Labor candidate Jennifer Kanis at the night market in Chinatown last Friday
INDEPENDENT candidate for the Melbourne byelection Stephen Mayne has said Labor would win his preferences if the federal government adopted a $1 maximum bet poker machine policy.
The Crikey website founder and shareholder activist met federal Greens Melbourne MP Adam Bandt and state Greens leader Greg Barber last week. He praised Greens' policies on gambling reform and said it was "highly likely" he would preference the party, but that he would meet with Labor candidate Jennifer Kanis first.
"I admire the position of the Greens, but they are not in the position to deliver whereas Labor is federally," Mr Mayne said.
MAYNE STAKES HIS CLAIM
The Greens would win Melbourne with independent candidate Stephen Mayne's preferences, according to a Morgan poll released last week.
The phone poll canvassed 365 Victorians aged 18 or older during the Queen's Birthday long weekend. The poll found that with preferences from independents the Greens would take 54 per cent of the vote, compared to the ALP's 46 per cent. The poll indicated Mr Mayne would attract 7 per cent of the vote.
Electors were asked which party or candidate would receive their first preference in the byelection ballot.
Greens candidate Cathy Oke said the only poll she was interested in was "the one on the 21st of July", the byelection itself.
Labor's Jennifer Kanis said she always knew it would be a close election.
Other potential independent candidates, including the pollster Gary Morgan of Roy Morgan Research and former Melbourne lord mayor Kevin Chamberlin would take 7 per cent of the vote combined, according to the poll.
OKE'S VISION FOR ENERGY
Greens candidate Cathy Oke has unveiled her energy vision for Victoria, including a push to repeal the state government's wind farm laws.
Ms Oke said as part of the Greens' state energy and climate policy $50 million in state funds would be diverted from a proposed coal power plant into a community renewables fund to help establish local solar farms.
She said the Greens also wanted to introduce measures to encourage the use of renewable energy in the community.
"We want to make sure people who want to connect to the energy grid can do so in a reasonable time and, if you do feed energy into the grid, you get a fair market price for what you generate," she said.
KANIS FIGHTS EDUCATION CUTS
Labor candidate Jennifer Kanis has spoken out against education cuts in the state budget, saying she would reverse the decisions to axe the Education Maintenance Allowance and to cut TAFE budgets.
She said the cuts were short-sighted and she "vehemently opposed them".