Breaking: David Shoebridge named new Greens leader after three-way contest - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

David Shoebridge has become the sixth leader of the Australian Greens. (AAP: George Chan)

The party held an unprecedented ballot for the leadership. 

David Shoebridge won seven votes to Mehreen Faruqi's four. 

Disappointed Greens have called for future leadership votes to be opened up to the broader party membership. 

David Shoebridge has been chosen as the new leader of the Greens, emerging victorious from a hotly-contested three-way contest, with Steph Hodgins-May elected as deputy. 

In an unprecedented ballot for the party, which in the past has chosen its leaders by consensus, Senator Shoebridge defeated former deputy Mehreen Faruqi and long-serving Sarah Hanson-Young, the manager of Greens business in the Senate. 

The decision was made by the 11-member party room in Sydney today after the shock resignation of Larissa Waters, who on Monday revealed she was stepping aside from the role to deal with chronic kidney disease. 

Greens whip Nick McKim took the rare step of announcing the full results of the ballot, with Senator Shoebridge ultimately winning seven votes to Senator Faruqi's four, after preferences.

David Shoebridge and Steph Hodgins-May ran a joint ticket for the Greens leadership. (AAP: George Chan)

Senator Hodgins-May defeated Vanessa Bleyer with six votes to five. Jordon Steele-John had also nominated for the deputy position. 

Senator Shoebridge is the sixth leader in the environment-focused party's history. 

He said he wanted the Greens to "fill the vacuum that has been left by the Labor Party rushing to the right". 

"We're here to beat down One Nation, and we're here to replace Labor and return hope and faith to politics," he said. 

Senator Shoebridge has served as a senator for New South Wales since 2022. 

He was a former barrister and member of the NSW parliament. 

Announcing a "new face" for the Greens, Senator Shoebridge said the party would take up the fight against "corporate greed", naming the gas lobby, AUKUS, artificial intelligence, and fossil fuel billionaires as issues of concern. 

"This is an extraordinary moment in politics and we can all feel it," he said at a press conference on Wednesday. 

"We can feel that politics as usual is not providing the answers that people are desperately calling for now." 

Senator Shoebridge's deputy, Steph Hodgins-May, entered parliament just two years ago after a career as an environmental lawyer.

In a sign of divisions within the party, Senator Faruqi put out a statement on social media expressing her disappointment. 

"Of course, I am disappointed the party room chose another direction, and know many others will feel the same way," she said. 

"I did not stand again for Deputy Leader today because, on reflection, I believe I can best play my part in that action outside the constraints of the leadership team." 

Former Greens deputy Mehreen Faruqi called for future leadership votes to be opened up to the broader membership. (AAP: Lukas Coch)

She said she had long advocated for Greens leaders to be elected by members "with enough time for thoughtful deliberation on who is best to grow our party". 

"I share members' frustration that the opposite happened this week," she said. 

"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."

In her first public remarks since her resignation, Senator Waters became emotional and said it had been an "incredible honour" to lead the party. 

Larissa Waters said she needed to focus on her health. (AAP: George Chan)

"It's with great sadness that I'm not able to continue in that role due to my health getting worse," she said. 

Senator Waters rose to the leadership after the shock election defeat in 2025, when then-leader Adam Bandt lost his long-held seat of Melbourne. 

She was in the role for 16 months. 

She said she was proud to see the party polling higher despite a surge in right-wing politics. 

"It's been a wild ride and I want to thank the team for their support," she said.