Bob Brown Forced Out Of Greens By Hipsters ♫ Blogs at theMusic.com.au. In what came as a shock to many, Greens leader Bob Brown resigned from both the party and the Australian Senate today.
Leaving under the guise of wanting to take up "fresh pursuits", SPA Confidential can reveal the truth was far more sinister. It is believed that Brown's departure has come as a group of rebellious hipsters are attempting to stage a coup that will hand control of the party to them. It started when Brown was instructed by his advisors to film a music video in response to Bob Katter's The Boys Are Back In Town. It was to be a medley of Who Let The Dogs Out and Teenage Dirtbag filmed at the Blacktown ice rink with a Noel Fiedling look-alike gyrating against Brown. It became increasingly obvious to the growing group of 25-year-old hipsters that, in their eyes, Brown was entering his dottage years and unable to connect with the kids of today. Leaked private memos between Brown and his staff paint a picture of an incredulous man. An opportunity too easily missed: The Left & the post-Brown Greens – - Left FlankLeft Flank.
Cross-posted at the Left Flank blog at Overland Journal What does the change in leadership of the Australian Greens mean for Left politics?
At one level it would be easy to write off the shift as largely irrelevant, proof that there is an essential continuity in the party’s drift into the mainstream. Given Christine Milne’s apparent track record as a tough negotiator but more politically orthodox than Bob Brown, it seems like it’s full steam ahead towards the Greens being just a slightly greener-tinged and more progressive version of the ALP. This would represent a betrayal of the hopes invested in the Greens as a Left alternative, one that had been willing to take a stand against Labor’s capitulation over asylum seekers, the War on Terror and neoliberalism, and which had captured a chunk of the ALP’s traditional base as a result. In that sense the party has become much more part of a political class in crisis, rather than being able to present itself as a force opposed to it. 0 0 0 New.
Greens to veer left under Milne. Laura Tingle Political editor The political fortunes of the Greens are likely to be checked – and the party headed for a harder left future – after Bob Brown shocked the political establishment by resigning as party leader and announcing he will leave the Senate in June.
Deputy leader Christine Milne replaces the man who brought the Greens to Canberra and saw their numbers rise from one to nine in the Senate. The leadership change has ramifications not just for the Greens but for the minority government, and the electoral fortunes of Labor and the Coalition. Senator Milne pledged to begin a “new conversation” with business and rural and regional communities, and has been working hard in recent times to portray a softer image. But senior figures in the Gillard government regard her with suspicion, and in some cases intense hostility, claiming her position is hardline, non-negotiable and unrealistic compared with Senator Brown’s more pragmatic and wily parliamentary approach. Left flank: The Greens at the crossroads: ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ matter more than you’d think. Greens' big year may sour. Greens leader has been clashing with the government over the Tasmanian forestry deal Picture: Ray Strange Source: The Australian THE bonds between the government and the Greens are strained by complexities.
Some involve the relationship between the two. Others involve subterranean pressures in the party that now holds the Senate balance of power. Bob Brown leapt to Julia Gillard's defence on Monday when speculation over her leadership reached new heights as politicians gathered in Canberra for the return of parliament. "There's a big swing around from the average punter in favour of Julia Gillard," he insisted at a doorstop in the Senate courtyards. "She is getting a rough time, and quite a bit of the criticism is sexist and unfair and unrelenting, and the Prime Minister needs a bit of a break from that. "It's time she got that break and the people of Australia are indicating she should have it.
" Yesterday the Greens' health spokesman, Richard Di Natale, came back with an offer.