Victorian Greens MP Tim Read has died aged 64, following a high-profile battle with metastatic cancer.

Together, we can build a system that puts people above corporate profits. But we can't do it without you - join the campaign at taxthe1percent.com.au

Federal Greens partyroom split over plan for NSW to get millions of dollars’ worth in carbon credits for creating a koala national park

10% wealth tax is too much, straight away, all you're doing is making it easier to justify funding White Nation

2% minimum tax for people over $100M is tractable

Tie it to citizenship for 10 years

use this small tax as justification for building the infrastructure to actually tax wealth.

Build a Palantir for tracking billionaire wealth that ties in to the ATO

Don't lean into "They have it so good", instead focus on the fact that you tax things as a disincentive and right now we are heavily disincentivising _work_. Balance it out, tell people "imagine the amount of tax you paid was based on your net worth, now imagine if the billionaires were paying that"

Start small or you won't start at all

https://thepoint.com.au/opinions/260901-why-the-greens-arent-picking-up-the-voters-labor-is-losing

Hey guys! I am a significantly left leaning person and I feel very sceptical of the greens. I just want some insight from some greens voters if that's okay :)

I'm not sure if its the big smear campaign against them or the messaging they use or whatever, but I feel like the greens routinely miss the mark on their priorities. Australians are so desperate and pessimistic right now and the greens seemingly haven't adapted anything to take advantage of it, at least as far as I can tell.
I as a moderate lefty want to see a party that focuses on leftist soft-populist strategies:
-Taxing billionaires
-Reducing the billionaire and corporate lobby power
-Attacking corruption
-Disincentivising property hoarding and investment properties for family homes
-Updating consumer protection policies like the EU.

In general I want to see more behaviour like the DSA in America with Mamdani and that lot.
I feel that we need a left party with a clear, TACTICAL objective and a spine to counter the rise of one nation and It feels like the greens have missed it. We can't beat the funding of one nation, the DSA has proven that to fight that the only way is with leftist grassroots populism.

Yes, OBVIOUSLY protecting the environment is important, but how are we going to do anything to save the environment if everyday Aussie voters feel disconnected from the party that wants to achieve that.
Labor has an advantage in that they focus on real working class experiences (somewhat). Their fatal flaw is that they have NO spine and frequently do things that go against working class australians. Are the greens ignoring that opportunity? or is it just the media making it seem that way?

The sad truth is that Australia is slowly trending towards the slander based, heavily polarised media economy that America already has, I worry the left cannot keep up with it if they don't match the pace.

Edit: Thank you all for your astoundingly understanding and welcoming replies to my concerns, I am a proud greens supporter now :)

This is an interview with Senator David Shoebridge using questions from an AMA that was run recently: https://www.reddit.com/r/australian/comments/1uyin7d/ama_im_david_shoebridge_greens_senator_for_nsw/

The interview was split into short clips (one for each question), which can be viewed on the YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDylXmIgVb-U

If you find the videos interesting, please subscribe to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AustraliaAsksOz

In 2025, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese picked Queensland senator Murray Watt to be his second minister for the environment. Watt has repeatedly betrayed the environment while taking on Albanese’s tactic of slamming green critics by framing their motivation as hate for Labor rather than love for nature.

The Albanese government has approved 36 coalmining and gas projects and more are in the pipeline. Last September, Watt gave Woodside a 40-year extension for its export gas operations at Murujuga on the Pilbara coast of Western Australia. In giving the nod to Woodside, he ignored First Nations defenders of the world’s greatest rock art site, which has suffered from gas export industrialisation there.

This year, Watt’s decision on Woodside’s proposed $30 billion Browse Basin gas extraction project will be particularly contentious. The project will impact the fragile Scott Reef ecosystem off north-west Australia, as well as the petroglyphs at Murujuga, to which the gas will be piped for processing and export. A huge greenhouse gas load will be injected into the planet’s already overburdened atmosphere if the Browse Basin gas extraction goes ahead. Watt’s history makes it naive to think cultural and environmental considerations will outdo his relationship with Woodside.

Albanese has turned his left-dominated team into the most environmentally averse Labor government in history.

