Article: Greens credit ALP defector with 2008 boost

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Greens credit ALP defector with 2008 boost

Greens credit ALP defector with 2008 boost
December 26, 2008 - 11:21AM

The Queensland Greens say the highlight of 2008 was the defection of Ronan Lee from Labor's ranks, which gave the Greens their first representative in state parliament.

Mr Lee, 32, the member for the marginal seat of Indooroopilly since 2001, changed allegiance in October, saying the government's lack of action on the environment was a reason for his dissatisfaction with Labor.

He gave the Queensland Greens their first voice in the state's unicameral parliament.

The year's low point was the Bligh government's support for a record number of new coal mines in 2008, said Greens' spokeswoman Libby Connors.

This was a blight of international proportions in a world facing climate change, Ms Connors said.

"Our greatest disappointment in 2008 was to see a government hell-bent on pursuing the same old carbon-polluting policies of the past 150 years," she said.

The party was critical of the Bligh government's commitment to spending on roads and tunnels in preference to providing more rail track and passenger train services.

Ms Connors said the Greens applauded the government's decision to defer the controversial Traveston Crossing Dam in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

"That decision came closely upon Ronan Lee's criticism of the government's environmental performance, so it is hard to believe it wasn't in response to Lee's joining the Greens," she said.

AAP