Greens elect Larissa Waters new leader after May 3 election disaster

The newly elected Greens leader is calling on Labor “to be bold”, warning Anthony Albanese the minor party holds the balance of power in the Senate.

Larissa Waters has called on Labor “to be bold” in her first public remarks since being elected Greens leader.

The Greens’ 11 senators and lone MP on Thursday picked the Queensland senator to succeed Adam Bandt as party leader after his shock unseating at the May 3 federal election.

They spent nearly two hours deliberating.

Speaking after the vote, Senator Waters vowed to lead a “strong Greens team in parliament”.

“The issues that people are facing are getting harder and are getting worse,” she told reporters.

“We need strong action on the climate, on nature, on the housing crisis, on the cost of living crisis, and we need our parliament to work to actually meet the needs of the people that it’s been elected to represent.”

Queensland senator Larissa Waters (centre) gives her first press conference after being picked to lead the Greens. Picture: NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

Going into the election, the Greens outlined what their demands on Labor would be if Anthony Albanese failed to secure a majority and needed to negotiate to get his numbers up.

The demands included blocking any new coal or gas projects, expanding Medicare to cover dental health, reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax, ending logging in native forests, and introducing free universal early childhood education.

The Greens did not fare well in the election, losing three of their four lower house seats, including Mr Bandt’s.

The party has denied its support for and participation in pro-Palestine protests had anything to do with the results, despite it coming under fire for repeatedly accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.

Senator Waters said the Greens would “stand firm always on social justice and human rights”.

“Whether that’s First Nations justice, whether that’s a free Palestine, whether that’s peace and human rights,” she said.

Newly elected Greens leader Larissa Waters said the party would continue to stand up for human rights, despite criticism over its Palestine stance. Picture: NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

“Globally, we will always be there, calling out atrocities, calling out a genocide, and standing strongly on social justice and human rights.”

While the lower house ballots did not favour the Greens, they did retain 11 upper house seats and hold balance of power in the Senate – a dynamic Senator Waters made clear she was aware of.

“The Labor Party have a choice,” she said.

“They can work with us and help people and protect nature, or they can choose to work with the Coalition.

“They’re going to need to pick because they don’t have the numbers in the Senate to pass the legislation that they want to work on.

“So we want the Labor Party to be bold and we want to help them to fix the problems that people are facing.

“We will be firm but constructive because this isn’t about politicians.”

NSW senator Mehreen Faruqi has been re-elected deputy Greens leader. Picture: NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

The Queensland senator emerged as an unexpected candidate, with the leadership contest broadly seen as being between Mehreen Faruqi and Sarah Hanson-Young.

Senator Faruqi was voted to stay on as deputy leader, while Senator Hanson-Young was voted manager of business.

Senator Hanson-Young congratulated Senator Waters on her win.

“I congratulate Larissa Waters on being elected as Greens Leader,” she said in a statement.

“I am looking forward to working with her and all my colleagues in the party room. There is a lot to do and we are up to the challenge.”

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young was a frontrunner in the Greens leadership race. Picture: NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

Senator Waters was elected in 2010 and served as co-deputy leader 2015 to 2022.

In her remarks on Thursday afternoon, she also paid tribute to the man she was replacing.

“Now we’re here in Melbourne, and I want to send all of my love, as does our whole team to our former leader, Adam Bandt,” Senator Waters said.

“We miss him desperately, and he was a wonderful leader for this party, and all of our love goes to him and his family.

“We hope to welcome him back. I can’t strong arm him just yet, but I intend to, and we intend, as a party, to continue to grow.”

Senator Waters is the Greens’ second-longest serving party room member behind Senator Hanson-Young.

She was also the first Australian politician to breastfeed in parliament in 2017, making international headlines.

Before entering politics the Canadian-born Senator Waters was an environmental lawyer.

Originally published as Greens elect Larissa Waters new leader after May 3 election disaster