Anthony Albanese forced to negotiate with Greens in the Upper House if Labor is to deliver ‘ambitious agenda’

The Prime Minister will be forced to the negotiating table by the Greens in the Upper House if Labor hopes to deliver what he described as a “ambitious” agenda “for all Australians”.

Anthony Albanese’s confidence in delivering a Labor majority that could govern in its own right was vindicated on Saturday night, but the Greens’ success in the Senate means they will hold the balance of power there.

The Government needs 39 votes in the Senate for an absolute majority and looks likely to wind up with 28.

The Greens are almost certain to have 11 seats in the next Parliament, with all six senators up for re-election to return to Parliament.

That could open the door to the party getting some of its wish-list backed by Labor in the Lower House, where the Greens have gone backwards, in return for support in the Senate.

Leader Adam Bandt, who is still in the fight for his own Melbourne electorate, gave some indication of what might be on that list — from including dental in Medicare to free childcare — on Monday when he noted his party now the “sole balance of power”.

Previously, Labor needed support from both the Greens and crossbenchers.

“What it means is that, with Greens the sole balance of power in the Senate at the moment, the Government can’t blame other individual senators for not being able to get things through,” Mr Bandt said.

“The only barrier to getting dental into Medicare now ... is Labor. The only barrier, the only obstacle to making childcare free is Labor. The only obstacle to stopping new coal and gas mines from being opened is Labor.”

Asked if the Greens would respect the Government’s mandate, Mr Bandt suggested there was a “massive opportunity”.

“When you look at actually what it is that they were proposing to get through, in many respects there’s a thin policy platform, there’s some that they adopted from us, but in other respects, there’s a blank slate and so that actually mean a significant opportunity to work together to get things done,” he said.

Meanwhile, an emboldened Mr Albanese has outlined his own near-term wish-list, telling potential road-blockers to “get out of the way”

“I want a federal EPA that supports industry, but also supports sustainability and I think that can be achieved,” he said, when asked about his priorities. “I think that can be achieved and that’s my objective.

“We have other agendas, some of it held up on housing. We have an ambitious challenge to build housing. I note both the Coalition and the Greens’ housing spokespeople won’t be in the Parliament.

“I think part of the reason why they’re not in the Parliament is they held up public housing, they held up emergency housing for women and children escaping violence . . . I say this message to the Senate and members of the House of Representatives — we have a clear mandate to build more housing and the key is supply.

“You know, get out of the way and let the private sector build it. That is going to be one of my priorities.”