so quickly become outdated and discredited."

- So too the name they give themselves

Great article. Big business, particularly transnational corporations, is increasingly a threat to democracy. The close relationships between corporate sponsors, lobbyists and poilitical parties has been on the nose for a while. For a start, we need to ban completely donations above a nominated amount to all political parties. As Jerrold Cripps said, such activity is simply too conducive to corrupt conduct, of which there have been numerous examples from the 'major parties'.

@ Col Rouge:

I was going to respond to your rambling, fact-free rant, but you've demonstrated that you're not interested in truth and honesty when it comes to the Greens:

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=12319#212917

@ MAREELORRAINE:

Get it right. Australia is governed by a stable coalition of ALP, Green and Independent parliamentarians who together represent more than 50% of the electorate. Gillard may not have won the election, but Abbott certainly lost it. Please demonstrate how the Greens are like the erstwhile Communist Party - in philosophy, policy, structure or practice.

If you can't, we'll have to assume you're like Col Rouge and just make stuff up.

A good article. Was no-one else concerned at the huge advertising campaign against the proposed mining super profits tax? Telling Australians that it would cause them to lose their jobs. This was nothing but lies as the enormous growth in the mining industry in the past year shows as well as the ever increasing, astronomical wealth of the likes of Geina Reinhart.
How can a government govern in the interests of the nation when a group of corporations can pump 100 million dollars into an advertising campaign to discredit government policy? This is particularly a problem with the vast majority of the media being in the hands of so few individuals.
I thought that democracy was supposed to be about government by the people, not by big business.

>> Australia is governed by a stable coalition of ALP, Green and Independent parliamentarians who together represent more than 50% of the electorate. Gillard may not have won the election, but Abbott certainly lost it. <<

Nah, Morganzola coalitions are only for laissez-faire, far right, in bed with big business, born to rule, wanna-be Tories. The Greens, Independents (who were voted in by voters) have not stayed in their ordained places and have actually cooperated with the Labor Party in order to govern. Such things are beyond the pale and neo-conservatives want another election; waiting for the accepted and legal terms of governance is not acceptable.

The far right rant along with not upholding democracy have proved themselves to be very poor losers.

>> Please demonstrate how the Greens are like the erstwhile Communist Party - in philosophy, policy, structure or practice. <<

People who can criminalise others for fleeing war zones, should have no trouble claiming the Greens are commos - proving it beyond doubt? Well, never let the truth get in the way of a good smear campaign.

morganzola " was going to respond to your rambling, fact-free rant, but you've demonstrated that you're not interested in truth and honesty when it comes to the Greens"

"truth and honesty" as in the greens pursuit of a political authority which they cannot obtain from the ballot box in their own right?

And your "spray" at MAREELORRAINE and I certainly indicates how disinterested you really are in allowing an opposing view voice.

The Greens were infiltrated by Trotskyites and fellow Bolshevik extremists decades ago, even before the fatally flawed politics of collectivism (USSR) collapsed in a heap before the superior will and ability of Libertarian Capitalism

But what you annoys most is: enough people are still around to remember the disaster which Green policies will bring and enough people are still around to ensure that at the next election-

Labor will be decimated and the Greens obliterated. The independents are dead-men-walking ... who will never be relected and as for your comment

"stable coalition of ALP, Green and Independent parliamentarians"

Then why do Wilke and Windsor hold opposing views on Gambling reform?

which in itself is enough to destabalize the Gizzards House of Cards (being made up of 52 knaves)

Morganzola, I don't just make things up it is my opinion.
"an opinion is a subject belief, and it is the result of emotion or interpretation of facts.
a belief or judgement that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainity / a personal view, attitude or appraisal".
I understand that the Government is formed with the Greens and Independents, but it is the Greens agenda (12% of the vote) this government is governing with otherwise when Julie Gillard said during the election "there will be no carbon tax" she was already lying to the electorate.
Julia Gillard is looking foward to collecting huge funds through the collection of the carbon tax. This is the only way the Government will be able to bring the budget into the black by the year 2012.
I have no faith in the Government being able to handle the amount of funds that will be coming into treasury when collections start.

@ Col Rouge:

Making it up again I see. Do you ever do the most basic of research before you make your hysterical claims?

The Australian Greens have only existed since 1992, so your claim that they "were infiltrated by Trotskyites and fellow Bolshevik extremists decades ago" is just bunkum. However, like the ALP and other formerly left of centre political parties, the Greens attract a small minority of members and supporters who flirted with socialism while at university. Hell, even the Libs have a few.

