By Rachel Eddie and Annika Smethurst
Former co-deputy Greens leader Sam Hibbins – who quit the party after admitting he had an affair with a staff member – has announced his resignation from Victorian parliament.
The move will trigger a byelection in the seat of Prahran in Melbourne’s inner suburbs, opening up a three-way contest between the Greens, the Liberals and Labor.
Sam Hibbins has resigned as the member for Prahran, which will trigger a byelection.Credit: AAP
Hibbins quit the Greens three weeks ago over the affair. At the time, he said he remained committed to representing the electorate on the crossbench, but late on Saturday afternoon he announced he would resign as the member for Prahran.
“The last few weeks have made it clear to me that my family’s wellbeing and safety need to come above all else,” he said.
“It has been an extremely difficult time for us as the public disclosure of what was a private matter has taken a significant toll on our family’s mental health.”
Hibbins flipped the seat of Prahran from the Liberals in 2014 in a three-way contest that took the Victorian Electoral Commission more than a week to declare.
He won two elections on preferences despite coming in third on primary votes, before achieving an 8.1 per cent swing towards him in 2022 to cement a 12 per cent margin on a two-party preferred basis.
In his statement, Hibbins claimed there had been unauthorised access to his office in parliament in which personal items – including family photos – were vandalised with offensive graffiti.
“I have referred this matter to both parliamentary services and the police,” he said.
The alleged vandalism of his parliamentary office was referred to the Legislative Assembly’s Sergeant at Arms.
Hibbins, a father of two, said serving as an MP and councillor over the past 12 years had been a privilege.
“The people of Prahran can elect someone with the energy and focus to work and campaign wholeheartedly for them at such an important time for our local community and society,” he said.
“It has been an honour to be a champion for equality, sustainable transport, social and economic justice. To stand up for people most in need, including our public housing residents, will always be something I am deeply proud of doing.”
He said his resignation would take immediate effect, but Speaker Maree Edwards is yet to be formally notified.
Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell on Saturday said she was glad Hibbins was leaving parliament.
“As I have previously said, the member for Prahran’s actions do not meet the standard of behaviour we expect from our MPs, which is why we took strong action to remove him from our Greens party room,” Sandell said in a statement.
“I’m glad he has now also resigned from parliament.”
The Greens said the party did not believe any of its staff or MPs were involved in the alleged vandalism.
The Allan government promised in 2023 to introduce a new independent commissioner to investigate complaints made against MPs.
It followed recommendations from Operation Watts and by then-sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins, who investigated the working environment in federal parliamentary offices.
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