Labor-Green Accord
Encyclopedia
The Labor–Green Accord was a 1989
political agreement between the Australian Labor Party
and the Tasmanian Greens
(then called the Green Independents) to form government in the Australia
n state
of Tasmania
after the 1989 general election had resulted in a hung parliament
.
method of Single Transferable Vote
s, and in 1989 the Tasmanian House of Assembly
(the lower house
of the Parliament of Tasmania
) consisted of 35 seats—seven members from each of Tasmania's five electorates.
The Liberal Party
led by Premier
Robin Gray
won 17 seats, Labor (led by Michael Field
) won 13. The Green Independents won 5 seats, giving them the balance of power
in the parliament.
The five Green MPs and their electorates were Dr Bob Brown
(Denison
), Christine Milne
(Lyons
), Dr Gerry Bates
(Franklin
), Lance Armstrong
(Bass
) and Di Hollister
(Braddon
).
Premier Robin Gray refused concede defeat, and announced his intention to form a minority government
, exercising his right to stay on as Premier until the House of Assembly voted against him. He also stated that if Labor and the Greens attempted to do a deal to form government, he would advise the Governor of Tasmania
, Sir Phillip Bennett
, to dissolve parliament and call a fresh election.
The accord was signed on 29 May. Governor Bennett considered Gray's request to call another election but declined, as constitutionally the government was in caretaker mode
, and he had assurances from the Greens that they would support Field's government.
businessman Edmund Rouse
was the managing director of ENT Limited, Tasmania's largest media company. Returning to Tasmania from an overseas trip shortly after the election, Rouse was dismayed to find the Greens in a position of power in government, and was determined to take on what he saw as a grave threat to the Tasmanian and Australian economies. In particular, Rouse was concerned with the effect on the Tasmanian timber company Gunns
, of which he was chairman, and which he thought stood to lose between $10 million and $15 million dollars as a result of the Greens' environmental policies.
Using a former employee, Tony Aloi, as an intermediary, Rouse offered Labor MP Jim Cox A$
110,000 to cross the floor
and vote with the Liberals to defeat the presumed motion of no confidence
against Gray when parliament resumed. Cox informed Field of the offer, and the call was dismissed as a hoax until an instalment of $5,000 arrived at Cox's home. Cox reported the bribery attempt to Tasmania Police
, who placed a tap
on his phone and arrested Aloi on 23 June as he called Cox from a telephone box.
Rouse was arrested several days later, after Aloi revealed his role in the affair. Rouse was charged with attempted bribery, and sentenced to three years in prison, of which he served eighteen months. Aloi was sentenced to twelve months prison, with eight months suspended sentence.
A Royal Commission
(Royal Commission into an Attempt to Bribe a Member of the House of Assembly) was held in 1991, which attempted to determine the involvement of Robin Gray in the affair. Gray was cleared of involvement in the bribe attempt, as no connection between him and Rouse was established, although he had met with Rouse shortly before the bribe was offered and discussed a possible Labor defector. Gray's conduct was criticised by the Commission, however, and his political career and reputation were tarnished.
, as the Green MPs had no ministerial responsibilities, and as such had no say in the adoption of the forestry policy.
Michael Field and Christine Milne spoke about the breakdown of the accord to the ABC
program Stateline in 2006. Field compared the relationship between Labor and the Greens to a "forced marriage" which ended in a "very acrimonious divorce". Milne stated:
, who now had a majority.
The next election in 1996 saw Labor regain three seats and the Greens lose one. Ray Groom, who had promised before the election to only govern with a majority, resigned and handed the leadership to Tony Rundle
, who formed a loose alliance with the Greens to govern in a minority until 1998, when the major parties voted to restructure the House of Assembly (from 35 to 25 seats) in an (ultimately, unsuccessful) attempt to make it more difficult for minor parties to be elected. Rundle immediately called an election, which Labor won comfortably, leaving the Greens with only one seat.
