Senator Larissa Waters announced via social media on Monday that she will be stepping back from her role as leader of the Greens to focus on her health.
Senator Waters said in a post, “for some time now I’ve been quietly managing chronic kidney disease alongside doing the work I love. But recently it’s taken a downturn, and I need to be honest with myself about not being invincible.”
The Senator for Queensland emphasised that her prospects for recovery are good, but will require “a slower pace of life than leading a political party allows.”
Waters will be taking medical leave, but does not plan to resign from her position as a Senator for Queensland.
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Who will take over?
The former Greens leader hopes to “pass the torch” to someone who is ready to take up the fight – but who will that be?
None of the likely contenders for the role have put themselves forward publicly, and it’s believed that the party will seek to reach a consensus before this week’s pre-planned two-day meeting in Sydney, where they will hold an internal vote for the position.
Possible leadership frontrunners include NSW senators Mehreen Faruqi and David Shoebridge, South Australian senator Sarah Hanson-Young and Tasmanian senator Nick McKim.
Former Federal Greens MP and Director of the Green Institute Max Chandler-Mather publicly called for a direct vote open to all members of Greens to elect the incumbent leader.
Chandler-Mather cited a 2020 membership plebiscite which found that 62% of Greens members supported a one-member-one-vote system for the election of the Australian Greens Parliamentary Leader, as well as the fact that both the UK and New Zealand Greens parties already use this system.
“A key pillar of the Greens is grassroots democracy, and yet members have no say in who occupies the position of national leader of the party,” Chandler-Mather said in a social media post.
“We say we want to build a movement. That we want to take on billionaires and big corporations. But if we’re serious about that it means putting real power and trust in the hands of ordinary people – and trusting that they will make the right choice.”
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“The best days of this movement are ahead of us.”
Senator Waters thanked her fellow members for their shared achievements during her 16-month tenure, calling the leadership “an extraordinary experience and an honour.”
“The Greens are a people-powered movement: members knocking on doors, volunteers staffing polling booths, supporters chipping in what they can, and communities who refuse to accept that politics has to serve corporate interests rather than people.
“That’s our strength, and it’s why I know this party is in good hands. Look after each other. The best days of this movement are ahead of us.”
Senator Waters oversaw some significant wins for the Greens, including an overhaul of Australia’s 25-year-old environment laws, gun safety reforms, and a hard-fought battle to delay Labor’s brutal cuts to NDIS spending, allowing an inquiry into the reforms to be extended.
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Senator Waters’ history of LGBTIQA+ support
Larissa Waters has been a strong advocate for LGBTIQA+ people throughout her parliamentary career.
She was a steadfast supporter of marriage equality during the same-sex marriage debate, and voted in support of a government-appointed LGBTQIA+ Human Rights Commissioner, among other initiatives.
As recently as June of 2026, Senator Waters voted in favour of an anti-discrimination legislation amendment which would extend legal protections for LGBTIQA+ Australians. The amendment was introduced by Senator McKim, LGBTQIA+ spokesperson for the Greens.
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