The internal woes engulfing the Victorian Greens have intensified, with a second former MP quitting the party in disgust.
Nina Springle, who lost her upper house seat at the November election, has launched a public attack on the party’s leadership for failing to tackle “deep-seated cultural issues”.
Nina Springle has quit the Greens in disgust.Credit: Wayne Hawkins
In a Facebook post on Monday, Ms Springle said she relinquished her party membership three weeks ago in response to frustration over the Greens’ direction.
“Reforms that have been talked about tinker around the edges and go nowhere near the root causes of these problems,” she wrote.
“I’d be the first to put my hand up to do what needs to be done to right this course, but there isn’t even acknowledgement that the problems exist to the extent they do, so there is no hope of solving them.”
"Nothing I have seen or heard has indicated to me that the leadership has a willingness to acknowledge the deep-seated cultural issues that must be addressed if the party is to thrive and grow."
She did not name any individuals or provide specifics about the criticisms she raised in her post.
Ms Springle claimed that the party had moved away from "authentic consensus decision making" which has resulted, she said, in a manipulation of power by the party's leaders, the erosion of equality and a failure to give any recognition to the "voices of anyone outside certain circles".
The former MP's public excoriation comes with a federal election expected next month where the Greens aim to pick up a second lower house seat in Melbourne’s inner south-east.
Ms Springle’s resignation follows her upper house colleague Samantha Dunn who also quit in controversial circumstances after losing her seat in November.
In happier times: (from left) Greens Sue Pennicuik, Samantha Dunn, Nina Springle, Samantha Ratnam and Ellen Sandell campaign in October 2018. Three of them lost their seats in November and two have since quit the party.Credit: Benjamin Preiss
Ms Springle said she had put her “heart and soul” into the party and its causes for almost a decade but “coming to the conclusion that you can no longer be part of that anymore is nothing short of heartbreaking.”
The Age has contacted the party’s leadership for comment.
In a statement the Greens said their members were right to feel disappointed with how Ms Springle and Ms Dunn had left.
“Being an MP representing the Greens is an honour and a privilege. It is a position of leadership and an opportunity to affect change,” the statement said.
“We are a grassroots party and thousands of Greens members and supporters are actively working to strengthen our party and promote our policies, because we know how important the Greens are as a political force in Victoria.”
The Greens suffered a crushing defeat in the upper house at the November election, losing four of five seats.
In the lower house the Greens won three seats, losing Northcote but picking up Brunswick for the first time.
The party has been beset by infighting and public resignations in recent months, with The Age revealing recently the Greens have also suffered a major decline in membership.
Last month Ms Dunn announced on Facebook she had quit the Greens over concerns about its leadership, saying it failed to confront “destructive and vicious behaviours”.
“Instead the Greens are distracted by populism, self interest, power, ego, narcissism, megalomania, appealing to narrowcast demographics and virtue signalling while exercising that old war strategy of divide and conquer,” she said.
The latest controversy comes after repeat federal candidate Alex Bhathal also quit the party earlier this year, citing bullying and internal brawling that undermined her campaign to win the seat of Batman.
The party’s ill-fated state election campaign was laid bare in a review by Melbourne Greens councillor Rohan Leppert who pointed out numerous failings in the lead-up to November.