Latest news with #MaxChandler-Mather
Sky News AU
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Unseated Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather rips into Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after scathing ‘attack'
Max Chandler-Mather has hit back at Anthony Albanese in an ongoing war of words, after the Prime Minister hit out at the unseated Greens MP's 'offensive' behaviour in parliament. Unseated Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather has hit back at Anthony Albanese after the Prime Minister's scathing remarks about his behaviour in parliament. Mr Chandler-Mather lost his inner-city Brisbane seat of Griffith to Labor's Renee Coffey at the federal election on Saturday, with Sky News also calling Greens leader Adam Bandt's loss in his seat of Melbourne. In a sit-down interview with ABC's 7:30 on Wednesday, Mr Albanese commented on remarks made by Mr Chandler-Mather, who had deemed Parliament a 'sick' and 'miserable' place, declaring he was happy to not be working there anymore. — Max Chandler-Mather (@MChandlerMather) May 7, 2025 The Prime Minister said the outgoing Greens MP needed a 'mirror and a reflection on why he's no longer in parliament', stating the remarks were 'a bit rich of him' after being ousted by his electorate after just one term. Following the Prime Minister's 'attack', Mr Chandler-Mather hit back on social media, arguing the Prime Minister's words were a reflection of a larger issue. 'I feel like the PM launching into another attack on someone who isn't even in parliament, rather than celebrating a historic win proves my point,' he posted to X. 'Which is this is how the political class treats ppl who fight for renters & real change.' He then urged his supporters to 'compare this to (Mr Albanese's) kind words for (Peter) Dutton'. In his original comments to Triple J's Hack after conceding, Mr Chandler-Mather had claimed the minor party was prone to getting 'attacked' because of proposed reforms for public housing and renters. "There were times when I was sitting in parliament and you'd watch both sides of politics team up to defend the stage three tax cuts,' he said. "Then we were getting attacked because we said we should spend a bit more on public housing and give something for renters.' Mr Albanese told ABC host Sarah Ferguson Mr Chandler-Mather should examine the way he conducted himself in Question Time, after directing questions at him that the Prime Minister had 'found pretty offensive'. The Prime Minister also hit out at Greens leader Adam Bandt, claiming his former seat of Melbourne was "very much under a cloud", and stated it was "very difficult to see a pathway in which he will resume his seat in Parliament". While the Greens are on track to lose three of their four seats in this election, including the electorate of Brisbane - which was also picked up by Labor - Sky News projected on Thursday morning the minor party would keep the seat of Ryan. Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi declared that despite projections, the party was still hopeful of Mr Bandt retaining the seat of Melbourne. "As many as 15,000 absentee and declaration votes that have yet to be sorted and counted," she told ABC's Radio National on Thursday morning. "And often those votes have a swing towards the Greens, so we are waiting for all those votes to be counted, to declare the result."
Sydney Morning Herald
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Bandt clings to Melbourne seat as members internally clash on party direction
The Greens are blaming the loss of at least two lower house seats on inconsistent and confusing messaging during the campaign, and members are debating whether the party should double down on its emphasis on the war in Gaza. The party's leader, Adam Bandt, looks set to maintain his position despite a 5.4 per cent swing to Labor in his seat, as the party reckons with the 'devastating' losses of firebrand Griffith MP Max Chandler-Mather and his Brisbane colleague Stephen Bates. The Greens still hope to retain the Queensland seat of Ryan, held by Elizabeth Watson-Brown who is in a complex three-horse race with the Liberals and Labor. Melbourne's progressive inner-north seat of Wills, where former state Greens leader Samantha Ratnam is attempting to unseat Labor's Peter Khalil, is still too close to call, disappointing party strategists who hoped an advantageous redistribution would hand them a seat they have been trying to win for over a decade. One source told this masthead that the possibility of winning at least three to five extra Senate seats was proof the minor party just needs to better define itself and advocate more on climate, Israel-Palestine and housing. 'There was inconsistent and confused messaging from within the party and it stemmed from a disagreement between those who wanted a more moderate approach and those who wanted to be bolder,' they said. 'We need to be bolder, we need to be seen as an alternative.' However, another source argued the opposite. '[We got] sucked into the culture wars, and when you do that, you don't win – you have to help people at the local level. You saw it in Brisbane and Griffiths in 2022,' they said.
The Age
04-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Bandt clings to Melbourne seat as members internally clash on party direction
The Greens are blaming the loss of at least two lower house seats on inconsistent and confusing messaging during the campaign, and members are debating whether the party should double down on its emphasis on the war in Gaza. The party's leader, Adam Bandt, looks set to maintain his position despite a 5.4 per cent swing to Labor in his seat, as the party reckons with the 'devastating' losses of firebrand Griffith MP Max Chandler-Mather and his Brisbane colleague Stephen Bates. The Greens still hope to retain the Queensland seat of Ryan, held by Elizabeth Watson-Brown who is in a complex three-horse race with the Liberals and Labor. Melbourne's progressive inner-north seat of Wills, where former state Greens leader Samantha Ratnam is attempting to unseat Labor's Peter Khalil, is still too close to call, disappointing party strategists who hoped an advantageous redistribution would hand them a seat they have been trying to win for over a decade. One source told this masthead that the possibility of winning at least three to five extra Senate seats was proof the minor party just needs to better define itself and advocate more on climate, Israel-Palestine and housing. 'There was inconsistent and confused messaging from within the party and it stemmed from a disagreement between those who wanted a more moderate approach and those who wanted to be bolder,' they said. 'We need to be bolder, we need to be seen as an alternative.' However, another source argued the opposite. '[We got] sucked into the culture wars, and when you do that, you don't win – you have to help people at the local level. You saw it in Brisbane and Griffiths in 2022,' they said.
