TRANSCRIPT
Senator Larissa Water has been elected as the leader of the Australian Greens after a party room vote in Melbourne.
"Aw look, thank you so much everyone."
She replaces the member for Melbourne, Adam Bandt, who lost his seat at the May 3 election.
Ms Waters says it has never been more important to have a strong Greens presence in parliament.
"I've got a lot of work to do, because people are really hurting, and the planet is hurting and we need a parliament that actually delivers for people, and has the courage and the boldness and the heart to deliver some help to people. So, I'm calling today for a progressive Parliament, and a politics with heart."
The first Queenslander to fill the role, and the second woman, Ms Waters was chosen by consensus, unopposed in the leadership role.
Party whip Senator Nick McKim announced the results.
"I'm also really excited to let you know that Senator Mehreen Faruqi is the new deputy leader of the Australian Greens. That was a contested ballot that was contested by Senator Dorinda Cox and the results of that ballot were nine votes to Mehreen and three votes to Dorinda."
Ms Faruqi represents a continuity candidate, having served as deputy to former leader Adam Bandt.
And on the policy front, Ms Waters signalled the Greens will continue to push on similar issues.
She named climate change, nature laws, housing and funding for services as key priorities.
"Now, we're the Greens, so of course we stand firm, always, on social justice and human rights, whether that's First Nations justice, whether that's a free Palestine, whether that's peace and human rights globally, we will always be there calling out atrocities, calling out a genocide, and standing strongly on social justice and human rights."
Ms Waters takes the top job at a time when the Greens are bruised by the loss of three seats in the lower house.
Although the party maintained its national vote, it is left with just one seat, Ryan, which covers part of Brisbane.
The Greens do have 11 senators, however, handing them the balance of power.
Ms Waters say they'll push Labor to pursue bolder reforms this term.
"The Labor party have a choice. They can work with us, they can work with us and help people and protect nature, or they can choose to work with the coalition. They're going to need to pick because they don't have the numbers in the senate to pass the legislation that they that they want to work on. So we want the Labor party to be bold, and we want to help them to fix the problems that people are facing. We will be firm but constructive."
Deputy Leader Mehreen Faruqi struck a more strident tone, saying this is a moment for demanding more, not less.
"To the right wing media, to the billionaires, to the big corporations and to the Albanese government. This is our message. We are not going to take a step backwards on action, on climate, on the environment, on housing and for justice for Palestine; our voters have put us there to fight for people and the planet, and that is exactly what we will be doing."
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has been named as the Greens' manager of business, which will be a key role in negotiating with the Labor Party.
She says the government has no excuse for being timid in this term of parliament, challenging them to take stronger action on the environment.
"The government should act to end native forest logging, and the government should this month rule out the climate bomb that is the north west shelf. Two clear challenges on the table today to the prime minister and his newly sworn in cabinet. Bring it on."
The intricacies of environmental law are familiar territory for the party's new leader.
Before entering the senate in 2011, Larissa Waters worked as a community lawyer at the Queensland Environmental Defenders Office.
In her maiden speech she said she enjoyed those nine years but found the wins sadly rare.
"Over the years I grew increasingly frustrated with the limits of the law to achieve good environmental outcomes. I got sick of having to tell people that they had no legal rights to stop that new coalmine, or protect that local patch of bushland, or stop that infrastructure going right through koala habitat. I realised that the laws needed changing to give people more rights to stand up for the environment for the common good. That is what encouraged me to seek change through politics."
Now, as leader of the Greens, she says she's hoping to deliver that change by working with Labor.
"They can't blame anyone else now because we're saying here, we will give you the numbers in the Senate to pass good reforms that helps people and helps the planet. Okay, people elected us to get shit done. And that's what we intend to do in the service of people on the planet."
