Adam Bandt concedes battle for Melbourne, steps down as Greens party leader
Adam Bandt has officially conceded the seat of Melbourne, attributing his loss to an electorate redistribution and a One Nation and Liberal preferencing deal that urged voters to put Labor above the minor party,
While the seat was called in favour of Labor's Sarah Witty on Wednesday, the party continued to hold out hope with about 15,000 ballots still unaccounted for.
Mr Bandt, who is the second party leader to be ousted after Saturday's federal election, confirmed his defeat on Thursday.
'A short time ago I called the Labor candidate for Melbourne, Sarah Witty, to concede, congratulate her and wish her all the best as the next member for Melbourne,' he told reporters in Melbourne.
He attributed his loss to a redistribution, which pulled in more Labor voters, and said many voters 'shifted their votes to Labor to keep Dutton out'.
However, he said Liberal and One Nation preferences flowing to Labor was 'by far the biggest factor'.
'The Greens got the highest vote in Melbourne, but One Nation and Liberal preferences will get Labor over the line,' he said.
'To win in Melbourne we needed to overcome Liberal, Labor and One Nation combined, and it's an Everest we've climbed a few times now, but this time we fell just short.'
Mr Bandt also thanked his constituents and party room colleagues and commended the party for its action on same-sex marriage, climate legislation and getting dental into Medicare for children.
He also called on Labor to be bolder on environmental action and tackling inequality.
'The government now can't blame any independent senator for not making reforms – the only thing stopping getting dental into Medicare, stopping new coal and gas mines or rebalancing housing tax breaks is the government itself,' Mr Bandt said.
'If the government doesn't use its big majority to start actually cutting climate pollution and tackling Australia's massive inequality crisis, watch for a big swing at the next election and see those purple seats go Green.'
Mr Bandt was first elected in 2010, became deputy leader of the Greens two years later and had led the party since 2020.
In this campaign he has posed with giant toothbrushes and hosted DJ-ing events with influencer and former reality TV star Abbie Chatfield.
Following Mr Bandt's concession, the Greens' presence in the House of Representatives has been reduced to the single seat of Ryan held by Elizabeth Watson-Brown despite the party securing its biggest national vote in history.
Mr Bandt had previously set expectations sky high ahead of Saturday's poll, with claims the minor party could both retain their four seats and pick up another five – two in Melbourne, one in regional NSW, one in Western Australia and one in South Australia.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
On The Punt: Seymour best bets for Tuesday, June 10, 2025
News Corp form analyst Chris Vernuccio takes a look at Tuesday's Seymour meeting with his best bet in the last race.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Tasmanian premier set to call election today. What happens next?
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff is expected to go to the state's governor on Tuesday to seek a snap election, just 15 months after the last state election. Parliament will sit today to debate and pass a budget supply bill to ensure public servants can get paid during and after an election campaign. After that, Mr Rockliff intends to ask to dissolve parliament, with July 19 the earliest date an election can be held. It comes after the lower house passed Labor's no-confidence motion in Mr Rockliff on Thursday, citing the bungled rollout of new Spirit of Tasmania vessels, the state's poor budget position and previous suggestions to privatise state-owned companies. He did not speak to the media on Monday, instead taking part in an icy water slide fundraiser for a motor neurone disease charity. An election could have been avoided if the Liberals chose a new leader who would then need to get the confidence of the lower house, but cabinet minister Felix Ellis said Mr Rockliff has the support of the Liberal partyroom. "He is a man of experience, strength and compassion who has served our community for decades. "We back him in wholeheartedly." The two major parties continue to blame each other for the political impasse. Labor leader Dean Winter says the premier was to blame for losing the confidence of the lower house, while Mr Rockliff says Mr Winter is a "wrecker" . The Tasmanian Greens have called on Labor to attempt to form minority government with their support rather than go to an election, but Mr Winter has rejected this. Mr Winter said the party will not be making big spending promises if an election is called. "This will not be a spendathon from Labor," he said. "Our state cannot afford it. Labor has confirmed it will support the supply bill through parliament. It's likely to be the only parliamentary business of the day. There could be another lengthy debate however, as members can make speeches on the bill. The Legislative Council has also been recalled for the day to pass the supply bill, and members will have briefings while they wait for the supply bill to be approved by the lower house. The Tasmanian Industrial Commission last week determined that the state's politicians will get a 22 per cent pay rise on July 1, but both the Liberals and Labor say they will block this. A disallowance motion would be required to stop the pay rise. However, the government says this can occur when parliament returns after an election, with the pay increase on hold until then. Tasmania is the only state or territory that does not have its own political donation disclosure scheme, but one is set to start on July 1, potentially halfway through the election campaign. It would require all political donations above $1,000 to be publicly disclosed. The donations must be declared to the Electoral Commission within seven days, and then published seven days later, meaning donations won't start being published until one or two weeks into July. Independent upper house MLC Meg Webb called on the government to either bring the system forward to today, or ensure it starts on July 1. Mr Rockliff confirmed on Sunday that the disclosure system will start on July 1. The new laws also include public funding for campaigns, at $6 per vote once 4 per cent of the vote is achieved. Parties can apply for half of its anticipated funding up-front, based on its result at the previous state election. It's unclear whether this aspect of the bill will be in operation if an election is called. An election would also delay several pieces of legislation and the work of multiple parliamentary committees. The government intended to have its Macquarie Point stadium enabling legislation debated and passed in the lower house this month, and then the upper house in the first week of July. This will need to wait until after the election, and is subject to the new numbers in the lower house. Currently, both the Liberals and Labor have a combined 24 seats out of 35 to pass the stadium bill, but 10 out of 11 crossbenchers are opposed. The numbers in the Legislative Council will remain the same, with three independents required for the stadium bill to pass. A bill to allow for the rezoning of University of Tasmania land above Churchill Avenue in Sandy Bay will also be delayed, having already passed the lower house. A parliamentary committee examining the implementation of recommendations from the commission of inquiry into child sexual abuse in institutional settings will be paused. So, too, will a committee that is examining how the previous election was carried out. That committee will likely need to add a second election onto its workload.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Generation X wields Australia's political power. Will they use it for reform?
