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If you think the idea of the Russians having a military air base on our doorstep is scary, think about what foreign policy and defence would be like under the Greens, writes Joe Hildebrand.
View in browser 16th April 2025
 

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Joe Hildebrand
Federal election correspondent

The nation was rocked this morning by the revelation splashed across every major newspaper in the country: Vladimir Putin’s Russia had asked Indonesia to grant it a military air base a stone’s throw from Australia.

But if you think that sounds scary, contemplate this: Imagine if the Greens were in charge.

It sounds crazy because it is, and that is precisely the point.

Growing the Greens to the point where they could one day form government is actually part of the Greens’ agenda.

Leader Adam Bandt has openly said his party’s plan is to cannibalise Labor in order to become the major opposition party and then try to win power from there.

And so let’s take him at his word. What would a Greens-led government actually look like?

What would it actually do if confronted with a national security crisis like the one that literally landed on our doorstep overnight?

‘RECKLESS, AGGRO’: Dutton hits back at Labor over Putin jet base claims

image‘Mite’ by Brett Lethbridge.

Well it’s hard to say. The closest thing to foreign policy I could find on the Greens’ website was “FREE PALESTINE”, so not much guidance on how to deal with major non-aligned neighbouring superpowers in the Asia-Pacific.

And again, that’s the point. Where major parties have to deal with complex national and international issues, the Greens deal only in glib, simplistic slogans.

CLICK HERE FOR JOE HILDEBRAND'S FULL ANALYSIS

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