logo
The Greens are about to choose a new leader. Here's how it works – and who could be Bandt's successor

The Greens are about to choose a new leader. Here's how it works – and who could be Bandt's successor

The Guardian14-05-2025

The Greens will choose a new leader after Adam Bandt unexpectedly lost the seat of Melbourne at the federal election.
The party's 11 senators and their sole remaining lower house MP – Elizabeth Watson-Brown, who held the Brisbane seat of Ryan – will decide on Thursday who should become the minor party's fifth federal leader, with whoever claims the top job expected to address the media in the afternoon.
Senators Sarah Hanson-Young, Larissa Waters and Mehreen Faruqi are seen as possible successors.
The Greens are not alone in turning over a new leadership leaf this week, with the Liberals electing a new leader in Sussan Ley, while Matt Canavan lost his tilt at the Nationals' top job.
Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email
But unlike their major party counterparts, those involved in choosing the new Greens leader are unusually tight-lipped – ignoring or politely declining calls and texts from the media.
If there is only one person vying for each of the top positions – leader, deputy and party whip – there must be consensus from the party room for that person to be chosen. If there is not consensus, another challenger would need to put themselves forward.
If there is more than one challenger for a role, a secret ballot is held, and the person with the most votes is selected.
Sarah Hanson-Young – the longest-serving Greens member in the federal parliament – is among the contenders.
The South Australian senator has leadership ambitions, a number of Greens insiders said, and is thought to be canvassing support for the role.
The party's environment spokesperson is seen as a pragmatist and able to work with the major parties – as noted by those watching her work with Labor's former environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, on the now-dumped environment protection agency model.
New South Wales senator Mehreen Faruqi is seen as another potential future leader, with a strong passion for social justice issues. The party's current deputy leader was outspoken on Gaza in the most recent term of parliament, and is supported by the more activist NSW branches.
Faruqi joined the upper house in 2018 after the former NSW Greens senator Lee Rhiannon stepped down upon losing the party's top Senate ticket spot. Faruqi was re-elected as senator at the 2019 federal election and again in 2025.
This week, the Greens' First Nations network and the Young Greens both endorsed motions supporting Faruqi as the party's federal leader, despite party members having no official say in the matter.
Larissa Waters is seen as the reluctant leader – a long-serving Queensland senator and Senate leader for the Greens who could work as a unifying figure in the same way as Bandt.
First elected in 2011, Waters briefly resigned in July 2017 during the parliamentary eligibility crisis due to discovering she held Canadian citizenship. She was re-elected in September 2018.
Party insiders say she could be a fresh face who can carefully tread both environmental and social justice pathways for the minor party in the lead-up to the next election.
Waters was reticent about her interest in serving as the party's head on Tuesday.
'We've got a process to go through and I won't be making any comments about that,' Waters said, according to the ABC.
'I'm afraid you will just have to wait until Thursday.'
Hanson-Young, Faruqi and Waters did not respond to requests for comment.
Acting leader and party whip Nick McKim, a Tasmanian senator since 2015, is understood to not be seeking the leadership.
The Greens have previously had co-deputy leaders, with Waters having served alongside Bandt, McKim and former senator Scott Ludlam at various times between 2015 and 2022.
Since June 2022, Faruqi served as the sole deputy leader to Bandt but a job-sharing arrangement could allow for another pathway forward to reach consensus.
Green parties in New Zealand, Canada and the UK have had co-leaders in recent years, though they have no official connection or affiliation with the Australian party.
While leadership contests are common in the major parties, it's a process this generation of the progressive party is not familiar with.
Since party forefather Bob Brown's retirement in June 2012, there have only been three federal leaders of the Greens – including Bandt.
Each time, there's been an informal succession plan in place. A leader makes a decision to retire when another rising star is ready to take the mantle.
That first star was Christine Milne, who took over from Brown in 2013 until her retirement in 2015, when Victorian senator Richard di Natale led the party.
Bandt was also elected as party leader unopposed in 2020 after Di Natale vacated his Senate seat, leading the party until his surprise defeat to Labor's Sarah Witty.
Di Natale, Brown and Milne would not be drawn on who should be the next leader.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

How another Labor immigration blunder has allowed a vile child sex offender to remain in Australia
How another Labor immigration blunder has allowed a vile child sex offender to remain in Australia

Daily Mail​

time2 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

How another Labor immigration blunder has allowed a vile child sex offender to remain in Australia

