The Greens leadership is elected by aCaucus vote for all members of the party sitting in Parliament, All Green leaders have been elected Unopposed.
In May 2020, 62% of rank-and-file Greens party members voted for democraticallyLeadership election, However it failed to meet the two-thirds majority of 66.67% which is required to force a change.[1]
The Greens had their first leadership election on 29 November 2005; prior to this they did not have a party leader, preferring a consultative model of government.
At a party conference inHobart, the Greens announced their intention to formalise their party's structure in anticipation of a growing presence inFederal Parliament.
The role was contested by Senator for TasmaniaChristine Milne and Senator for South AustraliaSarah Hanson-Young.[5] Hanson-Young was critical of the Greens supporting the minority LaborGillard government, and wanted the party to negotiate with the Liberal Party, while Milne wished to critically maintain the agreement.[6]
Brown served as party leader until 13 April 2012, when he announced his retirement from politics.[7]
The Greensparliamentary party room was immediately convened to appoint a new leader and deputy leader.Christine Milne, Senator from Tasmania, was elected unopposed to the leadership.[8]
The deputy leader seat was contested betweenAdam Bandt, the member for Melbourne in theHouse of Representatives, andSarah Hanson-Young.[9] Bandt became the second Greens MP to be elected to the position of deputy leader of the party, Milne having previously filled the role after its establishment in 2008.[7]
The leadership election had no effect on the deal that existed between the governingGillard Labor Government and the Greens, to which Milne remained a signatory.
On the morning of 6 May 2015, Christine Milne announced onTwitter her resignation from the position of leader of the Greens, prompting a meeting of the Greens'parliamentary party room to fill her replacement.[10]
Shortly after her announcement,Victorian senatorRichard Di Natale revealed he would stand as a candidate for the leadership, whilst the media speculated incumbent deputy leader Adam Bandt would seek re-election to the position.[10]
At the party room meeting however, Bandt did not seek re-election to the deputy leadership, later saying he was "happy" to hand over the role and instead focus on the birth of his partner's baby.[11] Consequently, the party decided to elect two senators as co-deputy leaders;Scott Ludlam andLarissa Waters.[12]
Di Natale was elected to the leadership unopposed and he became the first leader of the Australian Greens to represent astate other than Tasmania.[12][13]
On the 10 June 2022, almost three weeks after the2022 Australian federal election, the Australian Greens members of parliament met and re-elected Adam Bandt as federal leader of the Greens, "by consensus".[14]
Bandt was sick withCOVID-19 and was unable to attend the meeting. The party electedMehreen Faruqi as deputy leader, replacingLarissa Waters,[15] as well as Larissa Waters as the party's Leader in the Senate,Lidia Thorpe as the Deputy Leader in the Senate,Sarah Hanson-Young as Manager of Greens Business in the Senate,Janet Rice as Party Room Chair, andNick McKim as Senate Whip.
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