Senator Bob Brown’s resignation from the leadership of the Greens is a sign that the far left are pushing forward, and will mean that the so-called ‘progressive’ party is only going to get more extreme, Queensland Nationals Senator Ron Boswell said today.

“It is obvious that Bob Brown is resigning today because he knows his time is up and he wants to go out on a high,” Senator Boswell said.

“Brown knows that the party is losing the environmental message the party was based on and is now being used by the far left as a way to spread their extreme agenda. He is just trying to get out before that happens.

“Without Brown, the far left and extremists will steamroll over the others and become the new reigning force within the Greens.

“These members include the now Deputy Leader, Adam Bandt, a self-identified former member of the Left Alliance that once admonished ultra-left groups such as Resistance and the International Socialists for not being left-wing enough.

“Bandt has referred to the Greens as a ‘bourgeois party’ that can be used as a Trojan horse for pushing an anti-capitalist, socialist Marxist agenda. He has identified the Greens as the best avenue to achieving socialism in Australia.

“Senator Lee Rhiannon, who has long-standing ties with far left and Marxist organisations, has also played a role in pushing the Greens further and further to the left.

“She has led the Greens’ push for an anti-Israel boycott, and has openly supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, one of the many issues that has divided the Greens party. A former member of the Communist Party of Australia, she once argued that the Greens respresents the closest to the best of the CPA’s politics and methods.

“Other far left organisations with links to the Australian Greens include Socialist Alliance, Resistance, Solidarity and Left Unity.

“This is in addition to revelations by ASIO of the party’s ties to extremist environmental groups that threaten the security of the power industry in Australia, such as via Greenpeace’s $6 million campaign to disrupt Australia’s coal mining industry.

“These are the people who Brown now leaves behind to fight amongst themselves.

“The new leader Christine Milne has said she will go into the bush to work on Greens policies with members of the rural community.

“But the truth is she will be persona non-grata in the bush. Nobody in rural communities want the Greens or their policies such as the carbon tax. The NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has recommended electricity price hikes of an average 16 per cent across  rural areas due to this destructive tax.

“In the Queensland state election, the voters in rural areas have already shown outright rejection for the Greens when they lost the seat of Mt Cootha, a seat they felt certain they would win.

“Yet today, the Greens remain deluded by saying that they will one day replace the other parties as the political force in Australia.

“Brown sees his resignation as a way of opening the doors to new ideas and progression. However, all he has done is destabilise the Greens further and paved the way for extremists in the party to become stronger and more vocal,” Senator Boswell said.

ENDS