Drew Hutton, the co-founder of the Queensland Greens and the national Australian Greens, has died at the age of 74. Hutton, who was a key figure in the party's early days in the 1990s, passed away after a long illness.
Hutton was a former high school teacher who became involved in green politics in the 1980s. He was a perennial candidate for the party, running for Brisbane lord mayor, a state seat, and as an aspiring federal senator. In 2011, he founded the Lock the Gate Alliance, an environmental organisation opposing the expansion of the coal seam gas industry in Queensland and New South Wales.
His death comes amid a legal dispute with the Queensland Greens over his expulsion from the party in June, following comments on “transgender ideology”. The party had revoked his life membership, but legal advice suggested he had been denied natural justice. A vote on his reinstatement was scheduled for next week.
Hutton had described any potential reinstatement as a “hollow” victory and had been pursuing a court case for his return, demanding an apology and legal costs. The Queensland Greens maintained that “trans rights are non-negotiable”.
