Senator Larissa Waters has been announced as the new leader of the Greens.
Adam Bandt, who had led the minor party since 2020, lost his seat of Melbourne at the federal election, ending his 15-year career in federal parliament.
His colleagues met in the Victorian capital on Thursday to decide on a new leader.
Queensland senator Larissa Waters triumphed over South Australian Sarah Hanson-Young and Mehreen Faruqi from NSW.
Senator Waters, who has been in parliament since 2011, was considered by many to be a reluctant to put her hand up for the leadership but was seen by colleagues as a ‘consensus candidate’.
The mother-of-two is the second-longest serving member of the Greens party room behind Senator Hanson-Young.
She made history in 2017 when she became the first women to breastfeed her baby daughter in the Senate chamber.
A couple of months later she was forced to resign from parliament during the eligibility crisis after it was discovered she held dual Canadian-Australian citizenship.
Queensland senator Larissa Waters (right) triumphed over South Australian Sarah Hanson-Young (middle) and Mehreen Faruqi (left) from NSW
Senator Waters, who has been in parliament since 2011, was considered by many to be a reluctant candidate
She had been born to Australian parents in Canada and returned with them Down Under as an infant.
But she later renounced her Canadian citizenship and stood again for the Greens successfully at the 2019 federal election.
Most recently she has served as the party’s Senate leader and has acted as a spokeswoman for portfolios including women, mining and resources and democracy.
She now faces the task of picking up the pieces after the Greens lost three lower house seats and failed to pick up any extras at the election.
Bandt’s defeat was a particular humiliation, with the ousted leader blaming everyone but himself as he attributed his loss to the redistribution of his Melbourne seat, a voter backlash against Peter Dutton and preferences from One Nation and Liberal voters.
However, the Greens remain confident of wielding influence in the Senate, where the party holds the balance of power.
The Greens are left with the Queensland seat of Ryan and 11 senators following the election.
Labor has at least 28 seats in the Senate and with the support of the Greens has the numbers to get legislation through the upper house.
She made history in 2017 when she became the first women to breastfeed her baby daughter in the Senate chamber (pictured)
