A preselection battle for the safest Greens seat in Victoria is being seen internally as a fight over the future direction of the party as members prepare for it to exacerbate factional rifts.
Many members view preselection for the seat about to be vacated by former leader Samantha Ratnam as a fight between longer-serving branch members motivated by social justice and environmental concerns, and younger, more activist members united by LGBTQ and trans-rights policies.
Almost five months after announcing she would quit as Victorian leader, Ratnam is poised to leave state parliament in the coming weeks. Voting will begin on Wednesday to determine her replacement, with eligible party members given one week to cast their ballots.
Greens MPs arrive at Parliament House in April to elect a new leader after Samantha Ratnam stood down.Credit: JOE ARMAO
The Greens have recently grappled with a broader debate over whether party members can raise concerns about trans rights if they conflict with the rights of biological females, which trans groups argue is discriminatory and harmful. The conflict has led to Greens councillors and members quitting the party, as the executive expanded its definition of transphobia.
Eight candidates have nominated for the Northern Metropolitan Region upper house seat, which takes in lower house seats already held by the Greens such as Richmond and Brunswick as well as seats they came close to winning at the last state poll.
City of Yarra Mayor Edward Crossland.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
City of Yarra Mayor Edward Crossland and former mayor of Merri-bek Angelica Panopoulos are two of the more high-profile candidates in the week-long preselection, which also includes former local government candidates Apsara Sabaratnam and Metin Golbasi, and party co-convenor Dash Nehring.
Other candidates include former Melbourne City Council candidate Emily Corcoran, Pacific Health campaigner Anasina Gray-Barberio and Tara Burnett.
The Age spoke to six Greens members, from both ends of the political spectrum, on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss internal party matters.
All members agreed that the party’s new guard would overwhelmingly support either Sabaratnam – who also has a factional power base in the Multicultural Greens – or Nehring, who sat on the Greens’ internal disciplinary body that recently oversaw a purge of party members over allegations of transphobia.
The misconduct body was thrown into the spotlight last year when it was asked to investigate dozens of complaints relating to alleged misconduct over trans issues.
With the preselection under way, MPs and candidates are unable to publicly comment on the process or candidates and have not publicly endorsed or supported any specific candidate as per the party rules.
But several members and MPs, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss internal party matters, told The Age that Gray-Barberio had strong support from the party’s parliamentary wing, with Panopoulos also considered a rising star.
The preselection split is emblematic of a broader fight for control of the state branch, with the older guard accusing younger and more radical members of crushing internal debate and alienating older branch members. At least two members with voting rights told The Age they would tear up their membership if a member of the so-called new guard won the nomination.
A spokesperson for the Victorian parliamentary team told The Age the party remained a “grassroots democracy and people-powered movement” with members deciding who would represent them.
“People across Northern Metropolitan care about the housing, cost-of-living and climate crises, and we’re lucky to have a lot of great candidates put up their hands to represent the Greens in this area and fight for these issues,” the spokesperson said.
Ratnam’s imminent resignation paves the way for the former party leader to ramp up her campaign for the federal seat of Wills, which is held by Labor’s Peter Khalil. His 8.6 per cent winning margin was slashed to about 2 per cent in a draft redistribution.
Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter here.