Greens have five demands from Dan Andrews if he is forced into a coalition after Victorian election

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The Greens will push for rent controls and a ban on gas projects and logging if Daniel Andrews is forced to form a coalition with them.

Labor is heavily favored to win the November 26 Victorian election, but the left is eyeing key seats in Melbourne’s inner city.

Labour’s underperformance could give the Greens the balance of power and force the Prime Minister to unite with them to form a government.

Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said the state was on the way to what could be a historic election.

Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said her party had five main priorities that she would push for if Prime Minister Daniel Andrews were forced into a coalition with her party

Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said her party had five main priorities that she would push for if Prime Minister Daniel Andrews were forced into a coalition with her party

“More and more Victorians are moving away from the major parties and signaling their intention to vote Greens,” she said.

“That’s because they want a strong, forward-thinking crossbench that can hold the government accountable.

“If Labor fails to form a majority government, they will have to work with the Greens to deliver progressive reform.”

Ms Ratnam said her party had five main priorities should that result come true, which Mr Andrews was likely to give a major rationale for.

First, like their federal counterparts, the Greens want a blanket ban on all new gas exploration as part of the party’s climate policy.

Australia is facing an energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with gas prices at home and abroad skyrocketing.

However, it would take years for new gas projects to come online, by which time the cost of living would be back to normal.

Labour's underperformance could give the Greens the balance of power and force Mr Andrews (pictured with his wife Catherine) to unite with them to form a government

Labour’s underperformance could give the Greens the balance of power and force Mr Andrews (pictured with his wife Catherine) to unite with them to form a government

What the Greens want from Daniel Andrews

  1. Prohibiting onshore and offshore gas exploration and production
  2. Hedging rent increases in line with wages and building more public and affordable housing
  3. Adoption of the law to strengthen the integrity of the Greens
  4. Raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years
  5. Ending logging of native forests across the state by 2023

The Greens’ main means of tackling the cost of living is to limit rent increases, which have also surged over the past two years, to keep pace with wages.

The pandemic accelerated Australia’s trend towards smaller households as residents wanted more space and worked from home during the lockdown.

The national rental vacancy rate fell from 2.1 to 1.3 percent during the pandemic and rents rose by 14.3 percent.

This will only get worse as Australia’s borders reopen, leaving a backlog of 872,000 visa applications pending approval and a further 2.22 million submitted since June 1.

Wages, on the other hand, have barely risen over the past decade and when they finally started to move this year, they have been eclipsed by massive inflation.

The Greens want to build more public and affordable housing to address supply problems. Landlords and will probably not be happy about this.

Mr Andrews should probably pass the Strengthening Integrity Bill in some form, which strengthens the powers of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.

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The Greens’ main means of addressing the cost of living is capping rent increases, which have also surged over the past two years, in line with wages.

The legislation also includes a code of conduct for ministers and lobbyists overseen by an independent parliamentary integrity commissioner.

Ministers and other prominent politicians would be banned from lobbying for two years after leaving office.

Mr Andrews’ government throughout its reign refused to support bills of any kind, believing that only the government was equipped to legislate.

Fourth on the list is raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14, in line with the recommendations of a parliamentary inquiry into Victoria’s justice system.

Every state in Australia has set the age at 10, but the most common age in the world is 14.

Finally, the Greens’ top environmental priority is to ban logging in native forests from next year, meaning only plantations can be cleared.

The Greens' top environmental priority is to ban logging in native forests from next year, meaning only plantations can be cut down

The Greens’ top environmental priority is to ban logging in native forests from next year, meaning only plantations can be cut down

Mr Andrews has refused for the past 12 years to even consider making deals with the Greens, reaffirming that position ahead of this election.

Ms. Ratnam, a Sri Lankan immigrant whose Tamil family was caught up in the bloody beginning of the civil war in 1983 and fled four years later, is not sure.

She is confident her party can steal between two and four seats in the Labor lower house, eating away the government’s 55 to 27 majority over the coalition.

The latest poll, a RedBridge poll released on Monday, gave Labor a 53.5 to 46.5 two-party lead.