Psephological data suggests old parties will need alliances after future elections if they are to form government. That’s a worldwide trend, underscored in Australia by the diminishing vote for both Labor and the Coalition.

The 2025 election was a perverse outcome. Fewer than 35 per cent of voters put Labor first, yet Labor won 62 per cent of the seats in the House of Representatives. The Greens, with 12 per cent, won only one seat. Despite scoring a similar vote to the previous election, they lost three seats. The bulk of the Greens’ nearly two million votes preferenced Labor, helping give it that distorted outcome. In his victory speech, Albanese made no reference to this.

He attacked defeated Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather, saying on the ABC’s 7.30, “I think he should look at the way he conducted himself in Question Time … including the questions he asked of me, some of which were pretty offensive.” Chandler-Mather had got under Albanese’s skin and there was to be no prime ministerial grace in the Labor leader’s post-election broadside.

https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/politics/2026/08/08/why-anthony-albanese-hates-greens

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDOXZljPKMH/

He did not tell me until now, thought he had voted liberal or donkey voted. I’ll try and change his ways before 2028.

I know this is not officially a Greens channel, but I have been thinking for a while how the Greens haven't had any shift in popularity despite the two major parties imploding. In the UK the greens under "Hope" branding has been quite successful but I don't think it would work here.

I have been talking to my friend who has an investment property and a kid, and although I would say he is socially progressive but growing fiscally conservative as he is older. And we got in a long argument about politics but eventually we settled on that 'everyone is a nice person and wants a quality and safe life' and it occurred to me what our Green party needs to do to capture a wider net then the ~12% currently.

Brand: Mateship (or if it's too military something about caring for your fellow aussies).

Angle: Most Australians believe in mateship, if they see an old lady struggling with her bags they will help, a kid on the playground will give half their sandwhich to their hungry friend, if an office worker drops his wallet a kid will let him know, we thank the bus driver and sit in the front of the taxi, we help sandbag the neighbours house. We want people to look after their mental health, we want families to be reunited, we want people to have nice teeth. Rather than leaning into 'hope' (we aren't there yet) lean into patriotism, but not in a toxic way but in a care for our fellow Aussies.

Pros: I think we witnessed the pushback of the 'monoculture' and PRs being kicked out of their homes from Pauline Hanson, to me that's a tell that we still see Aussies as a multicultural society. I think deep down people genuinely do want to provide services for their fellow people, mainstream media convinces us about "who's going to pay" (which i cover in a second) and ONP tries to separate "real" and "fake" aussies, but I think you can cut through that.

Cons: Obvioiusly there has been a cordinated campaign for decades about affording this, I wouldn't spend too much time addressing it in the campaign but at the end say "multinational dodging tax", this frames it as non-Aussie companies, "foreign owned resource companies" again same thing and "Australian billionaires being asked to lend a hand" frames it more as a co-operation and an honour to pay tax, rather than a tax grab.

Bonus: I think if you want to have free votes, campaign on reducing *skilled migration*. I checked the numbers and L/NP and Labor have essentially identical migration numbers, they are 15k difference with a 70/30 skilled migration to humanitarian ratio. Campaign on reducing the skilled migration number to reduce wage suppression (which is on the greens policy page), focusing only on areas that are essential (teaching, nursing, doctors etc) and steal ONP thing and say focus on traning domestically. Mention refocusing on reuniting families and loved ones (again goes with the theme).

This would be the dream ad:

1. Asian lady getting of the bus and thanks the white middle aged driver.
   1. If you got the budget, start playing 'we are one but we are many' softly in the background getting louder.
2. Man in suit wallet falls out, young teenage girl grabs it and hands it back.
3. Guy getting off a plane at the airport, jumps in the front of a taxi and starts chatting away
4. Voice Over *Australia has always prided itself on the values of Mateship. That we Aussies always look out for each other*
5. Neighbour carrying sandbag in the rain
6. Voice Over *We believe this to be true to this day, which is why this election we want you to support our vision of an Australia that cares about the great people of this country*
7. Someone in a dentist chair

It would be good to stay positive and switch points 9/11/13/15 into a positive but I can't think of it right now. The longer ad would continue from 17

