Every cloud has a silver lining

State elections over the weekend in South Australia and Tasmania have resulted in the expected Labor returns. Rann in SA has picked up a 9.2% swing but the Democrats look like dropping out of the Upper House. The good news in Tasmania is that the Greens have been further damaged…the voters are onto them. Lennon has contained the swing against Labour to just over 2%. He holds 14 seats and the Liberals 7 with one still to decide. The Greens look like losing one seat (and party status), leaving them with 3 seats. THE Greens thought themselves king-makers but instead suffered a king hit likely to cost them at least one seat and official party status.

The Greens, who had hoped to force their policy platform on a minority government, were yesterday rethinking policy and strategy instead. Kim Booth looked likely to lose in Bass, depriving the Greens of the four members needed for the extra parliamentary resources that go with official party status. Labor believes the Greens may yet lose a second of its four MPs, Tim Morris in rural Lyons, but this appears unlikely.

Greens leader Peg Putt blamed the drop in their vote — from 22per cent in a poll four weeks ago to 16per cent on Saturday — on the “grubbiest, most vicious” smear campaign in Tasmanian political history. I don’t care how grubby the campaign was so long as they don’t have any balance of power….anywhere. They are dangerous.