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2026-10-06 00:02 UTC → 2026-10-08 05:35 UTC ·
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David Shoebridge has been elected as the new leader of the Australian Greens following Following the resignation of Larissa Waters, who stepped down due to health issues related to chronic kidney disease. Steph Hodgins-May was elected as the new deputy leader, securing David Shoebridge has assumed leadership of the position Australian Greens, with a six to five vote after defeating Tasmanian senator Vanessa Bleyer. Party insiders described Steph Hodgins-May serving as a “unifying figure” following a competitive contest in which former deputy Mehreen Faruqi expressed disappointment. In his initial capacity, Shoebridge has focused on the legacy of his mentor, John Kaye, and criticized the Labor Party regarding cost-of-living pressures. The new leadership team aims to increase the party’s voter share, which has remained at approximately 12 per cent since the 2025 federal election, while prioritizing climate action and economic security. He has also emphasized tax system reform, specifically targeting corporate wealth and companies that pay no corporate tax. Since his election, leader. Shoebridge has expanded his platform introduced ambitious policy shifts, including calls to include significant shifts in foreign and defense policy, such as calling for a major overhaul of the US-Australia alliance and the removal of alliance, remove United States forces from facilities like the Pine Gap surveillance base. He has also proposed scrapping Gap, scrap the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pact. Domestically, he has advocated for the nationalization of pact, and nationalize major grocery retailers Coles and Woolworths and the establishment of a statutory authority to regulate grocery prices. Woolworths. The leadership transition has faced been marked by internal friction. Mehreen Faruqi has criticized the election process and stated she intends her intention to pursue “radical action outside the constraints of the leadership team”. Shoebridge has attempted to mitigate these tensions by characterizing all members of the federal Greens party room as frontbenchers. In response to criticisms regarding the leadership selection process, Shoebridge has pledged to allow party members to participate in the selection of future leaders, moving away from the current system where only sitting federal MPs vote. This move has coincided with a significant surge in membership; the party recorded 884 new members in the week following his appointment. Victorian party leader Ellen Sandell described a portion of this growth as the state branch’s “biggest surge in new members on record”. The party is now utilizing social media to promote policies such as implementing a gas export tax while preparing to target eight lower house seats in the upcoming Victorian state election on November 28. Despite this growth, the Greens' total membership remains significantly lower than that of One Nation, which reportedly reached between 60,000 and 70,000 members.