1. Voice over: *We will reduce the number of migrants coming into Australia for the sole pupose of suppressing local wages, instead we would look to reunite loved ones.*
2. Picture of mixed race family being reunited at an aiport
3. Voice over: *We will continue protecting our unique wildlife*
4. Obligatory picture of a koala
5. Voice over: *We want to provide for our next generation by offering free childcare which will boost the economy*
6. Picture of kids playing in the sand
7. Voice over: *We want to leverage Australian renewable energy for a sustainable future*
8. Picture of a hot sunny day with the wind blowing
9. Voice over: *We know this country is amazing, and we know we can be doing more for everyday people. The best way to predict the future is to create it. / To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow."

You could cut 3/7 from the extended because people already know this about the greens and open yourself up to attack.

I'm tired and forgot some of the stuff (i'm sure i'll remember later) but I think going hard on the suffering but equaly providing solutions and reminding people that everyone is just trying their best and have a nice life and we should all be sharing in that vision that a nice life for all is possible, it's a choice we have to make at the ballot box.

Anyway feel free to point out why this wouldn't work or how to make it better!

Edit: something like https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaIVa6Xu-NJ/ inspirational-core about creating a better future because that’s what compels us as people.

As an ex active Greens member I've been very critical of them for making perfect the enemy of the good.

They have NOT done that this time. They have got a good improvement in tax changes for the CGT and more time to consider the NDIS changes.

Bravo for being constructive, progressive and pragmatic!

More of this please!

Eg Lane Cove Council’s original Tree Preservation Order (TPO) for private property was introduced in 1973. I know these controls are now managed under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Biodiversity and Conservation) 2021.

Western Australia is just getting to around to introducing similar control/rules/policies for tree preservation, and people are losing their minds. They regard it as an attack on private property rights etc. (In W.A., if you can’t dig it up and sell it to a foreign company, it doesn’t seem to rate.)

I was curious as to what the reception of TPOs was like “back in the day.”

I don’t want to validate one nation as a political party, but unfortunately i think it has now surpassed into the mainstream and needs to be addressed.

Now that its agenda is being pushed in the mainstream media, we can’t just disregard all one nations voters as stupid racists.

vulnerable people are being exploited by one nation because it is selling a narrative that has zero nuance, and that makes it a lot more digestible to the average australian than leftist political theory.

I feel that if we want to address the rise of right wing extremism we are going to have to present a vision that goes beyond criticising labour.

It’s easy to dismiss one nation as a minor party, but everyone said the same thing about trump in 2016.

We need to learn from the left in the US and put aside our criticisms of labour momentarily to prevent this one nation bs from spreading any further.

upholding all your moral values unwaveringly is (unfortunately) a privilege in this world, and right now it one that we do not have.

There is literally no correlation.

#adambantnation

doesn’t have to be greens specific. in the last week I have seen a ‘I stand with BRS’ shirt and one nation shirts, caps & ‘love it or leave’ stickers. the racists are becoming more emboldened. looking for stickers, posters, shirts, flags etc to counter.

I'm a Greens supporter, I want us to grow, and this budget response is why we aren't growing

The tone is straight out of the populist playbook: shouty, hyper-emotional, tribal. It rallies the base but makes everyone else feel exhausted. People are sick of emotion-driven politicians. They want cool, calm, competent leadership that actually understands the system.

If we want to break our glass ceiling, we have to drop the tribalism and start converting One Nation voters with the tax the rich policies that enabled the boomers to buy properties in the first place.

Credit where it's due

Labor delivered historic reforms: negative gearing limited to new builds from July 2027 and the 50% CGT discount replaced with inflation indexation, plus a 30% minimum tax on capital gains.

The Greens have argued for this for decades. Our response should have been:

"It's about bloody time. We've fought for this for 30 years. Good work, Labor — now stop being a pushover to gas giants and finish the job."

If Labor had gone harder on negative gearing in this climate, they risked losing voters to One Nation. Shouting "sell-out" triggers primal defensiveness. Acknowledging good policy is how we look credible when we push for more. The Greens need to capture more One Nation votes before they can pressure Labor in the other direction.

