Faction row splits Greens
Left-wing members rally to fight ‘exclusion’
A SPLINTER group claiming to be a grassroots faction of the Victorian Greens has labelled the party “a disgrace”, alleging supporters are being excluded or forced to hand in their membership for expressing left-wing views.
Grassroots Greens, a faction claiming to be “group of left-wing rank and file activists and reformists within the Victorian Greens”, said members and prospective members of the Australian Greens Victoria were being excluded from the party.
“It is absolutely clear to us that these people are being ex- cluded from the party on the basis of being outspoken about their left-wing views,” the group said in a statement.
The move echoes recent complaints from Greens NSW members, with Senator Lee Rhiannon saying far-left progressives “no longer have a voice in the party room”.
“I don’t think there is anything wrong with young members who join the party who want to talk about socialism and have a different vision of the world,” Senator Rhiannon said earlier this month.
Disgruntled former Gee- long Greens branch secretary Matt Hrkac spoke out on behalf of the Grassroot Greens, which is primarily a Facebook-based group of almost 400 followers.
Mr Hrkac resigned from the post in early April, after the Geelong Advertiser revealed he had verbally abused a waterfront business owner as a “f-ing moron” and “sh-t-for-brains”.
Mr Hrkac said those associated with the Geelong Greens branch “told me that I had to resign my membership to the party for bringing it into disre- pute in March following negative media attention”.
“Given how quickly I was excluded from the party and from the branch, it is very clear that they wanted me out, and they were looking for an excuse to get me out,” Mr Hrkac said. “It was nothing but an ideological attack by the careerist hierarchy of a party that is being dragged to the right.”
The former branch secretary said “the terms ‘solidarity’ and ‘Left unity’ clearly don’t at all exist in the Victorian Greens”.
During the minutes of an April 2017 Greens Geelong branch meeting, viewed by the Geelong Advertiser, attendees were warned Mr Hrkac’s circumstances were “a timely reminder to all members that their words and actions can reflect badly on the branch and the party”.
“Social media provides a platform where our private lives can spill over into the public arena,” the minutes stated. “It is expected that our members’ behaviour, words and actions do not bring the party into disrepute.”
Victorian Greens convener Willisa Hogarth declined to comment on the Grassroots Greens statement, but indicated the organisation did not exclude members for expressing their personal views.
“Our achievements both inside and outside the parliament are what give us our credibility as a real alternative to the old parties,” Ms Hogarth said. “We’re proud of the activist work that we do.”
The federal Liberal Party is also dealing with a factional squabble over the future ideological direction of the party, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull taken to task by former PM Tony Abbott over his own conservative credentials.