Christine Milne led the Tasmanian Greens from 1993, when Bob Brown left to make an unsuccessful bid for the Federal House of Representatives
. He was elected as a Senator
in 1996, and Milne followed him to become a Senator in 2004.
1989 in Australia
-Incumbents:*Monarch – Queen Elizabeth II*Governor General – Sir Ninian Stephen , then Bill Hayden*Prime Minister – Bob Hawke-Premiers and Chief Ministers:*Premier of New South Wales – Nick Greiner...
political agreement between the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
and the Tasmanian Greens
Tasmanian Greens
The Tasmanian Greens are a political party in Australia which developed from numerous environmental campaigns in Tasmania, including the flooding of Lake Pedder and the Franklin Dam campaign...
(then called the Green Independents) to form government in the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n state
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
of Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
after the 1989 general election had resulted in a hung parliament
Hung parliament
In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
.
1989 Tasmanian election
The election took place on 13 May 1989. Tasmanian elections use the Hare-Clark ProportionalProportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
method of Single Transferable Vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
s, and in 1989 the Tasmanian House of Assembly
Tasmanian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House...
(the lower house
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
of the Parliament of Tasmania
Parliament of Tasmania
The Parliament of Tasmania consists of the Tasmanian Legislative Council, Tasmanian House of Assembly and the Monarch represented by the Governor of Tasmania....
) consisted of 35 seats—seven members from each of Tasmania's five electorates.
The Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
led by Premier
Premiers of Tasmania
The Premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly will nominate its leader to be Premier. The nominated politician is then invited by the Governor of...
Robin Gray
Robin Gray (Australian politician)
Robin Trevor Gray is a former Australian politician who was Premier of Tasmania from 1982 to 1989. A Liberal, he was elected Liberal state leader in 1981 and in 1982 defeated the Labor government of Harry Holgate on a policy of "state development," particularly the building of the Franklin Dam, a...
won 17 seats, Labor (led by Michael Field
Michael Field (Australian politician)
Michael Walter Field, AC was Tasmanian Labor leader from 1988 until his retirement in 1996, and was the Premier of Tasmania between 1989 and 1992...
) won 13. The Green Independents won 5 seats, giving them the balance of power
Balance of power (parliament)
In parliamentary politics, the term balance of power sometimes describes the pragmatic mechanism exercised by a minor political party or other grouping whose guaranteed support may enable an otherwise minority government to obtain and hold office...
in the parliament.
The five Green MPs and their electorates were Dr Bob Brown
Bob Brown
Robert James Brown is an Australian senator, the inaugural Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens and was the first openly gay member of the Parliament of Australia...
(Denison
Division of Denison (state)
The Electoral Division of Denison is one of the 5 electorates in the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The division is named after Sir William Denison, who was Lieutenant Governor of Van_Diemen's Land 1847-55, and Governor of New South Wales 1855-61. The division shares its name and boundaries with the...
), Christine Milne
Christine Milne
Christine Anne Milne is an Australian Senator and deputy leader of the Australian Greens.Christine Milne first came to public attention for her role in opposing the building of the Wesley Vale pulp mill near Bass Strait in North Western Tasmania on the basis of its allegedly harmful environmental...
(Lyons
Division of Lyons (state)
The Electoral Division of Lyons, Tasmania is one of the 5 electorates in the Tasmanian House of Assembly, the lower house. The division is named after Joseph Lyons, Prime Minister of Australia 1931–39, Premier of Tasmania from 1923–1928 and his wife Dame Enid Lyons, the first woman elected to the...
), Dr Gerry Bates
Gerry Bates
Gerard Maxwell "Gerry" Bates is an Australian environmental lawyer and academic, and former politician.-Early life and education:Bates was born in Lancashire, England in 1950...
(Franklin
Division of Franklin (state)
The Electoral Division of Franklin is one of the five electorates in the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The division is named after Sir John Franklin, the arctic explorer who was Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land 1837-43...
), Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong (politician)
Reverend Lance John Edward Armstrong is a former Australian politician. Born in Perth, Western Australia, he was active in Tasmania...
(Bass
Division of Bass (state)
The Electoral Division of Bass is one of the 5 electorates in the Tasmanian House of Assembly, or lower house; it takes its name from the British Naval Surgeon and Explorer of Australia: George Bass. The division shares its name and boundaries with the federal division of Bass...
) and Di Hollister
Di Hollister
Dianne Lesley "Di" Hollister is a former Australian politician.Born in Devonport, Tasmania, she started her career as a teacher....
(Braddon
Division of Braddon (state)
The Electoral Division of Braddon, Tasmania is one of the 5 electorates in the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The constituency takes its name from the former Premier of Tasmania, Sir Edward Braddon. Prior to 1955, the electorate was known as Darwin. The boundaries and name of the electorate are...
).
Premier Robin Gray refused concede defeat, and announced his intention to form a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
, exercising his right to stay on as Premier until the House of Assembly voted against him. He also stated that if Labor and the Greens attempted to do a deal to form government, he would advise the Governor of Tasmania
Governors of Tasmania
The Governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. The Governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as the Governor-General of Australia does at the national level.In accordance with the...
, Sir Phillip Bennett
Phillip Bennett
General Sir Phillip Harvey Bennett AC, KBE, DSO is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army who served as Chief of the Australian Defence Force from 1984 to 1987, and later as Governor of Tasmania from 1987 to 1995....
, to dissolve parliament and call a fresh election.
The accord was signed on 29 May. Governor Bennett considered Gray's request to call another election but declined, as constitutionally the government was in caretaker mode
Caretaker government
Caretaker government is a type of government that rules temporarily. A caretaker government is often set up following a war until stable democratic rule can be restored, or installed, in which case it is often referred to as a provisional government...
, and he had assurances from the Greens that they would support Field's government.
Edmund Rouse bribery scandal
The formation of the Labor-Green alliance resulted in one of the biggest scandals in Tasmanian political history. LauncestonLaunceston, Tasmania
Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
businessman Edmund Rouse
Edmund Rouse
Edmund Alexander Rouse was an Australian businessman and political figure. He spent three decades as the chairman of Tasmanian media company ENT before being embroiled in a political scandal in 1989....
was the managing director of ENT Limited, Tasmania's largest media company. Returning to Tasmania from an overseas trip shortly after the election, Rouse was dismayed to find the Greens in a position of power in government, and was determined to take on what he saw as a grave threat to the Tasmanian and Australian economies. In particular, Rouse was concerned with the effect on the Tasmanian timber company Gunns
Gunns
Gunns Limited is a major forestry enterprise located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1875 by brothers John and Thomas Gunn, it is one of Australia's oldest companies. It has over 900 square kilometres of plantations, mainly eucalyptus trees. It is Tasmania’s largest private land-owner...
, of which he was chairman, and which he thought stood to lose between $10 million and $15 million dollars as a result of the Greens' environmental policies.
Using a former employee, Tony Aloi, as an intermediary, Rouse offered Labor MP Jim Cox A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
110,000 to cross the floor
Crossing the floor
In politics, crossing the floor has two meanings referring to a change of allegiance in a Westminster system parliament.The term originates from the British House of Commons, which is configured with the Government and Opposition facing each other on rows of benches...
and vote with the Liberals to defeat the presumed motion of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
against Gray when parliament resumed. Cox informed Field of the offer, and the call was dismissed as a hoax until an instalment of $5,000 arrived at Cox's home. Cox reported the bribery attempt to Tasmania Police
Tasmania Police
Tasmania Police is the police force of the Australian state of Tasmania. Established in 1899, the force has over 1,200 officers policing Tasmania's population of about half a million people.-Structure:...
, who placed a tap
Telephone tapping
Telephone tapping is the monitoring of telephone and Internet conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connection was an actual electrical tap on the telephone line...
on his phone and arrested Aloi on 23 June as he called Cox from a telephone box.
