Greens leadership showdown: Faruqi and McKim take on Hanson-Young as members demand a say

Greens senators Mehreen Faruqi and Nick McKim are preparing a joint ticket in a face-off against veteran senator Sarah Hanson-Young for the party’s top job, as former MP Max Chandler-Mather called for grassroots members to have a say in picking the next leader.

The one-term Queensland MP voted out in 2025 said the unexpected leadership vacancy caused by Larissa Waters’ resignation on Sunday was a crucial chance to engage voters at a crossroads moment for the Greens, which has failed to capitalise on declining support for the major parties.

Outgoing Greens leader Larissa Waters (centre) with colleagues Mehreen Faruqi (left) and Sarah Hanson-Young.Penny Stephens“The selection of a new leader comes at a time of genuine debate and disagreement about the future strategic and political direction of the party. That debate couldn’t have higher stakes,” Chandler-Mather, now executive director of the Greens Institute, wrote to his former colleagues on Tuesday.

He said the Greens received almost 2 million votes last election, yet the direction of the party’s leadership would be determined by just 11 elected representatives.

Hanson-Young, a veteran South Australian senator, was the first to put her name forward on Tuesday, with Faruqi and Tasmanian senator McKim later announcing a plan to run against her on a joint ticket. NSW senator David Shoebridge has yet to rule himself out.

“To meet the moment the Greens need to grow. We need to take the fight to Labor and a broken economic system that rips off young people,” Faruqi and deputy candidate McKim said.

“We think we are the right people to resist the rise of the far right, and to grow our movement alongside our colleagues, members and supporters.”

The party’s 10 senators and one MP will travel to Sydney for a two-day retreat to pick their third leader in less than two years. The vote will take place on Wednesday or Thursday.

The Greens entered a period of soul-searching after last year’s election, when both Chandler-Mather and then-leader Adam Bandt lost their seats in the House. Despite both Labor and the Coalition losing ground in opinion polls since then, the Greens have failed to make inroads while One Nation ascends.

Waters came into the role promising a consultative and constructive approach, and the Greens have helped Labor pass key legislation, including its budget tax package.

Former Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather.Alex EllinghausenHowever, others in the party have wanted the party to take a more aggressive approach.

Chandler-Mather took the reins of the party’s think-tank, the Greens Institute, earlier this year. In his letter to the parliamentary party, he said opening the ballot to all members “would be a big decision, but this political moment calls for bold and decisive action”.

He said people often asked how the Greens could recreate the success of New York City’s socialist Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani and UK Greens leader Zack Polanski.

“The recipe for their success doesn’t just lie in their policies, rhetoric or even organising strategy. It lies in the process by which they won their elections. In both instances they were elected by direct member elections,” Chandler-Mather wrote.

“The UK Greens and New Zealand Greens both elect their leader via a direct all member vote... The UK Greens almost quadrupled their membership from 68,000 to 230,000 in part as a result of that election process. This surge of members provides a foundation and democratic legitimacy that helps drive serious electoral success.”

Greens sources close to the leadership deliberations anticipate the contenders will seek a consensus position before this week’s meeting, as some want an uncontested ballot.

Waters, who was elected unopposed in 2025, is expected to address a press conference alongside the newly elected leader.

Hanson-Young said in a statement that she was asking her colleagues for support.

“We are at a defining moment. Australians are doing it tough and are looking for hope and courage. People deserve better than the failed policies and weak excuses from the Labor and Liberal parties and the hate peddling from Pauline Hanson’s One Nation,” she said.

“Our communities and environment are being hammered by a rigged system and they want politicians that will fight for them. I will fight with everything I’ve got.”

The party’s longest-serving senator, Hanson-Young has become the main negotiator for the passage of legislation, and is currently pushing for Labor to toughen its digital duty-of-care laws. Some in the party consider the senator, who has served the federal Greens for 18 years, too moderate.

Shoebridge did not rule himself out of the leadership while addressing a pre-planned press conference in Wollongong on Tuesday, saying the decision of who becomes leader will be a matter for the party room.

“This isn’t a moment to rule anything in or out, but what I would say is Larissa has done an extraordinary job,” he said.

The offices of all sitting Greens MPs have been contacted for comment.

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