CANBERRA, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Greens have proposed a coalition with the center-left Australian Labor Party (ALP) to fight climate change.
Addressing the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, Greens leader Richard Di Natale appealed directly to ALP leader Bill Shorten for the two parties to work together on climate change.
According to the latest Newspoll released on Monday, the incumbent Liberal-National party coalition (LNP) trails the ALP 49-51 on a two-party preferred basis before the general election on May 18.
Shorten has pledged to reduce emissions by 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 if elected prime minister but Di Natale argued the target was not ambitious enough.
"People often ask me why politicians won't take action on climate change we so desperately need," he said, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
"The answer is that Australia's coal, oil and gas industry has bought our political system.
"We have no hope of cleaning up our environment until we clean up politics.
"That's why the Greens will make it our first order of business to cap political donations and get dirty money out of our politics.
Labor reached an agreement with the Greens in 2010 to form a minority government after neither the ALP or the LNP managed to win the minimum number of seats required to govern in their own right.
"Our history shows that we can work constructively with Labor," Di Natale said.
