Radical Green frontrunner to lead after Richard Di Natale quits

Adam Bandt, who once dubbed Scott Morrison ‘a climate ­criminal’, has emerged as the frontrunner to become the new Greens leader.

Senator Richard Di Natale has resigned as leader of the Greens and will leave federal Parliament within months. Picture: Gary Ramage

Adam Bandt, who once dubbed Scott Morrison “a climate ­criminal’’, has emerged as the frontrunner to become the new Greens leader after Richard Di Natale quit the post on Monday and announced he was leaving parliament.

Mr Bandt, who holds the inner-metropolitan seat of Melbourne and is the Greens’ only lower house member, has been a strident climate change campaigner who wants thermal coal phased out in 10 years and has linked support for coal to a lack of support for life.

Mr Bandt, a former barrister, was on Monday the only Greens parliamentarian to launch a bid to replace Senator Di Natale, while Queensland senator Larissa ­Waters put her hand up to be deputy leader. The Australian understands there were discussions under way for Senator Waters to take on a new role as Greens Senate leader.

Senator Di Natale endorsed Mr Bandt to take over the party after his 4½ years in the job, with a partyroom meeting to ­decide his successor on Tuesday.

Senator Di Natale said he had contemplated quitting politics since late last year. He attributed his resignation to a desire to spend more time with his young family, which he acknowledged was a cliche in politics.

This morning I took the incredibly difficult decision to step down as Parliamentary Leader of The Australian Greens....

Posted by Senator Richard Di Natale on Sunday, 2 February 2020

Major knee surgery at the end of last year and concerns about leaving his family for half a year at their home in the bushfire-prone Otways region of Victoria were also factors.

Mr Bandt has attacked his political opponents on issues such as climate policy, border protection and foreign policy. He linked Cyclone Debbie in March 2017 to a new coal-fired power plant being canvassed for north Queensland, saying the “blood of future generations” would be on Malcolm Turnbull’s hands if he proceeded with the project.

“Building a new coal-fired power station now is like knowing cigarettes cause cancer but ­starting your kids on a pack a day, or knowing asbestos kills but building your family home with it anyway,” Mr Bandt said.

In February 2018 Mr Bandt ­labelled Liberal senator Jim Molan a “coward” and suggested he would be prosecuted as a war criminal if there was an independent inquiry into his conduct in Iraq. Mr Bandt subsequently apologised for the statement.

In October 2018 he took aim at the Coalition’s record on border protection, accusing it of “slowly killing” children on Nauru — comments he was forced to withdraw.

Last November, Mr Bandt defended Greens colleague Jordon Steele-John after he likened the ­Coalition to “arsonists” during the start of the bushfire crisus over its ­climate change policy. Mr Bandt declared the “emotional” comments were acceptable because Senator Steele-John was “terrified” about the climate crisis.

It was unclear on Monday night whether Mr Bandt or Senator Waters, who have shared the deputy’s role for part of Senator Di Natale’s leadership, would face any challenges. Several senators including Sarah Hanson-Young refused to reveal their intentions.

Senator Di Natale called on Labor to work closer with the Greens, as they did through a formal alliance during the Gillard government. He insisted Australia would have to get used to power-sharing parliaments.

The outgoing Greens leader said in 2015 the party could double its primary vote to 20 per cent in a decade but has so far fallen short of that target. The Greens won 10.4 per cent of the primary vote at the election last May and the latest Newspoll put the party on 13 per cent.

“I feel very confident the Greens can get there and I think what you’re going to see over the next few years is a big increase in our support,” Senator Di Natale said. “It’s starting already. It’s one of the reasons I can leave the job feeling confident the Greens are on the rise.”

Senator Di Natale’s resignation will trigger a casual vacancy. The Victorian senator, who was first elected in 2010, is due to quit parliament by mid-year once a replacement Greens candidate is chosen. His six-year term was due to end in 2022. “The bottom line is it’s a tough and demanding job and my boys are nine and 11 and I want to be present in their lives,” he said. “My wife has been a huge support for me in my career and I want to be able to support her in her career.”