
BREAKING NEWS Greens leader dramatically QUITS party with blistering letter about 'scheming' colleagues: 'I certainly will not be silent'
The co-leader of the South Australian Greens has dramatically quit the party.
Tammy Franks announced she was leaving the Greens and shared a damning letter against her 'scheming' former colleagues on Tuesday afternoon.
Franks, who has been apart of the state Greens Party for 15, said her decision came with 'immense sadness'.
'I've made so many strong friendships and have comrades across the nation within the Greens family,' she wrote.
'I have also taken counsel from some of them about this decision and discovered in those conversations that sadly too many times this has happened before.
'I still believe in a Greens' vision for a better world and know there are many, many wonderful, committed, and well-intentioned people within the Party.
'But not all have such noble motivations, and they and their scheming are being too often enabled.'
Franks alluded to unfairness within the party and said she would no longer 'reward bad behaviour'.
'I leave the Greens today having hoped that those with thwarted ambitions, grudges and grievances would have focused on building up not tearing down,' she said.
'Especially once I moved aside for those with ambition and self-interest.
'Unfortunately, they have not relented. A small coterie colluded against me hoping to sabotage my work, to wear me down and dissuade me from continuing.
'They also acted as a clique to the detriment of not just me, but others working around them.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Guardian
10 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Tasmanians face a fourth election in seven years – but here are two alternatives to fix the political impasse
After a week of drama, the political future of Tasmania could look starkly different by the end of today. The state may be about to get its fourth election in seven years. But there are a couple of alternatives to consider. Let's walk through them. On Tuesday last week, the state opposition leader, Dean Winter, surprised many by moving a motion of no confidence in the Liberal premier, Jeremy Rockliff. The motion was tabled at the end of a budget supply speech. The motion was ostensibly about the budget, arguing Rockliff had wrecked the state's finances, planned to sell public assets and had mismanaged a crucial ferries project. The Greens supported Labor's motion, but unsuccessfully pushed for it to also touch on the government's response to gambling harm and the proposed AFL stadium. After days of debate, the motion succeeded by a razor-thin margin: 18-17. This appears the most likely outcome. After the vote on Thursday, Rockliff said he planned to visit the state's governor on Tuesday to request a statewide poll. But this won't happen until some important business is taken care of. State parliament will resume on Tuesday morning to pass routine supply bills that are essential to keep government departments running. If an election is called later in the day, then Rockliff would lead the Liberal party. The date of any potential election is not yet known. Potentially. The governor, Barbara Baker, is not obliged to accept Rockliff's request. She could adopt two alternatives. Baker could instead request the Liberal party room elect a different leader to avoid an election just 15 months after the last state poll. On Monday, some Liberal party figures were quoted in the Mercury calling for Rockliff to resign and be replaced by the former senator Eric Abetz. Guy Barnett and Michael Ferguson have also been touted as potential leaders. But so far, Rockliff has refused to resign and the party room has expressed its support for him. Baker could also ask the Labor opposition to test its numbers and seek support from a collection of minor parties and independents. Theoretically, this is possible. At the last election, Tasmanians elected 14 Liberals, 10 Labor, five Greens, three MPs from the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN) and three independents. Some call this a rainbow parliament, others call it chaos. But Winter has repeatedly ruled out a power-sharing arrangements with the Greens, despite the minor party being a willing participant. So this appears unlikely. The AFL's proposed stadium is a controversial issue in Tasmania but both the Liberals and Labor remain committed to its construction. One of the conditions set by the AFL for a new team in Tasmania was a roofed stadium, but the expensive project – set to cost about $1bn – faces opposition from some in Tasmania, who instead have called for the money to be spent elsewhere. If an election is called, the stadium would be central issue along with the state's finances and help shape the outcome of the next parliament. An election is likely to delay parliamentary approvals for the stadium for several months. These delays could cost the state government if approval is ultimately granted and the Tasmanian team is forced to play at Bellerive Oval, as it would need to pay fines to the AFL.


The Guardian
21 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Sydney cleric being sued for alleged antisemitism says case is an existential battle ‘between Islam and unbelievers'
A Sydney Islamic cleric being sued in the federal court for alleged racial discrimination of Jewish people has described his case as an existential battle 'between Islam and unbelievers'. Wissam Haddad, also known as Abu Ousayd, is being sued by Australia's peak Jewish body over a series of lectures he gave in November 2023, in which he is alleged to have maligned Jewish people as 'vile', 'treacherous' and cowardly. The lectures quoted ayat and hadith from the Qur'an about Jews in Medina in the 7th century and, the federal court claim alleges, made derogatory generalisations about Jewish people, including that they are 'wicked and scheming' and 'love wealth'. The claim, brought by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, alleges Haddad breached section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act – prohibiting offensive behaviour based on race or ethnic origin – during the sermons delivered at the Al Madina Dawah Centre (AMDC) in Bankstown in November 2023, speeches subsequently broadcast online. But, Haddad's defence case argues, his sermons were delivered in 'good faith' as religious and historical instruction. If his sermons are found to breach 18C, then, he argues, the law is unconstitutional because it restricts the free exercise of religion. On Tuesday morning, the long-running dispute, which failed to find resolution at conciliation, comes before Justice Angus Stewart in the federal court, in a case set to test the limits of religious expression and hate speech under Australian law. The court is likely to be asked to adjudicate whether Haddad's sermons, in which he quotes the Qur'an and offers interpretation of it, amount to incitement or are protected religious expression. Ahead of the trial, Haddad, argued on Instagram that the case was existential for the practice of Islam in Australia. 'What I am currently facing in the federal court is not an issue of Abu Ousayd or Al Madina Dawah Centre versus the Jewish lobby … rather, it's a battle between Islam and kuffar,' he said, using an Arabic word, usually translated as 'unbelievers'. He said the claim against him sought to criminalise Islamic scripture. 