The Albanese government took too long to scrap the visa of a migrant who performed an indecent act in front of a child, so he can stay in Australia, a court has ruled. The Federal Court decision is the latest in a string of immigration policy blunders to weigh on the party since 2023 - causing ex-Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to be demoted - though it seems it didn't harm Labor's performance at the March election. Federal Court judge Christopher Horan found a decision to deport the man, known as XMBQ, was unlawful because there was an 'unreasonable' delay between the appeals tribunal deciding the man could stay and termination of his visa. The ruling, first reported by The Australian, could set a precedent requiring immigration ministers to make decisions within a particular timeframe. Giles - now replaced by Tony Burke - previously came under fire for being caught off guard by the High Court's ruling in November 2023 that indefinite immigration detention was illegal, resulting in the release of more than a hundred criminals. Later, he was criticised over his Ministerial guideline, known as Direction 99, that stated a migrant's family connections to Australia and how long they have lived here should be considered in potential deportation cases, despite a criminal's rap sheet. Giles moved to cancel dozens of visas after it emerged that violent offenders were using the measure to avoid deportation. In the latest case XMBQ, a Somali man, had convictions for kicking a police officer in the face and performing a sex act in front of a 29-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl on public transport. Lawyers for XMBQ challenged whether the former Immigration Minister's intervention in his case was legal. Giles cancelled the Somali man's visa on June 8, 2024 after the Administrative Appeals Tribunal decided he should be allowed to stay in April 2021. Justice Horan said the delay between the appeal and Giles's decision was far too long, ruling in the favour of XMBQ. 'If the minister is to exercise the power to set aside the original decision and cancel the visa, the minister must do so within a reasonable time,' the judgment said. 'Otherwise, the connection with the original decision as the object of the power will be lost, and it can no longer be said that the minister is addressing or responding to the state of affairs produced by or resulting from the original decision.' Immigration law specialist Simon Jeans said that although Giles had the power to cancel this visa it 'was a risk' and a 'decision [made] in haste' as he was under pressure to save his job. He suggested it would have been less risky for the Immigration Department to cancel XMBQ's visa rather than the minister intervening. XMBQ was born in Somalia in the 1960s before fleeing to Lebanon in 1993. He arrived in Australia as a refugee in 2004. XMBQ was placed on the sex offenders register for 15 years after pleading guilty to the public exposure charges in June 2017. In December 2017, his visa was cancelled by a delegate of the immigration minister but this was later overturned in the Federal Court. Lawyers for the man claimed Giles's decision to cancel his visa had been impacted by XMBQ being charged with two counts of rape, although he was not convicted. Justice Horan rejected this claim. The Albanese government and Mr Giles suffered a similar blow in January this year when a Bhutan-born man who attacked his wife with a meat cleaver was allowed to remain in Australia by the Federal Court. It ruled Mr Giles had made multiple 'jurisdictional errors' by overturning an appeals decision that the man could remain in Australia, because he did not consider the effect of deportation on his children and his stateless person status.

Tasmanians face a fourth election in seven years – but here are two alternatives to fix the political impasse
Tasmanians face a fourth election in seven years – but here are two alternatives to fix the political impasse

The Guardian

time2 hours 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.

Politics and ‘free media' can meet demands of moment, Albanese to say, after journalist shot with rubber bullet in US
Politics and ‘free media' can meet demands of moment, Albanese to say, after journalist shot with rubber bullet in US

The Guardian

time3 hours ago

  • The Guardian

Politics and ‘free media' can meet demands of moment, Albanese to say, after journalist shot with rubber bullet in US

Anthony Albanese says government and democratic institutions 'including a free media' can meet the demands of global uncertainty, despite both facing growing attacks around the world. A day after an Australian journalist was shot with a rubber bullet while covering street protests in Los Angeles, the prime minister will use an address to the National Press Club to argue distrust can be countered through economic stability and keeping election promises. 'It is the more corrosive proposition that politics and government and democratic institutions, including a free media, are incapable of meeting the demands of this moment. 'Some simply dismiss such sentiment. Others cynically seek to harvest it. Our responsibility is to disprove it.' Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Days ahead of a visit to the US and Canada for the G7 summit and possible face-to-face talks with Trump, Albanese will say Labor's success in improving Medicare, increasing educational attainment and managing the economy matters for trust in democracy. Emboldened by a stronger-than-expected win in the 3 May election, Albanese has spent the subsequent four weeks reshuffling his frontbench and touring disaster areas. As planning for his second term continues, he is expected to outline immediate priorities for the return of parliament on 22 July and speak about his approach to Trump's growing tariff regime. Albanese will say the government plans to offer a stronger and fairer country, with strength in manufacturing, renewable energy and 'urgent necessities', and reduce frustration through better provision of government services. 'To recognise that some of this frustration is drawn from people's real experience with government - be it failures of service delivery, or falling through the cracks of a particular system,' the preview of his speech reads. Albanese is expected to use Australia's critical minerals and rare earths as a bargaining chip with the US, offering preferred access in a bid to secure exemptions from steel and aluminium tariffs from Trump. The UK government has secured an exemption from 50% tariffs introduced by Trump, through a deal signed with the US last month. Albanese's speech highlights Australia has a 'comparative advantage' from space to to co-locate refining and processing, as well as specialist manufacturing and data centres. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Negotiations about a meeting between Albanese and the US president on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Alberta are continuing this week. So far, the pair have only spoken over the phone. The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, will address the Press Club on 25 June to outline a new style of Liberal party leadership that is more consultative, inclusive and collaborative. Peter Dutton shunned the traditional forum to speak to journalists in Canberra during his three-year tenure as opposition leader. Ley's speech is expected to reveal how the Coalition will rebuild from its election drubbing, with a focus on the values and priorities that will guide her leadership. 'Aspiration is the thread that connects every single part of Australian society and by focusing on that, the Liberal party can once again earn the trust of communities across the country,' Ley said in a statement.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store