By M D P DISSANAYAKE

Judging by the disastrous poll rankings of the ALP government, it is becoming increasingly clear that there are two main factors for the drop in popularity of the hardworking & intelligent Prime Minister of Australia Ms Julia Gillard.

Asylum seekers policy changes and Australian Green Party:

By far vast majority of Australian are disgusted with the massive arrivals of refugees into Australian Waters. After several months of negotiations with the Malaysian Government, the Australian Government has drafted the legal framework to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Stop the BoatsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. Bi-partisan approach to this proposed legislation is highly unlikely, as the Coalition led by Mr Tony Abbot fears that he would lose one of his best vote winning slogans during elections if they support the government legislation. The Australian Greens are in favour of arrival of refugees, therefore even though they are partners in this Minority Government, they are against the proposed legislation. As Greens having the majority control in the Senate, even if the legislation is passed in the Parliament with the support of the Independents, it will be defeated at the Senate with GreenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s majority.

Carbon Price Legislation and Australian Green Party:

There is an overwhelming opinion in Australia that although restrictions against carbon emissions are vital for the future clean energy development in Australia, the other bigger polluting nations should take a lead, before Australia. The Australian net emissions totalled 600 million tonnes of CO2, which is only 1.5% of world emissions. But Gillard government is compelled to introduce the legislations at this stage as a part of its deal with the Australian Green Party to maintain its continuing support for the minority Government.

Allegations of Sri Lanka War Crimes and Australian Green Party:

Australian Green Party is very supportive of Tamil Tigers, some of the leaders of tamil diaspora are active members of the Green Party. Most recently, they fought hard to prevent the Australian Cricket Tour to Sri Lanka. On September 22, 2011 Australian Green Senator for New South Wales Lee Rhiannon moved a motion to suspend Sri Lanka from the Commonwealth. The Australian Government and the Opposition voted overwhelmingly to defeat the motion . The same Senator few days back called for War Crimes Tribunal for Sri Lanka in a closed door round table discussion, with several LTTE supports in Sydney and Canberra. The same Senator most recently has made a request to the Australian Minister of Immigration and Citizenship seeking details of those who had applied for visas to Australia to attend the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), as part of Sri Lankan delegation. The Minister has appropriately rejected the officer.

Australian Greens are not only political enemies of the Gillard Government, but they are enemies of peace loving Sri Lanka. In spite of vast resources injected to develop the Tamils in North and East, many Tamils are against the current Mahinda Rajapakse Regime. These rich Tamils will not send a dollar to Sri Lanka to help the cause of poor Tamils, but will be prepared spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring down the Sri Lankan government. Most Tamils have become a nuisance in Australia, damaging the image of our country in an extremely secretive manner.

The Australian Greens main objective will be to politically destroy the current Prime Minister and then revolt against Mr Tony Abbot. It is aiming at increasing its voting percentage if the voters becomes increasingly disappointed with the two major parties, Labour and Liberals. Mr Abbot is a highly skilled and an intellectual political leader, with a Rhodes Scholarship from the Oxford University. The Australian Green will not only be an obstacle for the Labour Party, it will also create massive hurdles for Mr Tony Abbot and the Coalition if they return to power. In fact, the Greens will be more destructive towards a Coalition than a Labour Government. As Greens are holding the balance of power in the Senate for next few years, it could be a long term political instability for Australia. The best outcome will be for the ALP and the Coalition to agree on broad set of bi-partisan policies, with thorough reconciliation of differences, with a view of side-lining the Australian Green Party. Such an approach, however difficult, will bring about a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Win-Win ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- situation for Australia, regardless of whether Labour or Liberals occupy the Federal Leadership. It will also enhance the image of Ms Julia Gillard as well as Mr Tony Abbot, thus reducing the voting percentage of Australian Greens. The Australian Greens should not be allowed to become the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-King MakerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ ever in future.