News.com.au
03-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Greens firebrand ousted as leader Adam Bandt faces fight to hold on
Facing a complete wipeout of his party, Greens leader Adam Bandt took to social media just before midnight on Saturday to declare he would retain his seat. That's despite early results indicating the seat of Melbourne, which he has held since 2010, being a very tight race and yet to be called. The Greens are licking their wounds this morning after a reversal of the minor party's 2022 election result, thanks in large part to a massive collapse of the Liberal vote bleeding seats to Labor. Four years ago, the Greens bloc grew when three Queensland seats fell their way. They won Brisbane and Griffith and cemented the southeast corner of the state as heartland for the left-wing party. But their rising star, Max Chandler-Mather, was ousted in Griffith and Stephen Bates lost in Brisbane to Labor's Madonna Jarrett too after major swings against the Greens there. Elizabeth Watson-Brown, the party's other Queensland MP for the seat of Ryan, also looks like losing her seat in a devastating blow to hopes of a repeat of 2022. But it is Chandler-Mather who the party will miss most. He had been hugely popular and established a profile for himself as a future party leader by campaigning hard on housing policy. His notoriety grew around the country on the back of passionate speeches to parliament and fiery clashes with Labor. But things started to come undone for him after an appearance at a CFMEU rally in Brisbane in August. Among the crowd were placards that portrayed the prime minister Anthony Albanese as Adolf Hitler next to the word 'Albanazi'. Labor pounced on the move, with Deputy PM Richard Marles declaring: 'The Greens throw their lot in with thuggery' and Tanya Plibersek and Bill Shorten among those to pile on. The CFMEU would later be linked to widespread corruption and criminality. Chandler-Mather was also outspoken about the war on Gaza and his strong pro-Palestinian stance did not land with the electorate. The brutal defeat in Queensland saw him front supporters on Saturday night. 'It is going to take time, it is going to be tough,' he said, before turning his focus back to the party. 'There is a reason that so much of the political establishment is happy about this result for us tonight — not because they think we're beat, because they know what we're capable of,' he said. In a post to social media on Saturday night, Bandt claimed Chandler-Mather would be back. 'There's never been a first term MP who has had the impact Max Chandler-Mather has had,' he wrote. 'He put the rental crisis firmly in the spotlight. He secured billions of dollars for social housing. He fed his local community with his own money. This is not the last we've seen of him.' He lamented the loss of Bates, too, in Brisbane. 'Stephen Bates has been an incredible voice for Brisbane. He went from a retail worker into the halls of Parliament, to holding big corporations accountable for three years. He has great things to come.' Bandt, who is in a battle with Labor candidate Sarah Witty for the prized seat of Melbourne, claimed victory despite the race being too close to call. With 60 per cent of votes counted as of Sunday morning, Bandt leads by a slim margin. Ex-AFL star Anthony Koutoufides threw his hat in the ring but the Independent candidate received just 3 per cent of early votes. 'The collapse in the Liberal vote means that Labor will win the seats of Griffith with Liberal preferences, and Brisbane too,' Bandt wrote. But there was something to celebrate for the Greens, too. 'Together we have kicked Dutton out,' he wrote. The Greens' Samantha Ratnam is in a tight race for the Victorian seat of Wills, holding the slimmest of margins from Labor's Peter Khalil.
Sky News AU
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Greens facing devastating outcome in 2025 Federal Election as party leader Adam Bandt's seat under threat from Labor
The Greens have lost two seats and gained another as its leader's future in parliament is under threat from a massive Labor victory in the 2025 Federal Election. Two of the three seats that the minor party won in the 2022 election were lost on Saturday with housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather being ousted from the seat of Griffith and LGBTIQA+ spokesperson Stephen Bates losing in Brisbane. Both seats were lost to Labor candidates as Griffith's Renee Coffey led the almost 17 per cent swing in the electorate and Brisbane's Madonna Jarrett secured a five per cent swing on the two-party preferred vote. The Greens are looking to gain a seat back in the Victorian electorate of Wills where debate over the Israel-Gaza war has dominated the minds of many voters. Peter Khalil, who may be the outgoing Labor MP pending the outcome of the hotly contested race, faced an aggressive campaign by pro-Palestinian activists enraged by the Albanese government's stance on the conflict in the Middle East. He may lose to Greens candidate Samantha Ratnam, a former Victorian Greens leader, who said it was the Albanese government's response to Gaza which put her in the race. 'Voters feel very betrayed, and we're getting lots of people at booths saying 'I'm voting Greens for the first time because of Gaza',' Ms Ratnam told the Australian Financial Review. Greens leader Adam Bandt's future in the lower house may also be in doubt with a heated battle against Labor candidate Sarah Witty that remains too close to call. The pair are neck-and-neck for the seat Mr Bandt has held since 2010. It follows a redistribution of the Melbourne electorate slightly south, taking in some suburbs south of the Yarra River. This also put some Greens voters into the Wills electorate, creating a tighter battle for the Labor stronghold. Ryan member Elizabeth Watson-Brown is the singular Greens candidate to secure their seat on Saturday with a 57-43 lead against the Queensland Liberal National Party. The turmoil for the Greens comes in an election where Labor has expanded the majority it secured in the 2022 election. The wipe out for the Coalition included Opposition Leader Peter Dutton losing his own seat to Labor's Ali France.
