Greens candidate Malcolm McKelvie said this week neither Labor, Nationals nor the Liberal Party deserved his preferences.

``We decided neither of those major parties deserved to have our preference and in relation to that we wanted to send a clear message to the major parties that they needed to lift their game in the big areas of policy,'' Dr McKelvie said.

``There is barely a skerrick of policy daylight between the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Nationals on the big green issues in this campaign.

``The big policy issues we are talking about involve climate change and clean coal, forestry policy, genetically modified foods and social justice issues... so for that reason we are not directing our preferences.''

Dr McKelvie said the choice would not negatively affect the outcome of the Greens' campaign.

``What we have decided to do with our ballot cards is to introduce a split ticket which will provide people with guidance when making their formal vote,'' he said.

``So with our split ticket it basically has you voting number two on one side to go to Labor and the other to the Nationals.''

He said the option allowed constituents to vote for ``what they believe in first''.

Last week the Greens struck gold when they claimed top spot on the ballot paper following the Australian Electoral Commission draw.

At the draw Dr McKelvie hinted to The Express that Labor could miss out on Greens preferences because of the Rudd Government's support for the timber and coal industry.

Yesterday Dr McKelvie said climate change was a major issue in the Latrobe Valley but he was conscious of the jobs connected to the coal industry.

``The jobs in the Latrobe Valley (coal industry) are a big concern to us, but we think the solution is to move from the government's future interests in that industrial base and getting into the renewable technologies industry,'' Dr McKelvie said.