Anthony Albanese rules out minority government with Greens, ducks preferences questions

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has failed to commit to a key demand of Jewish groups concerned at the prospect of a Labor-Greens alliance at the upcoming election, and into the next term of Parliament.

The Labor leader on Wednesday ruled out forming minority government or “doing deals” with the minor party in the event of a hung parliament, but dodged responsibility on preference votes after he was asked to consider preferencing the Coalition ahead of the Greens on how to vote cards.

Mr Albanese said it was ultimately a matter for the organisation, but the Coalition said given he was Party leader, any view he took to head office would hold sway.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry and Zionist Federation wrote to Mr Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton this week to plead with both major parties to preference each other before the Greens, and urged them not to negotiate with the minor party should either side fail to form government in their own right.

The groups, who also wrote to teal MPs, say it’s crucial Australia’s leaders “send a clear message that the extremism of the Greens and their politics of division will not be tolerated”.

“For the sake of our social cohesion, we urge the Government, the Opposition, and the Teals to take a decisive stand and deny the greens any role in a minority government. It’s critical they do not make any concessions to the Greens in return for a guarantee of confidence and supply,” ZFA president Jeremy Leibler said.

ECAJ president Daniel Aghion said the major parties had an opportunity to “send a clear message that hatred, extremism, antisemitism, and the politics of division will not be tolerated or rewarded”.

While Mr Albanese would not provide a clear answer on the matter of preferences, he dug into the Coalition and its Queensland LNP counterpart for their recent decisions.

“One of the only reasons why the Greens are in the Queensland Parliament is because the LNP chose to put them there,” he said, referring to the 2020 State election.

“The LNP in Queensland in the election that’s underway at the moment is talking of giving preferences to One Nation above the Labor Party. I find that extraordinary.”

The Coalition appear prepared to work with Labor to preference each other above the Greens, but said the Prime Minister needed to show moral leadership.

“He’s the head of the Labor Party. He can have a view on preferences, and I’m sure the Labor Party will follow it,” Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said.

“My view is, yes, there is a very good argument for the parties of government to come together and say the extremism and the anti-Semitism we’ve seen from the Greens over the last 12 months is disqualifying, and none of us should be preferencing them.

“But unless the Labor party is willing to have that conversation with us, we’re not going to give them a free kick and let them do a deal with the Greens while we put them last.”

Assistant Minister Patrick Gorman said ultimately, “preferences are decided by voters”, and it was up to them to consider whether the Greens of 2024 were the same party as Bob Brown established.

Greens leader Adam Bandt denied his party was anti-Semitic, saying they had routinely condoned anti-Semitism, just as they did Islamophobia.

“We think those two things and sit side by side with opposing the invasion as well,” he said.