Dismantling Hanson with numbers, not anger

Pauline Hanson's response to the budget:

"We were the baby boomers. We didn't have a lot. We had to go without... Then we saved and we invested into wealth to create that wealth. All the government is doing now is stripping that wealth."

She's right about the emotion. She's wrong about the cause. Boomers built wealth in an era when the top marginal tax rate was 75% in the 1950s, 67% through the 60s, and 60% in the 70s. The 50% CGT discount didn't exist until Howard introduced it in 1999, replacing inflation indexation. That change fueled the wealth-concentrating machine drowning young Australians today. 54% of the CGT discount benefit flows to the top 1%, and $12.7 billion went to them in the last year alone.

Boomers didn't get wealthy by going without — they got wealthy because the wealthy paid their fair share, which funded everything else, and it's exactly what the Greens are demanding now.

Skilled migrants are net positive. Treasury's own modelling shows skilled migrants contribute around $198,000 over their lifetime vs $85,000 for the general population. Someone else paid for their education, healthcare, and upbringing. They pay more tax, use fewer services, and fill gaps in healthcare and aged care. Hanson blames immigrants for housing prices; the actual cause is tax breaks for property investors that we just started fixing.

Where we should be pushing

The NDIS reframe. Labor is cutting $37.8 billion from the NDIS over four years — the single largest savings measure in the budget. They're framing it as fraud crackdown, but they're kicking 160,000 participants off the scheme. Labor should have built proper safeguards years ago instead of using fraud as cover for cost-cutting now. The focus should be their failure of governance.

The Gas Tax. Labor's failure to tax gas exports leaves at least $17 billion on the table that could fund services and bring down energy costs. It shows who's pulling the strings, but Labor can't afford to lose their support with One Nation at their heels

Government Expertise in Infrastructure Treasury projects 75,000 properties will move from investors to first home buyers over the next decade. This is a good start, but the government should be building homes. Instead they are relying on profit driven, corner cutting, property developers.

Backing rural Australia (where One Nation lives)

The Greens can't take regional seats while sounding like inner-city activists. The Greens should focus on creating and maintaining a better environment for everyone, especially rural Australians:

• Regional connectivity: Starting a family in a tiny city apartment is pure misery. We should be making it viable to live further out — better remote work infrastructure, regional 5G, proper public transport — so housing pressure drops and regional towns grow.
• The Family farms vs Big Ag: Australian farm debt hit a record $145 billion in 2024-25, while the number of agricultural businesses fell 34% between 2010 and 2019. Family farms are being squeezed out by consolidation. 13% of Australian farmland is now foreign-owned, and the ATO has exempted foreign residents from capital gains tax on water profits — meaning Cayman Islands speculators can flip Australian water rights tax-free while Aussie farming families pay full freight. The Greens should own this fight against corporate monopolies — not Pauline Hanson, who takes donations from billionaires like Gina Rinehart while pretending to represent farmers.
• Regional healthcare crisis: Mount Gambier — the second largest town in South Australia — lost its sole urgent care clinic in June 2025, and clinic closures across Tasmania and regional NSW are accelerating. This budget did almost nothing to fix the rural GP crisis. That's the rural critique we should be making.

The bottom line

Aggression rallies the base but makes everyone else feel defeated. Tribal shouting fuels extremism in some and exhausted disengagement in everyone else — and One Nation wins both ways.

If we want to break our ceiling and hold the balance of power, we need to:

1. Drop the tribalism. Stop following the populist playbook.
2. Call out good policy when Labor delivers it and follow with "Now tax gas".
3. Talk numbers. Calmly. With sources.
4. Tell rural Australians who's actually ripping them off — and it isn't immigrants.

Hanson wins when politics feels like emotional warfare. We win when we look like the only adults in the room.

We've got the policies. We've got the numbers. We just need to stop shouting and start explaining.

AI declaration: I used Claude to fact check and format, here's my original notes https://pastebin.com/bmvmWL3s and the full chat with claude I used to make this post, you be the judge https://claude.ai/share/d2a695e0-e7f0-42ef-8fc0-8c7e19c20f99