Ronin: In Japan, under the feudal system, a samurai who had renounced his clan or who had been discharged or ostracized and had become a wanderer without a lord; an outcast; an outlaw.
Ronan Lee’s defection to the Queensland Greens is good news for the Greens, at least in the short term. The Queensland electoral system is incredibly unfriendly to minor parties; Unicameral chamber, optional preferential voting, single member electorates. And that is a sorry state of affairs.
The Greens achieved over 11% of the vote state-wide in the last Queensland election, which in any two house parliament, or any parliament with multiple-member electorates would surely have seen them attain a substantial representation.
So I can understand the glee that Queensland’s Greens must have felt when Ronan decided to jump the fence.
This doesn’t mean it was right.
The Greens: Doing politics differently (except when it’s in our interests to do politics the same as everyone else)
The Greens: Participatory Democracy (except if it doesn’t work for us)
Many people have written about this subject, and I too think it’s a bad idea:
- You can’t take the moral high ground only when it’s convenient. One of the reasons I’m enormously proud of the work I do with the Greens, and the work others do within the Greens, is the integrity with which they conduct themselves. Doing what we believe to be right, even if it flies in the face of short-term self-interest has been a hallmark of Greens politics for as long as I’ve been involved.
- Participatory democracy is one of the Greens’ core values. Yes, Queensland’s system is appalling. Yes, it’s unrepresentative. But to presume that you know what the outcome would be under a “fairer” system is arrogance of a sort more befitting the Liberal party. Participatory democracy is surely allowing the people to decide upon both the system and the make-up of their elected representatives.
- If Ronan thought that his personal popularity was the key factor in his re-election last time, then he should have had no trouble in adhering to the principal of letting the people decide. He should have stood down and contested the subsequent by-election as a Greens candidate. If, on the other hand, he was all-too-aware that the electors of Indooroopilly voted for the Labor Party, not Ronan Lee, then he should have respected their decision, stood down, and run as a Greens candidate in the subsequent by-election.
- However robust the party structures in Queensland are, Ronan Lee will now be the de-facto leader of the Queensland Greens. A man that until a fortnight ago represented another party will now be seen by the media and the vast majority of electors as the principal spokesperson for the Greens party.
- He’s already expressed some reservations about policy – will there be more to come? This would probably be OK if he wasn’t the sole representative in Parliament, and the principal media voice for the party. As a brand new member, he will have a disproportionately large influence on policy decisions.
- As Andrew Bartlett has suggested, this situation is likely to be very short-lived. What are the benefits, beyond the current media interest, that the Greens hope to achieve?
I could be wrong about all of this. Ronan Lee wouldn’t have made the switch if he wasn’t incredibly frustrated by Labor’s stance on public transport, on Traveston and on who-knows how many other issues. I’m sure he wouldn’t have made the switch unless he thought it would do some good. I’m sure the party wouldn’t have allowed unless they thought it would do some good.
I hope they’re right. I hope it’s worth it. And I hope he changes the banner on his website soon.
