Meet the Greens candidate for Sydney - Tony Hickey

Mr Hickey will stand against current Labor MP and front bench Minister Tanya Plibersek, who has held the seat for more than ten years. The seat has been held by the ALP since its creation in 1969 but the Greens have won more than 20 per cent of the vote in the last two federal elections.

Mr Hickey said he hoped to provide a challenge to Labor’s stranglehold over the inner-city seat. “Sydney is obviously a very strong Labor seat but the Greens have made new inroads in the past and are hoping to improve on this performance.”

Mr Hickey has kicked off his campaign by calling on the Rudd Government to recognise same-sex marriage, an issue that will be continue to be central to his campaign in the lead up to the election.  

“I think it is a pretty fundamental right for any Australian to be able to marry the Australian that they love and the Greens will continue to campaign for this fundamental right,” Mr Hickey said. “I believe one of the biggest issues in this electorate is the issue of marriage inequality and the need to recognise same-sex couples as equal to different-sex couples.”

Mr Hickey said his campaign will also focus on the inadequate response to climate change proposed by the Government and Opposition and the need for greater funding of public education. “Neither of the parties has offered a serious response to the climate change crisis, and public education deserves a much higher priority from both Federal and State governments,’’ he said.

David McKnight, Associate Professor in the University of New South Wales Arts Faculty, said it was highly unlikely that a Greens candidate would win the seat. “If the Greens were up against a more right wing Labor candidate they might stand a better chance but because Tanya Plibersek is left wing, feminist and a high profile candidate it will be very hard for them to win. There was never a question at the last election of the Greens winning the seat.”

Ben Raue, founder of the political commentary blog, The Tally Room, said it would be difficult for the Greens to win seats away from a popular and young ALP Government.

“In order to win the seat the Greens need to overtake the Liberals on primary votes and win enough votes either as primary votes or Liberal preferences to defeat the ALP. There is no chance in the short or medium term that this seat could be won by the Liberal Party.

“The only possible threat to the ALP comes from the Greens,” Mr Raue said.

Mr Hickey was inspired to join the Greens in 2001 after listening to a speech delivered by current Federal Greens leader, Bob Brown.

“I’ve always been interested in politics but not so much in party politics,” Mr Hickey said. “I went to a Greens forum and listened to Bob Brown speak and found that the philosophy behind the Greens was very closely aligned with my own principles. I had long been disenchanted with the two-party system in Australia and the Greens offered an alternative to this.”

Mr Hickey said he planned to spend the coming months getting to know the local community.

Photo: Ali Blogg - Greens candidate Tony Hickey

Source: South Sydney Herald April 2010 www.southsydneyherald.com.au