Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has wished new Greens leader David Shoebridge good luck, while also revealing the “brutal” nature of party politics.
Hanson-Young’s comments come after she contested this week’s Greens leadership ballot, coming in behind Shoebridge and Senator Mehreen Faruqi.
“God, politics can be brutal,” Hanson-Young said in a video posted to Instagram.
“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.”
“It’s going to take a huge effort to stop Pauline Hanson and the radical right from wrecking this country.”
On Monday, Senator Larissa Waters made a surprise announcement that she would be stepping down as leader of The Greens. She is taking some time to manage a pre-existing kidney disease that has worsened in recent months but hopes to return to work as a Senator in the future.
The leadership ballot took place on Wednesday, with Shoebridge emerging as the winner, with Victorian senator Steph Hodgins-May elected as deputy leader.
“Australians deserve an optimistic, caring and defiant progressive force and I won’t be backing down,” Hanson-Young continued in her video.
“I want to say thank you for all the love and support from everyone. So many of you urging me to stand. I’m sorry we couldn’t pull it off this time but buckle up because we have a lot of work to do.”
After the leadership ballot, Mehreen Farqui, who has stepped down as deputy leader, released a statement saying she was “disappointed” the party room chose another direction. She also said she was frustrated that the leadership was not elected by Greens members.
“Without a member vote, we cannot call ourselves a grassroots party. I call on the new leadership team to set a timeline for one member, one vote,” she said.
Shoebridge has since said he is open to allowing rank and file party members to vote in leadership elections in the future.
Speaking on a podcast with The Guardian this week, Shoebridge said would work to draw voters away from One Nation.
“Our job is to is to take them away from the politics of hate, the politics of racism that One Nation wants to provide in that moment, and show them who their real enemy is,” he said.
“It’s not their neighbour who’s from the Philippines who’s working at the local emergency department. It’s the 1%, the corporates that are literally stealing their future from them.”