The election of Richard Di Natale as Greens leader, and of Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters as co-deputies, is a generational change in the party. It also reflects the Greens’ changing national focus.
The two previous leaders Christine Milne – who announced her retirement today after three years as leader – and Bob Brown, were both former state leaders of the Tasmanian Greens. They held much safer Tasmanian Senate seats and rose in the party at a time when the Greens lacked federal representation in a number of states – prior to the 2010 election, the Greens held no federal seats in Victoria or Queensland.
The new leadership team are all aged between 38 and 45, and include senators from three mainland states. And while Di Natale and Ludlam’s positions seem reasonably secure, Larissa Waters will find it tough to hold on in Queensland in 2016.
The Greens work hard to maintain internal party unity, in public and usually in private. Bob Brown’s leadership was never under any threat, and despite some leadership tensions, Christine Milne’s leadership has been reasonably solid for the last three years.
Di Natale has had a much shorter time in public office, and was one of a number of possible candidates.
On the surface, the election was uncontested. This result reflects the Greens’ desire to avoid open conflict – in reality, other candidates chose not to nominate when it was clear that Richard had the support of a majority of MPs. Di Natale is very close to Christine Milne, and was very much the establishment choice.
Adam Bandt, who was considered the other contender for the leadership, has focused more on economic issues. His election would have reflected a more confident and ambitious Greens agenda, aiming to expand the party’s hold on lower house seats and move beyond the Senate.
Bandt was also the first to pioneer new campaign tactics that have spread to Greens campaigns around Australia, and he has been more supportive of member participation in Greens decision-making.
In most areas, the Greens generally have better internal party democracy than the major parties, including local decision-making and ordinary member involvement in policy-making, but they have been resistant to opening up the process of electing party leaders.
The Greens federal leadership, like the Liberal and National parties and until recently, Labor, is elected by the party’s federal MPs. While the major parties generally have given time before leadership elections happen, the Greens haven’t.
In 2012, Bob Brown’s resignation wasn’t announced until after Milne had been elected as leader, and their fellow MPs were given no notice to talk amongst themselves or consult their staff or party members. This time around, there was less than one hour’s notice before the party room came together to vote.
There have also been internal party elections that weren’t announced at all. In 2010, Sarah Hanson-Young unsuccessfully challenged Christine Milne for the party leadership, but the contest was not revealed for over a month.
In the contested deputy leadership election after Bob Brown’s resignation, the vote count from the party room ballot was never revealed. Standard practice for the major parties is to report the vote counts.
Greens leaders – federally, and in Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT – have always been elected solely by their fellow members of parliament.
While this is standard practice in Australia, most political parties in other western democracies give a vote to their members. All political parties in the United Kingdom and Canada have membership votes to elect their party leaders.
The New Zealand Greens – the closest parallel to the Australian Greens – have had two co-leaders for over 20 years, and these positions are elected by their party conference after an extended campaign where candidates meet with members and conduct debates.
The NZ Greens are currently electing a new male co-leader. Four candidates have nominated, and members have had a chance to have their say in an open process. The result hasn’t been stitched up behind closed doors.
During a recent review of the Australian Greens constitution, the issue of directly electing the party leader came up, and it’s an open question for the party about whether the election of this key position continues to take place in the shadows, with a small group having a vote, or is conducted out in the open, with members participating.
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Ben Raue is a member of the Australian Greens.
