From Sue Etheridge, Greens Candidate for Fairfax

The political and media establishment ignored climate – but voters didn’t. This was the climate election … finally!  

Ordinary people walked straight past what the old media establishment and Murdoch press were peddling, and they used the preferential voting system as it was intended; to show what Australians believe in, to fight for climate action and against inequality … and a lot of them were women. 

The House of Representatives has become a European-style multi-party assembly. The crossbench is dead, and The Greens and Independents are a third force in Parliament.

Locally, the LNP has been returned to the seat of Fairfax, albeit with a reduced margin. The changing demographics of the Sunshine Coast (including having more progressive and informed voters moving to the area) is chipping away at the traditional conservative base and bringing the Seat closer to marginal status.

The major political parties have discovered that people, and young people in particular, want to see politics done differently. They want a voice. 

And they want a fair, just and sustainable future. And they are prepared to vote for it. With barely two-thirds of all votes going to the old parties, we can legitimately call the (easily corrupted) two-party era of politics dead and buried.

The two seats on the Sunshine Coast (Fisher and Fairfax) have seen growth in Greens’ support with a Greens vote of at least 13 percent overall, with some areas now at over 30 percent of the primary vote. And this is an area where the Queensland Greens — with the strongest parliamentary representation of any State — can expand their community-based activities and further erode support from both old parties. Women are the power behind the Queensland Greens and we now have the resources, staff and enthusiasm behind us to change politics in Greensland forever.

Last weekend’s election results, and the fire it has ignited in so many people, gives me hope. Hope for a future for all of us.