However, there no "Trots" in the Greens, and their entryist strategy is well-known, so they get short shrift. As far as I know, all Bolshevik extremists died years ago, in the USSR.

Also, your tenuous grip on logic is once again on display: how do people remember something that's never happened - "enough people are still around to remember the disaster which Green policies will bring"?

Lastly, my comments are all well-researched and grounded in facts, and are always expressed civilly. Trust me, you are hardly in any position to call anybody else's comment a "spray". That's the last time I'll dignify one of yours with a response unless you can engage with a modicum of civility and cease fabricating lies about those with whom you disagree.

morganzola "The Australian Greens have only existed since 1992, "

what did they call themselves before that?

"Green" politics have been around since the 1960s

it seems to me the one who has a sloppy grip on reality is yourself.

"However, there no "Trots" in the Greens,"

Delusional

It seems to me you have ignored socialist international, who regularly "slime out" at Greens activist events.

Morganzola, you are one of two groups - I will let you elect which

Either part of the Cynical Party apparatchik

or

one of that group which Lenin described as "Useful Idiot"

Either way, your politics were defeated over 20 years ago and simply renaming them "Green" today, will not alter the fact that
not only are they the results of the flawed philosophy of a malignant and lazy mind (Marx's)

but

the are doomed to fail again in the short term future

Collectivism, be it called soclalism, communism, Maoism, Fascism, Bolshevism or Greenism is always the same-

an Authoritarian Government despotically directing the lifes and choices of the individual people it was supposed to be there to serve

…And should Australians learn lessons from Germany? Imagine our world in Australia where liberal and Labor coalition to oppose the Greens…

…Arise Sir Galahad, the extreme far right (NPD) assembles at the ramparts of tradition….(Col)?….

COL ROUGE
“Collectivism, be it called Socialism, Communism, Maoism, Fascism, Bolshevism or Greenism, and” (rightly, according to Rys Jones) Democracy “is always the same:-an Authoritarian Government despotically directing the lives and choices of the individual people it was supposed to be there to serve”

Col Rouge the calling of our Government Democratic does not change the fact that we are oppressed by those who succeed in depriving us of our powers.

@ MAREELORRAINE:

Thanks for your civil clarification. Of course you're entitled to your opinion, but expect to be challenged when you present it as fact. You said "for a country to be democratic then we must be governed by more than 50% of the vote. That is not Australia to-day".

I disagree, and said so. Australia *is* governed by a coalition of elected representatives of more than 50% of the electorate. It's simply Coalition spin that the Greens on 12% are governing the country - the Greens can do nothing without the ALP and the Independents. Undoubtedly, a condition of Greens support for a minority ALP government is dependent upon negotiated compromise. In this case, the carbon tax had previously been Coalition policy and is designed as a precursor to the ETS that was previously both the ALP's and the Coalition's policy. It is therefore not a radical proposal that has no support elsewhere in the parliament. Indeed, there is wide support on both sides for a market-based response to AGW.

It sounds like you have more of a problem with your understanding of our electoral system, which is understandable but no basis for forming a sensible opinion. If you are truly interested in strengthening our democratic system, you ought to be agitating for multi-member electorates in which members are elected by proportional representation: i.e. if the Greens get 12% of the vote they get 12% of the seats, ditto with all parties. Preference deals should be banned prior to elections, as should those stupid 'how to vote' cards, and allocation of preferences should be optional for voters.

You should also note that Col Rouge and the other anti-democrats favour the 'first past the post' voting method - which *guarantees* that the winner will represent less than 50% of voters, unless they win by an outright majority. Of course, these are the 'winner take all' types from the 'major' parties who think that only they should participate in government.

Morganzola "You should also note that Col Rouge and the other anti-democrats favour the 'first past the post' voting method '

nothing anti-democratic in what i say - a tiny minority of idiots voted a couple of greens into government and they are now dictating to a facile labor minority, helped out by a few renegrade independents who have betrayed their electorate

the Liberals are the Majority party

and certainly, at the next election, the Liberals will operate with an overall majority...

Labor will be able to hold their annual MP Christmas party in a telephone box and the Greens will be gone

and for you, Morganzolo, the worst thing is

You know I am right

footnote, on the topic of the need for Carbon Taxes and the fraud of climate change

I received an invitation this week to a dinner where the speaker is

President of the Czech Republic, Václav Klaus.

his topic for the speech

"The Global Warming Doctrine is an ideology, and is the biggest threat to individual freedom in the 21st century."

