Everybody loves Steven Fielding

Gay rights reforms under the next Federal Government of Australia may be under threat with the Liberals, Democrats and now even Labor hinting they may place Family First above the Greens when allocating preferences.
If Family First takes the balance of power in the Senate there is a real chance it may block some or even all of the recommendations of the HREOC report, and the party is likely to have serious problems with even the limited State-based relationship scheme Labor has promised us. Should the ACT revisit its Coalition-vetoed civil unions legislation, Family First may demand a Federal Labor veto of the law as well.
In short, everything Labor has promised us is now in doubt.
In comparison a Greens-controlled Senate could force Labor to look at same-sex marriage or Federal civil unions without us having to vote them in for a second term.
With all commentators agreeing that only Family First or the Greens can take the balance of power in the Senate the outlook could be grim.
With the floundering Democrats it may make electoral sense to preference Family First – though the strategy will alienate key GLBT voters. But Federal Labor has no such excuse – the Greens have indicated they are willing to negotiate should they take the balance of power but, if Family First takes hold, a whole range of progressive reforms could be in doubt.
How can Labor justify giving the balance of power to a party even maverick Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce has labelled “the lunatic Right”?
The Greens’ vote now outstrips the Nationals, and the Labor Right is seriously worried about being owned by the Greens in the Senate – and Labor has never been comfortable sharing the reins of power. After being forced into coalition in everything but name with the Greens in Tasmania in the early 90s the ALP’s response was to collude with the Liberals to change Tasmania’s electoral system to stop it from happening again.
At the last election Labor and Democrats preferences led to Family First’s Steven Fielding being elected on less than two percent of the vote despite the nearest Greens candidate outpolling him by five times as much. Had the Democrats and Labor preferenced the Greens instead, it is likely the Greens would have taken another two seats and Howard’s rubber stamp in the Senate would have been considerably imperilled.
But with a number of key unions signalling they may direct members to vote Green because of the party’s unconditional commitment to end Work Choices, Labor’s Right is nervous. On top of this, Labor’s “me too” approach in matching the Coalition on so many issues may be tempting many Labor Left voters to jump ship to the Greens as well.
Labor is gambling that it will win in a landslide and any gains for the Greens or Family First will be nullified by a majority in the Senate – and they are gambling with our rights.