Australia’s first female Muslim MP, Mehreen Faruqi, will run for Greens preselection for the Senate in 2019 – setting up a potential challenge to the controversial sitting senator Lee Rhiannon.
Rhiannon is yet to announce whether she will recontest preselection but the move will place extra pressure on her to announce her intentions.
It comes just a month after she was temporarily suspended from her party room by her colleagues for derailing school funding negotiations during the Gonski 2.0 debate.
The division deepened when Rhiannon criticised Richard Di Natale’s leadership, which she described as “disappointing”.
Faruqi, who is a member of the New South Wales legislative council, confirmed on Facebook her intention to run in the preselection, nominating climate change, economic equality and the resurgence of the far right as her main policy drivers.
“Today I’m announcing that I will be putting my hand up to become the next Greens senator from NSW,” Faruqi said. “Our core belief in fairness is why I joined the Greens 13 years ago when I was living in regional NSW.
“For too long, vested interests and big corporations have dictated public policy in Australia, leading to detrimental outcomes when it comes to both our society and the environment.
“The growing threats of economic inequality and climate change demand an urgent response. The Greens have the ideas and energy to tackle the challenges Australia is facing and I want to help lead our response.”
Faruqi, an engineer who was born in Pakistan, said she would use a future Senate to argue for cultural diversity.
“The far-right have unfortunately found a home in federal parliament in recent years, through the resurgence of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation,” Faruqi said. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity of taking the fight to Hanson and putting forward the case for a diverse and culturally rich Australia.”
The move is sure to ramp up the internal divisions within the Greens, following the unprecedented move against Rhiannon in the party room last month and the criticism of her by former leaders Bob Brown and Christine Milne.
Rhiannon has been a federal senator since 2010 and is due for re-election at the next federal election on or before 2019.
Rhiannon has not made it clear publicly whether she intends to run. She told Fairfax Media: “My plans are on track for the next Greens NSW Senate preselection.”
The preselection is due in October or November but it is understood that the time line has not been confirmed.
Under the NSW Greens’ rules, members are forbidden to speak about preselections. A senior Greens source said Faruqi had been widely seen as Rhiannon’s natural successor in the Senate.
“While Mehreen will no doubt be a staunch defender of NSW Greens, she does not bring all the old baggage from decades of a conflict with Bob Brown and the Australian Greens,” the source said.
“Her candidacy represents a path forward for the party. She’s been a strong and indefatigable campaigner against racism and Islamophobia, so she will be a good pick to take on Peter Dutton and Pauline Hanson directly in federal parliament.”
However, other sources said Rhiannon was a stronger campaigner than Faruqi.
