Greens South Australia
Encyclopedia
Greens South Australia is a Green
Party located in South Australia
, a member of the federation of the Australian Greens
party.
The party has four members currently elected to parliament, Mark Parnell
and Tammy Franks in the South Australian Legislative Council
and Sarah Hanson-Young
and Penny Wright
in the Australian Senate
.
called the first meetings to establish a new Green Party in 1995. It took a number of attempts to get the new party off the ground, however a visit to Adelaide by Bob Brown
in late 1995 provided the necessary impetus to register the new party.
The Australian Greens (SA) first ran in the 1996 federal election and the 1997 state election. In both elections they received around two percent of the statewide upper house vote.
Since that time, the SA Greens have steadily built up a support base at state and federal elections, partly due to the demise of the Democrats
. The SA Greens now have two MLCs and two Senators, with state and federal Newspoll
showing the Green vote consistently above 10 percent.
, the member for Mitchell
, was elected as an ALP
member in 1997, but changed to The Greens in 2003. Hanna left the party in February 2006, citing constituents' wishes for him not to be bound to any party.
became the first Green candidate to be elected in South Australia, securing a position in the Legislative Council
on a primary vote of 4.3 percent. A vote of 6.5 percent was achieved in the House of Assembly
.
The best lower house result was in the electoral district of Heysen
, on a primary vote of 17.7 percent. Heysen was also the Democrats
closest lower house win, coming as close as 1.9 percent at the 1997 state election on a primary vote of 29.2 percent, finishing at 48.1 percent after preferences.
was first on the ticket at the 2007 federal election, and became South Australia's first Greens Senator
. She won the sixth and final South Australian Senate position with a primary vote of 6.5 percent. The strongest Green votes in the Senate came from Adelaide
, Boothby
and Mayo
.
MP Alexander Downer
, a Mayo by-election
was held in 2008. Labor chose not to contest the by-election. Greens candidate Lynton Vonow finished second, on a primary vote of 21.35 percent amongst a field of 11 candidates, a swing of 10.39 percent, and finished on a final vote of 46.97 percent after the distribution of preferences, falling narrowly short of taking the seat from the Liberals.
Tammy Jennings (now Tammy Franks), joining current Greens MLC Mark Parnell
who will be up for election in 2014
.
, to finish with 13.3 percent of the statewide vote. Penny Wright
was subsequently elected, joining Hanson-Young and 7 other Green Senators from July 2011.
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
Party located in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, a member of the federation of the Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
party.
The party has four members currently elected to parliament, Mark Parnell
Mark Parnell
Mark Parnell is an Australian politician and the first SA Greens representative in the South Australian Legislative Council, having won a seat in the 2006 state election. His term will expire in March 2014. Since his election, the Greens position in state political opinion polls has approximately...
and Tammy Franks in the South Australian Legislative Council
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
and Sarah Hanson-Young
Sarah Hanson-Young
Sarah Coral Hanson-Young is an Australian politician. She has been a Greens member of the Australian Senate since July 2008, representing the state of South Australia. she is the youngest person ever elected to the Australian Senate....
and Penny Wright
Penny Wright
Penelope Lesley "Penny" Wright is an Australian Greens senator for South Australia, first elected at the 2010 election.-Early life:...
in the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
.
Electoral history
Prior to 1995, a very small local Green party not connected to the emerging Australian Greens contested a number of State and Federal elections. This party was more or less non-functioning by the time Mark ParnellMark Parnell
Mark Parnell is an Australian politician and the first SA Greens representative in the South Australian Legislative Council, having won a seat in the 2006 state election. His term will expire in March 2014. Since his election, the Greens position in state political opinion polls has approximately...
called the first meetings to establish a new Green Party in 1995. It took a number of attempts to get the new party off the ground, however a visit to Adelaide by Bob Brown
Bob Brown
Robert James Brown is an Australian senator, the inaugural Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens and was the first openly gay member of the Parliament of Australia...
in late 1995 provided the necessary impetus to register the new party.
The Australian Greens (SA) first ran in the 1996 federal election and the 1997 state election. In both elections they received around two percent of the statewide upper house vote.
Since that time, the SA Greens have steadily built up a support base at state and federal elections, partly due to the demise of the Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
. The SA Greens now have two MLCs and two Senators, with state and federal Newspoll
Newspoll
Newspoll Market Research is an Australian company providing opinion polling and other market research services. Its chief executive is Martin O'Shannessy.Newspoll's surveys of voter opinion are published in The Australian....
showing the Green vote consistently above 10 percent.
2002 Labor defection
Kris HannaKris Hanna
Kris Hanna was an Australian politician, and member for Mitchell in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1997 until 2010. Originally elected as a Labor member, Hanna defected to the SA Greens in 2003 before becoming an independent in 2006....