Rouse was arrested several days later, after Aloi revealed his role in the affair. Rouse was charged with attempted bribery, and sentenced to three years in prison, of which he served eighteen months. Aloi was sentenced to twelve months prison, with eight months suspended sentence.
A Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
(Royal Commission into an Attempt to Bribe a Member of the House of Assembly) was held in 1991, which attempted to determine the involvement of Robin Gray in the affair. Gray was cleared of involvement in the bribe attempt, as no connection between him and Rouse was established, although he had met with Rouse shortly before the bribe was offered and discussed a possible Labor defector. Gray's conduct was criticised by the Commission, however, and his political career and reputation were tarnished.
Environmental concessions
In return for the promise of stable government, the Parliamentary Accord committed both parties to work towards common objectives, balancing broad changes to environmental management policies with Tasmania's economic and employment concerns. Several environmental and social policies requested by the Greens were implemented, including:- a moratorium on logging in National EstateRegister of the National EstateThe Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...
areas not already approved - a limit on the state's woodchipWoodchippingWoodchipping is the act and industry of chipping wood for pulp, processed wood products, and mulch.-Papermaking:Timber is converted to woodchips and sold, primarily, for pulp production used in paper manufacture...
export quota - ending the attempts to build a pulp mill at Wesley ValeWesley Vale pulp millThe Wesley Vale pulp mill was a planned kraft process pulp mill was to be built near Wesley Vale in northern Tasmania in the late 1980s. The claim that waste would have been generated by the mill and present a threat to Tasmania's World Heritage listed forests became a significant environmental and...
, and closure of a chip mill in the Huon - freedom of information legislationFreedom of information legislationFreedom of information legislation comprises laws that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions...
Collapse of the accord
The Greens terminated the accord after 409 days on 1 October 1990, when the state cabinet announced its adoption of the Federal Government's Forests and Forest Industry Strategy (FFIS), however an election was not required until 1992. The accord was never considered a coalition governmentCoalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
, as the Green MPs had no ministerial responsibilities, and as such had no say in the adoption of the forestry policy.
Michael Field and Christine Milne spoke about the breakdown of the accord to the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
program Stateline in 2006. Field compared the relationship between Labor and the Greens to a "forced marriage" which ended in a "very acrimonious divorce". Milne stated:
"What destroyed the Labor-Green Accord was the betrayal of the Greens by the Labor Party over resource security legislation."
After the accord
After the breakdown of the accord, an election was called for 1 February 1992. Although the Greens retained all of their five seats, Labor lost two seats to the Liberals, led by Ray GroomRay Groom
Raymond John "Ray" Groom, AO is a lawyer and former Australian sportsman and politician, representing the Liberal Party in the Federal Parliament 1975–84 and the Tasmanian Parliament 1986–2001. He was a Federal and state minister for a total of 13 years...
, who now had a majority.
The next election in 1996 saw Labor regain three seats and the Greens lose one. Ray Groom, who had promised before the election to only govern with a majority, resigned and handed the leadership to Tony Rundle
Tony Rundle
Anthony Maxwell Rundle AO was the Premier of the Australian State of Tasmania from 18 March 1996 to 14 September 1998. He succeeded Ray Groom and was succeeded himself by Jim Bacon. He is a Liberal who held the seat of Braddon between 1986 and 2002. A former journalist, he is married to...
, who formed a loose alliance with the Greens to govern in a minority until 1998, when the major parties voted to restructure the House of Assembly (from 35 to 25 seats) in an (ultimately, unsuccessful) attempt to make it more difficult for minor parties to be elected. Rundle immediately called an election, which Labor won comfortably, leaving the Greens with only one seat.
Christine Milne led the Tasmanian Greens from 1993, when Bob Brown left to make an unsuccessful bid for the Federal House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
. He was elected as a Senator
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
in 1996, and Milne followed him to become a Senator in 2004.