SOME COMMENTATORS see the Greens victory in last Saturday’s Fremantle state by-election as an ominous sign for a Labor Party juggling the conflicting demands of its inner urban and outer suburban support bases. This may be so, but several caveats need to be borne in mind. In its candidate selection, Western Australian Labor seemed to...

This paper discusses the electoral support that Australian Greens candidates have developed, including issues such as the emergence of environmental politics in historical context, and the question whether the Australian Greens will ever be more than an important ‘third force’ in Australian politics.