By Pip Hinman SYDNEY -- As the horse trading for preferences in the March 2 election starts up, conservationists have called for green and progressive parties and independents to swap preferences to ensure that neither of the major parties gains an outright majority in the Senate. In a letter sent to the Greens, Democrats, No Aircraft Noise and the Better Future for our Children Party on February 8, the conservationists said "the environment will benefit most if the Senate is controlled by neither major party, and instead a progressive `third force' of Greens and/or Democrats and/or environmentally progressive parties holds the balance of power". According to Craig Darlington, director of the Conservation Council of the South East Region and Canberra (CCSERAC), the Greens and the Democrats have "an excellent record of cooperation" in NSW and "it would be a tragedy if the competition for votes that seems to be driving some parties on a national level, spilt over to affect the NSW Senate race". The letter was signed by Jeff Angel from the Total Environment Centre, Geoff Lambert from the Wilderness Society, Robert Bertram from South East Forests Conservation Council, Dr Judy Messer from the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, Craig Darlington from CCSERAC, Penelope Figgis from the Australian Conservation Foundation and Vincent Serventy and Noel Plumb from the South East Forests Association.
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