David Shoebridge named new Greens leader after intense party vote

A New Era for the Greens

Real talk: the Australian Greens just shifted gears. After the surprise resignation of leader Larissa Waters—who is stepping down to focus on treatment for kidney disease—the party’s federal leadership is officially in new hands. Senator David Shoebridge has been elected as the new federal leader, with Steph Hodgins-May stepping up as his deputy.

The decision went down during a two-day party retreat in Sydney. It was a three-way race that kept everyone on their toes: Shoebridge faced off against Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and a joint ticket featuring Senator Mehreen Faruqi and Senator Nick McKim.

Who is the new boss?

If you’ve been following Senate estimates or defense debates, Shoebridge is likely already on your radar. He entered federal parliament in 2022 after spending over a decade in New South Wales state politics. His background? He’s a former corporate lawyer and barrister who specialized in employment law. Lowkey, he even has history as a Labor branch member from back in the day, though he later found his political home under the mentorship of hard-left Greens MP Lee Rhiannon.

His deputy, Steph Hodgins-May, is relatively fresh to the scene, having entered parliament in May 2024 to fill the vacancy left by Janet Rice.

Why it matters

Under Waters, the party took a more moderate approach, often cutting deals with the government on environment laws and tax changes. But there’s been a vibe shift lately; many in the party are frustrated that the Greens haven't been able to capitalize on voters ditching Labor and the Coalition.

Shoebridge and Hodgins-May are already signaling they want to lean into a more forceful strategy. They’ve stated they want to make the Greens the ultimate home for climate action and economic security, explicitly calling out the need to stop “selling out our independence to the US or the 1%.” They’re positioning themselves to counter the rise of the far right by promising real economic security—or, as they put it, holding back “the wave of US billionaire tech bros and their vampire AI data centres.” The plot thickens for the next election cycle.