One European who is breaking ranks from the pack of lying "watermelon" toads behind the climate change fraud....

I doubt the lying prime minister of Australia will attend.. she would be booed out of the dining room and left to eat crow.....

@ Col Rouge:

Thanks for a more civil tone. However, please never make the mistake of imagining that you know how and what I think. As in this case, I can assure you that I wasn't thinking what you wrote at all.

Once again I'm in awe of your name-dropping abilities. I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with Mr Klaus, who will undoubtedly be grateful for such pearls of well-informed wisdom as you proffer here.

I've met Bob Brown a few times, and guess what? It turns out he's absolutely nothing like you imagine and describe him as - nary a hint of Trotskyite nor Bolshevik about him... But he's just really good at concealing it, right?

Col Rouge: "the Liberals are the Majority party"?

I your universe maybe, but not according to the parliament of Australia.
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/memlist.pdf

Seriously man, get a clue. Try and get a grip on what's happening in the real world and stop making things up to conform to what you want to be happening.

At almost no time in living memory have the Liberals ever been the majority party, whenever they have ever formed government it was always as a coalition with the Nats.

That's also why they prefer preferential voting instead of first-part-the-post.

Couldn't agree more on those points Lee. At one point in NSW the ALP was even considering abandoning its membership as they were too much of a nuisance to them all I heard. Now how can this be a party of workers? It has not had any really care for workers for decades except taking money off unions and throwing some policy scraps back to them.

"If there is a word that implies the negation of Democracy, that word is ‘Party’ as a cohort of people intent in imposing their will to all people. Politician is the one more vociferous in the cohort. Democracy is annihilated by one or a group of ones who succeed in imposing their will to others."

Nail. Head. Target. Bullseye. Hole in one. Goal. Score. Hit. Try.

The whole party thing is..well a party. Lot's of jokes, lot's of crap and a bit of fun ..but who can take them seriously? 88% apparently.

The Greens have got a rush on and are having their moment in the sun.

Unlikely to last though given that the other 88% of partiers are scared of them. Scare bears those greens.

Nah. More like the indistinguishable dysfunctional political duopoly will form a temporary functional block to wipe out the interlopers so they can get back to being an indistinguishable dysfunctional political duoploy.

Reminds me of the production car race series from the early 90's. Ford v Holden rules until the p1ssy little Nissan GTR sucked 'em in, chewed 'em up and spat 'em out. So Ford and Holden sooked out and formed their own V8 super car series: no competition please, we can't compete.

So it is with laborious Labor and tory Liberal: lowest bogan denominator politics.

The only thing more entertaining than watching Labor lose their way is the livid apoplexy of the hate filled self righteous Liberals (can a tory *please explain* why their preferred party is called Liberal?).

Anyone who relies on any government for the state of their finances, happiness and general well being needs to cut the umbilical cord and learn to rely on themselves. How green is that?

Dear Morganzola,

I am quite amazed by the posts of Col Rouge. Amazed because on the one hand he decries communism et al and on the other hand he takes great pride in being invited to hear Vaclav Klaus speak. The confusion lies in Rouge's apparent ignorance of Vaclav Klaus's background. Klaus was a trusted communist party member. He was given permission to travel abroad, a rare privilege - in the days when only trusted party members were afforded that right. Klaus worked for the
Communist Secret Police and a number of infiltration operations and Russia still possesses archives of his activities. Robert Eringer, a former CIA operative has written on the subject of Klaus. Klaus according to his predecessor Vaclav Havel (the dissident playwright
who led Czekoslovakia's "Velvet Revolution) accused Klaus of "gangster capitalism" with his cadre of party members and close communist allies. Klaus founded the "Civic Demogratic Party," but as the saying goes - the same people are still in power who ruled previously. "The shop name may have changed - but the shop remains the same." Oh and did I mention that nearly 45 million people have watched a video of one of Mr Klaus's recent news conferences on YouTube? The video is of Mr Klaus admiring a ceremonial pen (covered with semi-precious stones) during a state visit to Chile, and then
attempting to slip it under the table and into his pocket without anyone noticing. This was annotated and set to music by a Czech TV progam. If I was Col Rouge - I'd keep very quiet about going to hear
this man - unless of course some "communists" are more acceptable
than others.

cont'd...

I apologise for my typo - it should be 5 million people who watched Klaus on YouTube - not 45.

@ Lexi:

Surprised that Col Rouge put his foot in it again?