, the member for Mitchell
Electoral district of Mitchell (South Australia)
Mitchell is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the state of South Australia. It was first created in 1969 and is named after philosopher Sir William Mitchell...
, was elected as an ALP
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
member in 1997, but changed to The Greens in 2003. Hanna left the party in February 2006, citing constituents' wishes for him not to be bound to any party.
2006 state election
At the 2006 state election, Environmental lawyer Mark ParnellMark Parnell
Mark Parnell is an Australian politician and the first SA Greens representative in the South Australian Legislative Council, having won a seat in the 2006 state election. His term will expire in March 2014. Since his election, the Greens position in state political opinion polls has approximately...
became the first Green candidate to be elected in South Australia, securing a position in the Legislative Council
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
on a primary vote of 4.3 percent. A vote of 6.5 percent was achieved in the House of Assembly
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...
.
The best lower house result was in the electoral district of Heysen
Electoral district of Heysen
Heysen is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Sir Hans Heysen, a prominent South Australian landscape artist. It is a 616 km² electoral district stretching from residential suburbs in the east and southeast of Adelaide...
, on a primary vote of 17.7 percent. Heysen was also the Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
closest lower house win, coming as close as 1.9 percent at the 1997 state election on a primary vote of 29.2 percent, finishing at 48.1 percent after preferences.
2007 federal election
Second on the 2006 state ticket, Sarah Hanson-YoungSarah Hanson-Young
Sarah Coral Hanson-Young is an Australian politician. She has been a Greens member of the Australian Senate since July 2008, representing the state of South Australia. she is the youngest person ever elected to the Australian Senate....
was first on the ticket at the 2007 federal election, and became South Australia's first Greens Senator
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
. She won the sixth and final South Australian Senate position with a primary vote of 6.5 percent. The strongest Green votes in the Senate came from Adelaide
Division of Adelaide
The Division of Adelaide is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia. The division was created in 1903 and is named for the city of Adelaide, South Australia's capital. The seat has always been based in the inner suburbs of Adelaide...
, Boothby
Division of Boothby
The Division of Boothby is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia. The division was created in 1903 and is named after William Boothby , the Returning Officer for the first election of Members of the House of Representatives in 1901....
and Mayo
Division of Mayo
The Division of Mayo is an Australian Electoral Division located in the hills, east of Adelaide, South Australia and currently includes the towns of Victor Harbor, Lobethal, Mount Barker, Strathalbyn, Woodside and Kingscote....
.
2008 Mayo federal by-election
Sparked by the resignation of Liberal PartyLiberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
MP Alexander Downer
Alexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...
, a Mayo by-election
Mayo by-election, 2008
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Mayo on 6 September 2008, following the retirement of Liberal Party MP Alexander Downer. The by-election was held on the same day as the Lyne by-election, and the Western Australian state election.The writ for the...
was held in 2008. Labor chose not to contest the by-election. Greens candidate Lynton Vonow finished second, on a primary vote of 21.35 percent amongst a field of 11 candidates, a swing of 10.39 percent, and finished on a final vote of 46.97 percent after the distribution of preferences, falling narrowly short of taking the seat from the Liberals.
2010 state election
Prior to the 2010 state election, the Greens had gone from four to ten percent and above in state Newspolls. In the lower house, the vote increased to 8.1 percent, with the upper house vote to 6.6 percent. The Greens were successful in electing upper house candidateCandidates of the South Australian state election, 2010
-Liberal:*Graham Gunn, MHA in Stuart.*Liz Penfold, MHA in Flinders.*Robert Lawson, MLC.*Caroline Schaefer, MLC.-Labor:*Lea Stevens, MHA in Little Para.*Trish White, MHA in Taylor.-Other:*Rory McEwen, Independent MHA in Mount Gambier.-House of Assembly:...
Tammy Jennings (now Tammy Franks), joining current Greens MLC Mark Parnell
Mark Parnell
Mark Parnell is an Australian politician and the first SA Greens representative in the South Australian Legislative Council, having won a seat in the 2006 state election. His term will expire in March 2014. Since his election, the Greens position in state political opinion polls has approximately...
who will be up for election in 2014
South Australian state election, 2014
The 2014 South Australian state election will elect members to the 53rd Parliament of South Australia on 15 March 2014. All seats in the House of Assembly or lower house, whose current members were elected at the 2010 election, and half the seats in the Legislative Council or upper house, last...
.
2010 federal election
At the 2010 federal election, polls showed a similar substantial increase. The SA Greens received a swing of 6.8 percent in South Australia for the Australian SenateAustralian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
, to finish with 13.3 percent of the statewide vote. Penny Wright
Penny Wright
Penelope Lesley "Penny" Wright is an Australian Greens senator for South Australia, first elected at the 2010 election.-Early life:...
was subsequently elected, joining Hanson-Young and 7 other Green Senators from July 2011.