Posted February 27, 2017 17:04:42

Hillarys MP Rob Johnson says his chances of re-election have been dealt a cruel, but not fatal, blow by the Greens' decision to preference Labor ahead of him.

The independent MP said he was deeply disappointed when he saw the Greens how-to-vote card, because he believed the party understood the strategic importance of preferencing him ahead of Labor.

In order to beat Liberal candidate Peter Katsambanis, Rob Johnson has to outpoll Labor's Teresa Ritchie and rely on her preferences to deliver him victory.

Mr Johnson believes the Greens have sacrificed him, in exchange for Liberal Party preferences in the Legislative Council.

The Liberals are preferencing the Greens ahead of Labor in all Upper House metropolitan seats a decision they also took in 2013.

"They [the Greens] could be responsible for re-electing a Barnett government," Mr Johnson said.

"They [the Liberals] desperately want to get rid of me ... I am Colin Barnett's worst nightmare."

Mr Johnson said most Liberal supporters knew nothing about the party's preference arrangement with the Greens in the Upper House.

"Most Liberal members and voters will be absolutely horrified to know that the Liberal Party are preferencing the Greens ahead of Labor," he said.

"Liberal voters are diametrically opposed to the Greens because of their [stance] on drugs and various other things, they would be appalled."

Mr Johnson quit the Liberal Party last year after a lengthy period of verbal warfare with the Premier, triggered by his dumping from Cabinet in 2012.

The Greens' state preference negotiator Luke Edmonds said he would not confirm if there was, or was not, a preference deal with the Liberals.

He told the ABC the Greens ordered their how to vote cards by listing progressive candidates ahead of conservative ones.

Mr Johnson said the Liberal Party had virtually given the Upper House away, as a result of its preference decisions involving One Nation and the Greens.

"They've made fools of themselves in relation to the preference deal they did with One Nation, they have given the Upper House away to the One Nation Party and the Greens," he said.

"It shows you how stupid some of these people are in the Liberal Party headquarters."

Yesterday, Premier Colin Barnett was scathing in his criticism of the Greens.

"The Greens are a radical, destructive group of people," he said.

"They are worse than Labor.

"Labor's pretty bad but they are worse."

Mr Barnett said he had no involvement in the Liberal Party's decision to preference the Greens ahead of Labor in Upper House metropolitan seats.

A Liberal Party spokesman said the party had no preference deal with the Greens.

Topics: elections, political-parties, hillarys-6025, wa

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WA election: Rob Johnson cries foul over Greens-Liberal preferences in Hillarys - ABC Online