Not the slightest bit, actually :)

Thanks for the info on Klaus, about whom I know little. Sounds like a real charmer - but you're right, to be consistent Col would have to shun him as yet another Bolshevik. A man of principle (even such as his) would decline the invitation.

I bet he doesn't ;)

Why is it that the Greens think they are the 'voice of the people'. They are no more the voice of the people than the Democrats were before them or the Shooters Party are now. It is quite delusional and it is a type of propaganda drum they keep beating.

To those who dispute the link between former Communists and the Greens need only to look into Lee Rhiannons history and that of other Green Party members. They should also read the history of Greenpeace by Patrick Moore the founder of Greenpeace who describes how his organisation was taken over by Marxists in the 1990's.

Dear Atman,

Could you please provide some proof about Senator Rhiannon's communist affiliations? (parents don't count). Or of any other
Green Members of Parliament? Otherwise we will assume that you're merely talking nonsense and you will subsequently be ignored.
We've all heard terms like "watermelons," bandied about -
usually made by older people who haven't progressed very far in
their education and they like to crow using "catch-phrases" that
they understand.

"It may be the cock that crows, but it's the hen that lays
the eggs!" (Margaret Thatcher).

cont'd ...

BTW - you ask why do the Greens think they're the "Voice
of the People?" Actually they don't think that at all.
But it could be that they're the intelligent ones with a
microphone.

Internationally the Green movement is financed by the likes of the Rothschilds.Their agenda as echoed by Bob Brown is Global Governance.They want the vast majority of people on this planet to live in their environment poverty while the elites live high on the hog.The USA is controlled by the Federal Reserve the private group of banks based in Europe.These banks own and create all the US currency ,so Obama and Congress must obey them.Currently they are piliging Greece and the other PIGS by artificial debt creation.They through the IMF are counterfeiting the EURO.

Since they control the USA,by defacto they then control the UN.It is all about World Govt by the banks and for the banks.Currently they want Obama to increase the debt ceiling so they can expand their wars of imperialism.They are threatening Obama with crashing the Stock Market again if he does not comply and increase the debt.

They way forward which they don't like,is to stop the wars,bring the troops home and elect Ron Paul to end the US Federal Reserve.

Arjay,
You forgot the most important part, de-population.
The whole "NWO" runs on the closed system of fossil fuel and resource scarcity so in order to stay on top the elites are promoting the idea that the world is "overpopulated", which is blatant BS.
If we had clean,cheap or even free energy sources we could have an unlimited number of people on the planet and their "NWO" system would simply cease to exist.
Carbon Trading and Carbon Tax is just another closed system based on scarcity which the elites have designed for their own profit, it changes nothing in the way the globalists operate.

Back to Rys Jones and Col Rouge.

In all my readings I have never known of a Politician who has not betrayed his Nation.

For years, while I understood why the French popular uprising of 1789 that deposed the King of that Nation was called ‘A revolution’, I could not figure out how the events leading to the Uniting of the States of America was equally named.

Now I am sure that Revolution in the American context signifies the ascent to Absolute Power by one who is not a Sovran by birth, like King or Queen.

George Washington is the first Politician of the world and with him started the ‘Generation of Politicians’.

Believe me, Rys and Col, this discovery is no mean deal.

When Australians came to The Commonwealth first Convention, apart from the niceties of retaining a figure-head as Royal Governor, they essentially choose to manage their affair by themselves, away from any Crown.

In other words from that day the rulers of this country were only and solely Politicians exactly like George Washington and the presidents who followed in his shoes.

All Presidents and President’s men engaged in their personal aggrandizement at the cost of their people and that of the neighboring ones.

Whitlam’s “May well we say God Save the Queen“ was excellent rhetoric but certainly not equal to that of Luther King’s “I have a dream”

King’s dream was for a just humanity, Politicians’, if they have dreams, are about power and more power over the ones who elect them on the sole strength of their irresponsible, wild promises.

When we say that we live in a Democracy, are we sure of what we say?

Please think and when possible dream

Jay of Melbourne.Thanks for your important insights. This is an excellent short clip from Max Keiser on the banks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUkNnQE-9B4

Don't be silly Lee.

Well, Lexi it seems I have to do your research for you. I can't understand why you can't look up facts for yourself?

Perhaps you could begin by looking at Mark Aaron's book Family File.

Aarons says "Lee Brown (she later changed her name to Rhiannon) and I grew up together as young COMMUNISTS and cut our political teeth in anti–Vietnam War and anti-racist campaigns."

