The Greens ‘secret’ that Aussies can’t ignore

Cricket viewers have been repeatedly confronted over summer with a stark ad featuring quotes by alleged victims of sexual abuse within the Greens as part of a conservative group’s all-out assault to drag down the left-wing party’s polling.

The ad from right-wing advocacy group Advance opens silently with a sombre caption over a black background telling viewers that ‘The following are real quotes from victims of alleged sexual assault and bullying within the Greens Party’.

Three young women are then shown in anonymous silhouette with each labelled a ‘Former Greens Member and alleged sexual assault survivor’. 

‘I was belittled silenced and victim-blamed,’ the first female voice-over says, 

That is followed by ‘The Greens don’t care what happens to women within the party and ‘The party knew about my alleged sexual predator and did nothing’.

Those viewing the ad are directed to a website which lists press reports of stories of alleged sex abuse, toxic workplaces and cover ups within the Greens. 

Advance, which came to prominence by coordinating the main No campaign against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the run up to 2023’s referendum, defended the ad’s brutal tone to Daily Mail Australia. 

“Accusations and revelations about serious sexual misconduct and bullying inside the Greens have been going on for years and the voting public needs to know the staggering extent of these allegations,’ Advance spokesperson Sandra Bourke said.

‘The complaints against the Greens are not trivial and include serious allegations of bullying, sexual assault, the cover-up of rape and even paedophilia.

‘So many unresolved accusations over so many years would destroy other political parties and rightly so. The Greens will not be getting a free pass this time.’

Ms Bourke said the ad had hit 3.4 million video plays on digital TV alone over the break including on high profile events such as the cricket. 

‘We’ve reached more than a million people on social media,’ she said.

‘On top of this, we have 70 high-profile, high-traffic billboards in metropolitan locations in NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia,

Disturbingly Ms Bourke the ad had led to a number of stories in a similar vein.

High profile Greens supporter comedian Tom Ballard, who has performed fund-raisers for the party and against whom no allegations of wrongdoing are suggested , has certainly taken notice of Advance’s campaign

‘We have been inundated by former party members, supporters and even candidates sharing their stories,’ she said.

Ms Bourke claimed some of the credit for tarnishing the Greens as they recent polls show them losing support nationwide and in particular in inner city areas where they target votes.

‘This campaign’s important message has reached millions of Australians over summer,’ Ms Bourke.

‘At the same time, the Greens keep sliding in the polls. This shows that the more that voters hear the truth about the Greens, the less they like them. Understandably so.   

‘It’s clear that Australians are waking up to the fact that the Greens are not who they used to be.

‘For a long time the Greens made it look like they were a harmless environmental party. 

‘The truth is they are not who they used to be and Australian voters deserve to know the truth.’

High profile Greens supporter comedian Tom Ballard, who has performed fund-raisers for the party and against whom no allegations of wrongdoing are suggested , has certainly taken notice of Advance’s campaign.

On December 30 he posted an image of smiling giving a thumb’s up in front of an Advance billboard that states The Greens are ‘not who you think they are’ and invites passers-by to use a QR code to ‘read the receipts’.

A recent Resolve Political Monitor showed a drop in support for the Greens by voters aged 18 to 34 down to 23 per cent compared to 27 per cent in the previous survey.

Newpolls, conducted for The Australian, have also shown Greens support sliding nationally during the last quarter of 2024 from 13 per cent to 12 per cent.

The Greens have been contacted to comment. 

Advance, originally known as Advance Australia, was formed by former Liberal staffer Gerard Benedet in 2018 as a counter to the left-wing group GetUp!.

Advance have copied GetUp!’s electoral strategy of not advocating for a party but running negative ads against ideological political opponents.