Knocking Albo Off His Perch: An Interview with Greens for Grayndler’s Hannah Thomas

Encompassing Sydney’s Inner West region, the federal seat of Grayndler is known for having some of the most progressive voters in NSW and right across the country.

The seat of Grayndler has been held by current prime minister Anthony Albanese for an impressive 28 years. And it’s fair to say that Albo has maintained this electorate, that lies on the lands of the Gadigal and Wangal peoples, due to his reputation as ‘a voice for the people’.

Over his term as PM, however, the Labor leader has flouted his credentials as a hard left politician to reveal himself more prone to closed government neoliberal politicking. And this conservative tendency has revealed itself in his having opened the floodgates to the US on AUKUS, an inability to help those hardest hit by the housing crisis and Labor’s cynical take on legitimate climate action.

But nowhere has Albanese astonished voters more than in his betrayal of the Palestinian people as he’s utilised his position of power to provide political cover for the Israeli state in its perpetration of a genocidal mass murder in the Gaza Strip.

And it’s Albanese’s unbridled support for Israel over the course of the Gaza genocide, along with his demonisation of pro-Palestinians domestically, that has really called into question whether the PM can depend on Grayndler as a ‘safe seat’ now that a 2025 federal election is looming.

A moral choice for a progressive seat

Greens candidate for Grayndler Hannah Thomas is facing off against Albanese in his seat at the coming election. And the lawyer and social justice activist, who currently rents her home in the inner west suburb of Newtown, has a vision for a more equitable and just society, and she’s been an ardent critic of the killing that’s been transpiring in Gaza.

Right now, voters in this country are met with something of the same choice as voters in the States were met with at the ballot last November: either vote for a backer of the worst atrocity of the century or vote for a divisive ultraconservative racist.

But for those in Grayndler, Thomas is providing a third option: a vote for the people, a vote against dog whistling politics and it’s a vote for a viable future on this planet.

A vote for Hannah is a vote for someone who understands life on the ground in Sydney’s Inner West and indeed, right across the wider community at present, as the long-term incumbent in the seat of Grayndler has only revealed himself in top office to have long lost any connection he’d had with the people.

Sydney Criminal Lawyers spoke to Greens candidate for Grayndler Hannah Thomas about the politicking of her running mate over his time in the top office, how more Greens members in federal parliament would lead to greater climate action and why Dutton as PM is not an option.

Hannah, you’re running in the seat of Grayndler on the Australian Greens ticket in the 2025 federal election, which means you’re taking on the current prime minister Anthony Albanese in a seat the Labor leader has held for almost 30 years.

This would usually be considered a particularly safe seat. However, over his term as the top minister, Albanese has responded to the Israeli-perpetrated genocide in Gaza in a manner that has put him out of favour with many of his constituents, both his local ones and otherwise.

So, how do you consider the prime minister’s form when it comes to the actions of the Israeli state over the last 15 months?

The prime minister’s response to Israel’s actions has been to grant it complete impunity, despite witnessing a live-streamed genocide over the past 15 months. Not to mention the decades of oppression, occupation and apartheid before that.

The Albanese government have failed to impose sanctions on Israel. They haven’t expelled the Israeli ambassador, recognised Palestine or ended the two-way arms trade.

They refused to even acknowledge that what’s happening in Gaza is genocide, despite the overwhelming evidence. And in fact, the strongest action we have seen from the Albanese government has been against UNRWA early last year.

The harshest condemnation has been reserved for the people who are standing up for Palestine, which includes the Greens and protesters, along with Senator Payman.

So, overall, history is going to judge the Albanese government harshly. Complicity in genocide will be one of its legacies.

For over half of 2024, there was a 24/7 picket out the front of the prime minister’s Marrickville office.

So, how would you say Albanese’s approach to the horror in Gaza has impacted the seat of Grayndler?

Grayndler is a very progressive electorate. Every Sunday, we see crowds of people from Newtown, Marrickville, Dulwich Hill, Annadale and Ashfield, from all over the Inner West, coming to rallies to make their opposition to Israel’s genocide clear.

As you pointed out, for months we saw members of the community camped outside the prime minister’s office to oppose the genocide, and he refused to even meet with them.

Basically, many voters in Grayndler feel betrayed. Especially because their local member used to be a vocal supporter of Palestine. But now at a time when he has more power than ever, and at a time when Palestinians face more violence than ever, he’s completely abandoned them.

Those voters will ultimately abandon him as well, as they should.

You criticised the Albanese government in late December, when it announced the approval of four new coal mine extensions, which further saw federal Labor on that same day, bragging about how it had not approved any new coal mines over its term in office.

You’re running mate in the seat of Grayndler declared on taking office in 2022 that he’d set about ending the “climate wars” but close to three years later, this hasn’t happened.

How would you assess the Albanese government’s approach to climate over its last term? And how would more Australian Greens members in parliament change this after the next election?

The Albanese government has been nothing short of disastrous for the climate and the environment. Pollution is higher under Albanese than Morrison, and the government has refused to announce its 2035 climate targets before the next election.

They’ve approved 32 new coal and gas projects since coming to office. That is 32 more than the planet can afford.