She joined the pro-Soviet Socialist Party in 1973 after a split within the Communist Party of Australia over the invasion of Czechoslovakia. The Socialist party was simply an alternate Communist Party with slightly differing views over certain issues.

"She became a senior office-bearer of the youth wing, serving on the central committee’s youth subcommittee; attended Australia–Soviet Friendship Society meetings; and developed close relations with Soviet, Czechoslovak and East German communist youth groups. In 1977, Rhiannon led an SPA delegation to Moscow at the invitation of Leonid Brezhnev’s neo-Stalinist regime. "

Any more evidence needed??

Secondly, you ask why I think the Greens believe they are the voice of the people? Well because Rhiannon says as much in her article. "Politicians need to hear the voice of the people" - The clear suggestion is that this is a function the Greens are performing. It is simply an egregious lie.

@Atman:

No, yours is the egregious lie. Ms Rhiannon has never denied her involvement as a young member of the CPA. Lots of people flirt with all kinds of political groups while at uni, only to drop those affiliations once they grow up.

Further, this is what she actually says about the "voice of the people":

"Australia's strong and proud democracy needs further work and requires us to be ever vigilant so that all voices are heard in our important national debates. Politicians need to hear the voice of the people, something increasingly difficult with the dominance of conservativebig media commentators and the shrill calls of the self-interested hogging every bandwidth and Ministerial diaries".

Your interpretation is nothing more than malignant spin. I do wish that you guys would stop telling lies about the Greens. In case you haven't noticed, Australian voters don't like liars.

Morganzola, you really should read the posts before you shoot from the hip. My post about Lee Rhiannon being in the Communist Party was in response to Lexi's request to provide "proof" of Rhiannon's Communist affiliations. I have never said she denied it. Your post actually supports my assertion that her affiliations are well known.

Her extreme Left affiliation was hardly a temporary flirtation of her youth. It continues today under the only viable extreme Left wing party available, the Greens. Of course that is where the former Communist/Socialist etc party members gravitated to here and overseas after the dismal failure and unpopularity of Communism.

My concern about Democracy in this country is related to the fact that a party with 12% of the vote can dictate Government policy. Despite the excessive influence of their small minority party, people like the author are claiming that big business is preventing the 'voice of the people' being heard. What a joke. The Greens are NOT the voice of the people and Ms. Rhiannon should stop suggesting they are.

What lie is being told about the Greens? Please tell me.

@ Atman:

Your first egregious lie was that Rhiannon claimed that the Greens are "the voice of the people" in her article. I've demonstrated that she clearly doesn't. Your second lie is that the Greens are an "extreme Left wing" party.

They are not. Certainly they're to the left of the ALP, which puts them about centre in my analysis, and that of those interested in reality rather than spin:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/its-not-extreme-to-be-green-20110716-1hito.html

Your third lie today is to claim that the Greens are "dictating" government policy. As a member of a governing coalition, they have every right to influence government policy - especially when it involves the belated implementation of policy that has been that of all major parties within the past five years. Further, it can't get through the parliament without the support of the ALP and Independents.

If the Greens were indeed dictating government policy, gay marriage would be legal and we wouldn't be about to send asylum seekers to Malaysia, surely?

Re your 12% furphy - if you were really interested in the Greens having parliamentary representation proportional to their electoral support, you'd be advocating for proportional representation in the Lower House.

Dear Atman,

I have a link for you that just may clarify a few things:

http://archive.leerhiannon.org.au/blog/responding-to-attacks-on-my-family-and-political-background

It includes a thorough explanation of the inaccuracies in Mark Aarons's book, "Family File." BTW: Mr Aarons has a reputation for twisting facts to suit his agenda and not worrying too much about the
truth of the matter if it means getting his material published.

When doing research - you need to look at a few sources to get a better perspective of where the truth of the matter may lie.

It is interesting that the critical discussants did not address the central question of corporate interests undermining democracy. So, who do they speak for? Even ALP luminaries admit that their party is too close to corporate interests that distort their policies (and their actions in power). The Liberal problem is at least as bad – think big tobacco and health.
All this reference to Lenin is so irrelevant and further evidence that certain media owners with idiosyncratic world-views have too much influence. Lee Rhiannon does not sound extreme to me – more reasonable than most, in fact. So, we need open government and a more diverse media.

If the Greens have 12% of the vote, they should have 12% of the seats in parliament and it could go higher if their popularity continues to increase. This won't please the corporate bots will it?

Yes, I am a Green too.