Overview
- Senator Larissa Waters announced she quit the Greens leadership on Monday because her chronic kidney disease recently worsened and doctors advised a slower pace of life.
- Waters will take medical leave but will remain a Queensland senator and says her prognosis for recovery is positive and she intends to return to the Senate.
- The Greens will hold a two-day party retreat in Sydney this week where MPs will vote by secret ballot to pick a successor in what could be a quick contest or a negotiated consensus.
- Likely contenders named by reporters include deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi, Sarah Hanson-Young, Nick McKim and David Shoebridge, each representing different wings of the party.
- Waters leaves a legislative record that includes environmental law reform and backing a national gun buyback, and the new leader will need to maintain Senate leverage with Labor while rebuilding the party’s electoral momentum before 2028.