Australian Greens http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/97/Australiangreenslogo.gif Australian Greens Current Leader: No official leader Founded: 1992 Political ideology: green politics Holds government: none Website Australian Greens The Australian Greens is the national Greens party in Australia. It was formed as a coalition of the various state Greens parties, although the Greens (Western Australia) preserved a separate identity for some time. At the federal level there are two Greens in the Australian Senate (Senators Bob Brown and Kerry Nettle), and in July 2005 they will be joined by Senators-elect Christine Milne from Tasmania and Rachel Siewert from Western Australia. There was one MP in the Australian House of Representatives (Michael Organ), who was elected at a by-election in 2002, but he lost his seat at the 2004 elections. The Australian Greens do not have a formal leadership, but Senator Brown of Tasmania is treated in the media as the party's leader. Currently there are Green members in the parliaments of Western Australia (5), Tasmania (4), New South Wales (2), the Australian Capital Territory (2) and South Australia (1). The Greens have gained some support since 2001 at the expense of the Australian Democrats and to some extent the Australian Labor Party. On 23 October 2003 Brown and Nettle were suspended from the Parliament for 24 hours when they both seperately interjected during an address by the visiting President of the United States, George W. Bush. Although the Greens see themselves as representing a "new politics" which is distinct from the traditional categories of "left" and "right", they are seen by many Australians as a "left-wing" or radical party, and have become the party which attracts most of the left-wing vote. At the 2001 federal election, many left-wing supporters of the Australian Labor Party, including many party members, voted for the Greens as a protest against their own party's policies on asylum seekers. In the 2004 Federal election the Greens' primary vote rose by around 2%, to an average of around 7%. This won them two additional Senate seats, but the success of the Howard government in winning a majority in the Senate meant that the Greens' influence on legislation would actually decrease. See also Tasmanian Greens External links Aus Greens Home page http://www.greens.org.au/ State Green Sites http://www.act.greens.org.au/home.php http://www.nsw.greens.org.au/ http://www.sa.greens.org.au/ http://www.tas.greens.org.au/ http://www.nt.greens.org.au/public_html/new_greens_website/home.htm http://www.vic.greens.org.au/home.html http://wa.greens.org.au http://qld.greens.org.au/ Bob Brown suspended over blackmail barb http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/06/1046826470455.html Bob Brown's Senate Page http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/s-qd4.htm Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Greens