It is time to put to bed the war on baby boomers and acknowledge where power now increasingly exists. Generation X is overwhelmingly in charge of government and increasingly holding the wealth. We are on the cusp of the death of the "OK boomer" memes that flooded the internet and the rise of "oh no! it's the Xers". Gen X might need to stop hiding from scrutiny too. The millennial pile on our boomer elders has largely meant generation X is the most ignored generation with a quiet accumulation of power. It's also the most unacknowledged generation — a generation that has presided over the digital revolution and has had to overhaul how they work and how they raise families. Ask any gen Xer and they won't report a life of relaxation. They have been smashed by change even as they've quietly presided over it. A study of the Albanese government ranks shows that the vast majority of those in the cabinet and ministry are gen Xers. Only the PM and two others — Trade Minister Don Farrell and Assistant Minister for Social Services Ged Kearney — are baby boomers. While the recent reshuffle increased the numbers of millennials — the numbers show the government is overwhelmingly run by gen Xers. In fact all the key positions including the treasurer, the finance minister and the foreign minister are held by X-ers. A massive 31 members of the Albanese ministry are generation X with around eight millennials (that includes Clare O'Neil who really is a cusp generation member and a "xennial" in my estimation). Across the aisle in the Coalition, baby boomers are also on the decline. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley is a boomer, as is Kevin Hogan, Melissa Price and Anne Ruston. There are 26 gen Xers including Tim Wilson who is a xennial and six millennials in their frontbench ranks. Generation X in this column's definition includes those born between 1965 and 1980, a generation that didn't enjoy the largesse afforded to baby boomers but would have found it easier to enter the property market than younger generations. The truth is the young people have noticed. Generation Z is currently the generation on the rise in our workforce and flexing their political muscle as they did in the last election. If you listen to them they are shifting their focus away from boomers and looking increasingly at Xers. If boomers are the ones who enjoyed the easiest ride, it's now Xers who are keeping and protecting the status quo, only tinkering at the edges of big intergenerational wealth reform. Before you all throw things at me and spend the day trolling me on social media I want to declare myself an gen Xer. I was in denial about it for a while, trying to focus on being on the cusp of being a millennial — maybe more of a xennial but it's time to front up. Analysis of household asset distribution across four generational cohorts by KPMG has revealed gen X have overtaken baby boomers for property wealth as well as in shares. Terry Rawnsley, KPMG Urban Economist earlier this year revealed gen X holds the most significant amount in housing, with an average value of $1.31 million, closely followed by baby boomers at $1.30 million. In contrast, millennials and gen Z have lower average wealth stored in housing with $750,000 and $69,000 respectively. This disparity highlights the challenges younger generations face in entering the housing market, KPMG says. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is due to deliver a significant National Press Club speech today where he will outline his government's agenda. There is huge pressure on the PM to articulate a vision for reform — to turn around Australia's flatlining productivity and paint a picture of how the economy can be turbocharged to grow. As Labor's superannuation tax proposal continues to draw rebuke from the Coalition, the government will turn to the Greens in an effort to get the legislation through the Senate. If it can't get this reform through — you'd wonder how it could get any changes through that rein in tax concessions that favour the wealthy. Whatever criticisms you may have of the way the tax is designed — the fundamental concept of changing tax treatment to deal with the use of super to accumulate wealth has merit. Just ask any economist who has been making the case for change. The government is already grappling with expectations about what it will deliver in its second term. The cabinet is filled with generation Xers. Surely they can convince their boomer PM that reform is needed to ease intergenerational inequality and spare themselves from being yet another generation mocked for failing the young once again. Patricia Karvelas is presenter of ABC TV's Q+A, host of ABC News Afternoon Briefing at 4pm weekdays on ABC News Channel, co-host of the weekly Party Room podcast with Fran Kelly and host of politics and news podcast Politics Now.
