At the party’s annual conference in Launceston over the weekend Mr Green gained support for a policy to ban Greens serving in a future Labor ministry. However, the motion failed to rule out future deals with the Greens as allies.

In the 1989 election campaign former Labor leader Michael Field ruled out any deals with the Greens, but then promptly entered into a formal and detail accord containing numerous conditions.

 He admitted after the deal that he had used clever language in the campaign. 

In 2010 former leader David Bartlett pledged Labor would support a minority government that  won the most votes at the election. 

He then went bicycle riding with Greens leader Nick McKim and subsequently invited the Greens into his minority government ministry.

After his 1992 election drubbing, because of the failed Labor-Green accord, Michael Field atoned for his sins by pledging to never again take minority government, and stuck to his word at the 1996 election.

Of course no one can predict future election results. 

Mr Green would not rule out  future deals with Greens MPs in the event of a hung Parliament. 

That’s fine but if he wanted to re-brand Labor as a party independent of all other parties he had to rule out any deals with any party.

He can’t have it both ways. In 1996 Mr Field said Labor would serve as a majority government or not at all, and stuck to his pledge after the election. 

He was personally fed up with having to deal with stubborn Greens MPs.

Bryan Green ought to be equally fed up. 

So far he has given no indication that his party has heeded the devastating message from voters on March 15.