A really insightful big-picture response to some of the post-election media commentary about The Greens by former senator and party cofounder Janet Rice: greenagenda.org.au/2025/05/the… #auspol #TheGreens

"I’ve been musing on what our offer is to the broad range of people we are seeking to embrace in our movement. The tension that is perceived to exist between a focus on our work to achieve structural change that is likely to take some time and only be achieved when we have political power; and how much we focus on responding to people’s immediate material needs because of the inequality that is core to neoliberalism. So much of the commentary about us over the last week and indeed internal discussions about how much of a focus we have on the environment and climate compared with equality and justice can be boiled down to an assertion that we should only focus on one part of our agenda at the expense of the rest.

"So it’s worth being clear about what we are working for and what our movement is. We are offering more than a transactional reward of something of immediate personal value in return for their vote (though our agenda will materially benefit a lot of people who need those benefits and that will be what attracts them to vote for us).

"We are seeking to transform our society away from destructive neo-liberal capitalism into a society that is just, sustainable, caring, democratic and non violent. We know that this isn’t a small job but it’s worth working for and we will keep working for it. An essential part of this is going to be transforming our parliaments and other state institutions, which we aim to do through democratic change. Yes, currently politicians in general and parliament sucks. It has to change."

Rice echoes something I've heard a number of The Greens' members and volunteers say: That it's worth revisiting whether investing the bulk of the party's resources in a few winnable seats is the best way forward.

"I understand our strategy of narrow targeting of a few seats and resourcing them well. But I think the most searching question we have to ask ourselves post election is did we get the value we hoped for from this strategy? What should our criteria be in the future as to where resources get spent? Can we spend a small amount of financial resources to unleash a groundswell of volunteer commitment in particular areas?

"I think we need to recognise the fertile ground that we have beyond our targeted seats and facilitate a thousand flowers to bloom. Our work in these suburbs and regions will be based on relationships, of listening, of empathy and care. And being clear about what the Greens stand for and how us working together will benefit them. It may be that our work in these seats won’t result in electoral wins at the next election, and that we will be criticised for spreading rather than concentrating our vote. But it will yield longer term benefits to both the party and the communities we are working with."