'They wish to take and make those ayat and hadith and historic accounts that speak about the Jews: to what they see as insulting, they seek to make it criminal.' Ayat are verses in the Qur'an, the Islamic holy book, while hadith are reports attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Two prominent members of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Peter Wertheim and Robert Goot, have sought an injunction from the court ordering the speeches still online be removed, and banning Haddad and his centre from publishing similar content online in the future. The ECAJ claim has also asked the court to order Haddad's centre to publish a 'corrective notice' on its social media pages. It has applied for the cost of its legal action to be covered, but it has not sought damages or compensation. In a statement, Wertheim said the ECAJ had attempted 'in good faith' to resolve the matter by conciliation through the Australian Human Rights Commission, but that attempts to broker a resolution failed. He said the ECAJ took the matter to court 'to defend the honour of our community, and as a warning to deter others seeking to mobilise racism in order to promote their political views'. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'We are all free to observe our faith and traditions within the bounds of Australian law, and that should mean we do not bring the hatreds, prejudices and bigotry of overseas conflicts and societies into Australia.' In his defence documents, Haddad argues his lectures 'were not reasonably likely to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate Jewish people in Australia' given their context and audience. He said his sermons were delivered in 'good faith' and 'for the genuine purpose of … delivering religious historical and educational lectures … to congregants of the AMDC'. He said he had given some of the addresses in response to requests from the Islamic community 'to provide sermons which address the Gaza War, and engaging in political commentary on the Gaza War from a religious perspective'. However, his defence states, if the court finds his sermons have breached section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, he argues the law is unconstitutional under section 116 of the constitution, which protects the 'free exercise of any religion'. Both Haddad and the ECAJ will rely on lay witnesses and expert testimony in the week-long court case. The ECAJ has enlisted professor of theology at Notre Dame University, Gabriel Reynolds; Haddad will call Sheikh Adel Ibrahim from the Greenacre Prayers Hall in Sydney to give evidence. Haddad has never been charged with any terrorism-related offences, but has previously boasted of his friendship with Australian Islamic State fighters Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar, and Briton Anjem Choudary, an extremist preacher jailed for life in the UK last year. A former Asio spy who infiltrated Haddad's organisation between 2016 and 2023 told the ABC's Four Corners program that young people in Haddad's prayer centre were being indoctrinated into supporting Islamic State. Section 18C is the most contested and controversial section of the Racial Discrimination Act. Several high-profile cases have seen it argued the section restricts freedom of speech and political communication in Australia.


Daily Mail
37 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Elon Musk slaps down salacious claims by his own AI Grok about Trump aide Stephen Miller's wife
Elon Musk has slapped down a salacious claim from his own AI fact checker involving Katie Miller, the wife of top Donald Trump aide Stephen Miller. Grok, Musk's AI chatbot integrated into X, responded to a screenshot of an X posting purported to be from Musk, which appeared to mock Stephen Miller by saying 'just like I took your wife.' The chatbot answered that the post 'likely existed and was deleted.' Musk disputed this, sounding exasperated as he responded: 'No, it's fake ffs [face palm emoji]. I never posted this.' Katie Miller, a prominent figure in Trump's first administration, was spokesperson for Musk's Department of Government Efficiency and she left that job to follow Musk to the private sector, taking a job with his companies. Meanwhile, Stephen Miller, who is the president's deputy chief of staff, was repeatedly defending Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' in posts on X at the same time Musk was criticizing it. Musk later unfollowed Miller but, as of Monday morning, is now following him again. The competing stances on Trump's signature legislation and the movement of Katie Musk away from the administration to the employment of Musk set the internet on fire with unfounded speculation about the Miller, Musk, Miller relationship. But Musk's post appears to be the first time he's directly responding to any of the gossip. Meanwhile, Katie Miller may face a tough choice between keeping her job with Musk or showing her loyalty to the president. 'It's unsustainable for her to remain on his payroll and remain a Trump ally,' an administration official told Daily Mail. Stephen Miller and Elon Musk were said to have a good relationship in the White House. But Musk left the administration in a burst of fury, publicly slamming Trump's budget plan to fund the federal government. Musk claimed it would add to the federal deficit and undo the work of his DOGE agency. White House officials said the Tesla founder was angry because he didn't get tax credits for electronic vehicles that he wanted. Stephen Miller, a longtime Trump loyalist who served in the first administration, has defended the legislation. But his rallying cry for Trump came as Katie Miller left the administration with Musk. Stephen Miller was said to be supportive of the Tesla founder's efforts to slash the size and scope of the federal government. And there were reports Katie Miller's main job at DOGE was to babysit the volatile and unpredictable Musk. But one official told DailyMail there was a 'conflict of interest' during her time in the administration as she was also being paid by Musk. For her work at DOGE, Katie Miller was designated a 'Special Government Employee,' which allows private sector figures to work for the federal government, but restricts them to 130 days per year. The designation also allows a person to collect a government salary and a private sector salary. The Millers have been married five years and have three small children. They met and married in Trump's first term. After Trump lost the 2020 election, Katie became a consultant. And her friends say she was just continuing that role when she opted to go with Musk instead of work for the second Trump administration. 'She's a mom of three,' one of them pointed out, noting her consultant job gave her a flexible work schedule. Others have different theories. 'Clearly a financial decision. She can make more in a month there than she can in a year here,' one official said of Miller's new employer. Both Stephen and Katie Miller are MAGA loyalists. In the first term, he worked for the president and she became Vice President Mike Pence's spokesperson. Their 2020 wedding at what was then Trump's Washington D.C. hotel was the MAGA social event of the year. President Trump attended. An Elvis impersonator serenaded them for their first dance.