Labor believes it is within reach of winning back the seat of Melbourne from Greens MP Ellen Sandell in Saturday's election and is pushing more resources into the local campaign.

The news comes as the Greens defended themselves on Tuesday against Labor’s attacks on the minor party’s culture and treatment of women, with Greens leader Samantha Ratnam invoking the #MeToo movement to defend her organisation.

ALP planners say their research shows the contest in Melbourne, won by Ms Sandell in 2014 after being held by Labor for more than a century, is close enough to justify extra spending with a realistic chance of winning back the seat, held by a margin of 2.4 per cent

Melbourne MP Ellen Sandell, centre, with Northcote MP Lidia Thorpe and Federal Greens leader Richard Di Natale. Credit:Eddie Jim

If accurate, the Labor research shows a huge improvement in Labor's performance from 2014 when it was trounced on primary votes by Ms Sandell and relied on preference flows from the Liberals, who will not direct preferences in the current election, to get into a competitive position.