Up until recently the Greens have been in a win win situation, getting preferences from both Labor and the coalition, and being largely independent.

The negotiating position of the greens with regards to the coalition has been that because the coalition would benefit slightly from Labor losing seats to the greens, the coalition should expect nothing in return.

Ted Bailleau made a courageous decision especially in the light of the closeness of the election and withdrew all preferences from the greens.

The result for the greens was catastrophic. Not only did they no longer stand any chance of winning a seat (as even if they got more votes than labor, the liberal preferences to labor would have cost them the seat), but the arrangement focused the attention on the two major parties causing the Green's primary vote falling from a pre polling 16% to 10.5%

The conclusion that is now obvious to all parties is that the coalition did not lose anything by not preferencing the greens, and the greens now face a severely diminished voice if this is followed in future state and federal elections.

The Greens now face a huge wedge. If it is to have any future in the lower houses, it needs the coalition's preferences, but it will have to put real incentives on the table, and preferencing the coalition in marginal seats will be a bitter ideological pill to swallow.

There is a lot at play for both the Greens and the Coalition;
One is the risk that either supporting the other will lose them votes (although in the Greens case it mattered little with actual or alleged work with Labor);

But lately is has become more apparent that political parties are more concerned about numbers in parliament than even about their votes, so it could go any which way.

the numbers speak for themselves
the green beatup...is just that...a beatup

if people are serious..about the greenie stuff..they vote green
if not...they got forced into it...by putting the labrats last..

[we get two votes...one who we chose
and one..[the last on our card]..we dont want..*at all

putting the greens last...reveales one thing people dont want
is all that green scam/tax..global warning delusion's..and green guilt

Well, Well.
Two holes with water at the bottom. Where are you at, a Green failure? MMM, rather a Green victory. With all the paranoia about the Greens between the lib/lab camps one would have thought oblivian was the way they should go. But alas NO!
With both the major parties against them they still increased their vote by 0.4% from last election. Yes they did not get a lower house seat as they had hoped but without question it was a dangerous performance for the majors and the real strategists will know it.
It amazes me the incredible results the conservative posters seem to think they are getting. With the hopeless state of labor administration country wide one would be expecting landslide victories not one seat and sidelined by minority labor governments. Surely you realise that the lib's have some serious work to do, the electorate maybe tired of labor but on the whole have not given the lib's a vote of confidence.
It really stands now to be seen what the Greens do once they have control in the senate. If they work constructively with labor then the lib's will see a lot of opposition on the horizon.
Without question the electorate are reserving judgement at the moment, the next 3 years will tell much about the future direction.

Nairbe,

Given that the previous elections were 4 years ago, that greens otherwise have seen an increase in polls from between 4% and 10% recently, there was an expectation that there would be a 16% greens primary vote. !0.4% is second best by any terms.

Secondly, with the coalition preferencing Labor, even if the greens were to get a higher primary vote than labor in their own right, they would lose.

If as Sarah Hansen Young suggested the Greens went on an open ticket (no preferences) to punish Labor, Labor and the Coalition might preference each other in the senate, and the greens would be locked out of government all together.

With the greens continually sabotaging Labor's agenda, the cosy relationship might evaporate.

Bob is putting on a brave face, but he is in serious trouble.

SM....you dont' know the half of it! ! !

THE GREEN (scum/slime) have lost their power in the UPPER house it appears, and I assure you... the legislative healing/FIXing process will begin soon.

TOP of the Agenda will be REPEALLING the disastrous "Equal Opportunity Reform Act" which gave the Evil Opportunism and Human Reich commission the freedom to pick on and disturb whoever they liked withOUT any complaint.

If I had my way the VHREOC commission would be disBANDED (and punished)
for the damage they've done on this great state.

Firstly.. those in the "decision" areas must be CHANGED from the biased prejudiced manipulators they are now, to people with more objective glasses on.

Helen Szoke must be dismissed summarily, and all of her ilk must be dealt with in the most serious manner for dereliction of duty (to Australia) in my view.

Their legal department must be PURGED of the present progressives and replaced with conservatives.

The VHREOC must be replaced by "Citizenship and reconciliation" bodies which have a focus NOT on 'Isolating' groups but of harmonizing and reconciling them and nourishing an atmosphere of UNITY rather than diversity.