Each one will make the climate crisis worse, and each one will make the climate disaster, like the fires in LA, more frequent and more likely, especially in the Global South.

What is particularly egregious about the approvals is the bragging you mentioned, which is Labor trying to mislead the community about their climate record, at the very same time as they approved those new coal extensions. This was Trumpian stuff.

It is clear Labor can’t be trusted to take the desperately needed action to end the climate crisis on their own. They take millions from coal and gas companies, so they are completely beholden by them, just like the Liberal Party is.

So, the Greens have already notched up some climate wins this term. For example, strengthening the Safeguard Mechanism, ensuring no public funding for coal and gas and major government programs, as well as $1.4 billion in clean energy funding for households and businesses.

But with more Greens in power, we could achieve more, because more Greens means more pressure, especially if Labor is in a minority government and forced to deal with the crossbench.

Last time there was a minority government in 2010, the Greens secured billions in clean energy funding and world leading climate laws. And this time, we could push for the end of coal and gas.

Towards the end of last year, you were told that your rent was being hiked. This is a commonplace occurrence these days.

The Albanese government has been in office during the housing and cost-of-living crises, which continue unabated.

Federal Labor progressed two sets of housing reforms over the last two years, which the Greens determinedly held out on passing, as the party attempted to secure greater reforms for renters and first-time homebuyers.

Labor then took the opportunity to frame your party, in negotiating and holding out, as problematic to the community at large.

So, why would you say that this isn’t the case? What were the Greens attempting to achieve?

The starting point is that in a wealthy country like ours, everyone should have a secure home, and yet, currently, it is easier for a property investor to buy their twentieth home than it is for a young renter to buy their first home.

An extra 10,000 people are becoming homeless every month, according to a recent Guardian article.

With that in mind, I am really proud that the Greens and in particular, Max Chandler-Mather have fought like hell to address the housing and rental crisis, with ambitious radical solutions, rather than just rolling over and rubber-stamping Labor’s totally inadequate bills.

In 2023, the Greens were able to properly negotiate with Labor on the HAFF bill securing an extra $3 billion for social and affordable housing, and last year, we wanted to do the same thing with the Help to Buy legislation.

We pushed just as hard to get Labor to do more – we offered compromise after compromise – but this time Labor decided that they’d rather have a fight with the Greens than actually help people.

What we really saw was the Greens attempting to achieve real action on the housing crisis through negotiation, and I don’t think there is anything unusual about that, as it is what progressive parties should be doing.

Many constituents in the seat of Grayndler and right across the nation, no longer want to vote for Labor because of its track record on Gaza. But many of these people too don’t want to vote a divisive racist like Peter Dutton into top office.

The outcome of the 2022 election was noted for the slide towards the Greens and independents in terms of voting. However, while the old idea that not voting for a major party is a wasted vote is fading, it’s still somewhat prevalent in the community.

So, why is voting for the Australian Greens the best way to vote at the coming election, even though the minor party might not form a majority government afterwards?

There is no doubt the two-party system is not working for so many people, but thankfully, with the 2022 results, the days that major parties can just take voters for granted are long gone.

People now know they can’t keep voting for the same two parties and expect a different result.

Labor has been deeply disappointing, especially on Gaza.

I also share the absolute visceral repulsion that many in our community, especially people of colour, have of the thought of a Peter Dutton prime ministership, and that’s why we are so lucky to live somewhere where there is no such thing as a wasted vote.

Because of the preferential voting system in Australia, we can decide where our preferences go.

The belief that voting for the Greens ahead of Labor somehow helps the Coalition is completely untrue.

Obviously, the major parties have both tried to spread the myth of a wasted vote but more and more people are starting to realise that it is just a myth, as it is completely safe to vote for the Greens, and it is a way to send a message to Labor that they are not doing enough but also, it will help to stop their local Coalition member from getting elected.

The Greens will never support a Dutton Liberal government and a vote for the Greens is a vote to keep Dutton out and push Labor to take real action on cost-of-living and climate.

And lastly, you’re taking on the prime minister in his electorate at a point in time when the political climate doesn’t seem so certain for Albanese, especially in terms of Gaza.

So, Hannah, why should the constituents of Grayndler vote you into office? What do you plan to get done in federal parliament?

People should vote for me if the two-party system has let them down, and if they want a representative who will fight for outcomes that will make life genuinely better for them.

That’s dental and mental health into Medicare, making sure you can see the GP for free, a freeze and cap on rate increases, low-rate mortgages and cheaper groceries.

The Greens believe that in a wealthy country like ours people shouldn’t be struggling to afford the basics that housing is a human right, and the government should actually tackle all the problems people are facing.

The Greens want to take on billionaires and big corporations, especially the one in three big corporations that don’t pay any tax.

We want to make them pay their fair share of tax, which will fund things that we all need, like wiping student debt, making uni free, making childcare free and prioritising healthcare services, like dental and mental into Medicare.

People should also vote for me, as someone who will fight for genuine human rights, including treaty and justice for First Nations people, an end to the deplorable treatment of refugees that we see from both the Liberals and Labor, and of course, someone who takes a strong stand against Israel’s genocide and illegal occupation in Gaza.