Sarah Hanson-Young has publicly addressed significant divisions within the Greens party room, expressing support for newly elected leader David Shoebridge and describing politics as "brutal".
The South Australian senator contested Wednesday's leadership ballot, finishing behind Shoebridge and outgoing deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi. Former leader Larissa Waters resigned on Monday due to serious health concerns. Hanson-Young was eliminated after the first ballot with only two votes.
Hanson-Young's message
"God, politics can be brutal," she said in a video posted to social media after a bush walk with her husband on Thursday. "Friendships made and lost, but it takes all types. We all care so deeply about the future of this country and the future of the planet."
Hanson-Young said it would take a huge effort to defeat One Nation and its leader, Pauline Hanson, and warned "the radical right" would wreck the country if it wins power. "Australians deserve a optimistic, caring, and defiant progressive force, and I won't be backing down," she said. "I'm sorry we couldn't pull it off this time, but buckle up, because we've got a lot of work to do."
Faruqi's criticism and strained relations
Her comments came a day after Faruqi criticised her colleagues for electing Shoebridge and demanded that the party's rank-and-file members be given a say in future leadership elections. Greens sources say the working relationship between Shoebridge and Faruqi is seriously strained.
The New South Wales senator said she planned to pursue bold politics and radical action to fight "against genocide, wars, surging fascism" and climate change, working from outside "the constraints of the leadership team".
Shoebridge's response
In an interview with Guardian Australia's Australian Politics podcast on Thursday, Shoebridge said he and the newly elected deputy, Victorian senator Steph Hodgins-May, had received a strong endorsement from their colleagues. He said he could work with Faruqi, praising her for effective community engagement.
"I have huge respect for Mehreen and the work that she does. And, acknowledging as well, the attacks that she gets and the way she keeps turning up proudly and strongly, taking the case forward in the face of all of those attacks. That is something that I have immense respect for and gratitude for."
Shoebridge said Greens MPs wanted Faruqi to continue her engagement with voters and Greens members. "Sometimes you want to be part of the leadership team. Sometimes you want to be out connecting with the community in a different way. We're all human beings and we all know how in the moment how we can best contribute to the project. I take Mehreen at her word that that's how she thinks she can best connect with the community, how she can best connect with the project. And she has my 100% support to go on being the amazing Greens senator that we've all seen."
He committed to giving rank-and-file party members the right to vote in leadership elections in time for the next scheduled contest, due to take place immediately after the next federal election. A party plebiscite in 2020 saw 62% of Greens members support a party-wide vote for leader, but the move fell short of the required two-thirds majority.
