Federal Election 2022: Greens’ Adam Bandt shut down by ABC’s LIsa Millar over ‘vote growing’ claim

Greens leader Adam Bandt has been brutally shut down by an ABC News Breakfast presenter after claiming the party’s vote is growing. 

Mr Bandt said on Thursday that the party was ‘running strongly in the Senate and it’s critical that people vote Greens … But out vote is growing and our-‘.

‘It’s not really’, Millar cut him off. 

ABC News Breakfast host cut off Adam Bandt – pointing out the Greens vote has been stuck in neutral, according to the latest Newspoll

‘Hang on, just on that point Adam Bandt, because Newspoll continually puts you at 10 per cent without a lot of change. So why do you suggest your vote is growing?’

Mr Bandt cited results from recent state and territory elections to argue the Greens vote was gaining some momentum.

‘Well at all of the state and territory elections we’ve had during the course of this parliament, our vote in Tasmania increased – we were the only party in Tasmanian parliament whose vote increased,’ he replied.

‘We doubled our seats in Queensland, we tripled our seats in ACT, and we’ve just had a record vote in South Australia.’ 

Bandt referred Millar to one poll that was a ‘state breakdown’ of Queensland that suggested the Greens vote was as high as 14%. 

The Greens leader said there would be a power-sharing Senate, and that the Greens should get the balance of power. 

‘The Greens will be in balance of power in the Senate and who we will put on the table after the election is tackling the climate crisis by stopping the opening of new coal and gas mines,’ he said.

Bandt referred Millar to one poll that was a ‘state breakdown’ of Queensland run that suggested the Greens vote was as high as 14%

The icy exchange comes after Mr Bandt himself recently shut down a journalist’s ‘gotcha’ question at the National Press Club on Wednesday.

During the Q&A session after he gave his speech at the event, Mr Bandt was asked a question by journalist Ron Mizen from the Australian Financial Review about a corporate profits tax, but then ended his question with a gotcha.  

‘You said in the speech that wages growth wasn’t going particularly well. What’s the current WPI?’ he asked.

‘Google it, mate!’ Mr Bandt replied, to laughter from the audience.

The question referred to the Wage Price Index, which measures changes over time in labour costs – wages and salaries. 

The exchange prompted a lecture from Mr Bandt to assembled members of the press about the use of gotcha questions – but did not answer the substance of the question about the Greens proposed windfall profits tax

‘Google it, mate!’ responded Australian Greens leader Adam Bandt when asked a ‘gotcha’ question by a journalist at the National Press Club on Wednesday 

‘If you want to know why people are turning off politics, it’s because… what happens when you have an election, [it] increasingly becomes this basic fact-checking exercise between a government that deserves to be turfed out and an Opposition that’s got no vision, he said. 

‘Elections should be about a contest of ideas. Politics should be about reaching for the stars and offering a better society.  

‘Instead, there’s these questions that are asked … can you tell us this particular stat or can you tell us that particular stat? And those questions are designed to show that politicians are somehow out of touch and not representative of every day people.

‘News flash! Most of the people in Canberra are on six figure salaries just passing time until they go out and work for the coal and gas corporations and get a six or seven-figure lobbying job.’

Mr Bandt went on to list reforms he said would better demonstrate Federal politicians were in touch with the electorate, such as lifting the minimum wage.  

Journalist Ron Mizen from the Australian Financial Review (pictured) asked about a corporate profits tax, but then ended his question with a gotcha asking about a wages stat

Mr Bandt gave the assembled reporters a lecture about gotcha questions after he was asked one after his National Press Club speech

The Australian Greens have pledged to legalise marijuana, wipe student debt, make childcare free, ban petrol cars and put $77billion towards dental care in an ambitious election agenda.

But the audacious plan – which would cost billions and change Australia as we know it – is mostly pie in the sky with the party only holding one seat in the House of Representatives.

The latest Newspoll ahead of the May election the Greens have a primary vote of 10 per cent which is the same as their 2019 result.  

This week Greens leader Adam Bandt revealed the party would commit more than $77billion worth of dental care in Medicare over ten years. 

The funds will cover  basic care and orthodontic treatment, as well as oral surgeries, periodontics and prosthodontics. 

Mr Bandt is set to announce more big-spending plans in the coming weeks. 

Greens election pledges  

STUDENT DEBT

The Greens want to wipe all student loan debts, meaning Aussies with student loan debt would not be required to pay it back.

In 2020-21, the average student debt in Australia was $23,685. The total value of HELP debt in 2020 was $66.6billion.

The Greens also want to make childcare, school, TAFE and university free.

LEGALISE WEED

The Greens want to legalise, tax and regulate cannabis, fund pill testing at festivals and establish safe injecting facilities in each capital city.

The Greens want to set up a regulated cannabis market with an Australian Cannabis Agency to issue licences for production and sale and ensure quality.

Aussies would be allowed to grow six plants at home for personal use but there would be big fines for selling without a licence.

BAN PETROL CARS 

The Greens want to immediately ban the construction of new coal, oil and gas infrastructure.

Their target is to phase out the mining, burning and export of thermal coal by 2030. 

They also want to stop subsidies for fossil fuel companies, ban political donations from these industries and re-introduce a carbon price.

They would spend billions on renewable energy and storage to make sure Australia’s electricity comes from 100 per cent renewable sources. 

The Greens would also end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, subsidise electric cars and build charging stations across the country. 

HEALTHCARE

The Greens want to make dental care free at the point of use under the Medicare system.

The party plans to include more than $77billion worth of dental care in Medicare over 10 years.

PARENTAL LEAVE  

The Greens want to shake up parental leave to give parents 26 weeks off.

Their plan involves giving each parent six weeks off on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis and another 14 weeks on top of that for a couple to share between them. 

MINIMUM WAGE

The Greens want to make the minimum wage 60 per cent of the median wage, which would be $1,101 per week.

DEFENCE

The party want to slash defence spending to 1.5 per cent of GDP. 

The Greens also want laws to stop Governments going to war without Parliamentary approval.

RACISM & SEXISM 

They Greens would mandate anti-racism training for all federal MPs and Commonwealth employees and spend $5million on an anti-racism campaign. 

They would mandate that all MPs undertake regular, comprehensive anti-bullying and harassment training and fund a national respectful relationships program in public schools.

TAX THE RICH

The Greens have proposed a billionaires’ tax which takes six per cent of wealth from anyone with a net worth of more than $1billion. 

They also want a Corporate Super-Profits Tax, which applies a 40 per cent tax to companies with revenue over $100million a year. 

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