Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett has savaged Liberal Senator Helen Kroger over her criticism of the party’s practice of preferencing the Greens ahead of Labor.
Kennett’s attack comes just one month before the state election. The preference debate within the Liberal Party has been gathering momentum since the August 21 federal election where Liberal preferences in Melbourne delivered the seat to the Greens.
Some Liberals argue that the party should negotiate preference agreements with the Greens on the basis that Labor is the party’s real enemy. Others claim that the Liberals should not be assisting the Greens to win seats because Green policies are fundamentally hostile to Liberal Party philosophy.
Liberal preferences in the state seats of Melbourne, Brunswick, Northcote, Richmond, Prahran and possibly others will be decisive in the November 27 election.
Kennett’s comments also reflect his historical animosity towards the Costello-Kroger forces in Victoria.
Kennett was interviewed on radio 3AW.
