Tony Lupton is contesting the Prahran state by-election as an independent.
A former Victorian Labor MP contesting the Prahran by-election as an independent has told 6 News that the Greens are an "extremist party".
Prahran will head to the polls on February 8 after the resignation of Greens-turned-independent MP Sam Hibbins last year. Labor is not contesting the seat, while Rachel Westaway is running for the Liberals and the Greens have chosen Angelica Di Camillo as their candidate.
Tony Lupton, who is running as an independent, was Prahran's MP from 2002 until 2010 and has confirmed to 6 News that he has resigned his Labor Party membership.
Lupton says he has "traditional Labor values" and says he will be a "genuine choice for people who wouldn't have been given a choice otherwise".
He says the Greens are "really happy in creating disorder and chaos" and "have become an extremist party, they're really on about fringe issues," and that a lot of people supporting his campaign were "Greens people" until recently.
Greens MPs have been involved in pro-Palestine protests since 7 October 2023, but Lupton says "Victoria doesn't have a foreign policy".
"The Greens are more concerned about issues overseas, and one they seem to be concerned about a lot is the Middle East".
"These protests have gone on far too long and there needs to be an end to it. The Greens don't care about local issues, that's the problem".
Meanwhile, 2021 March4Justice organiser Janine Hendry is running as a community independent candidate, telling 6 News that she is "free to fight" without being a party member. Buzz Billman, a former Greens candidate, is also contesting the by-election as an independent.
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