David Shoebridge takes over a Greens party looking for growth while One Nation surges. His pitch is sharper: confront the populist right and stop treating Labor as something merely to reform.

New South Wales Senator David Shoebridge was elected leader of the Australian Greens at a party room meeting organised prior to Senator Larissa Waters’ announcement that she was stepping down from the party leadership owing to health issues. Victorian Senator Steph Hodgkins-May was elected deputy leader, with whom Shoebridge ran on a joint ticket.

Three contenders, including Shoebridge, stood for election at the party room meeting – with South Australian Senator Sarah Hanson-Young (who remains as manager of Greens business) and fellow NSW Senator Mehreen Faruqi also throwing their hat in the ring. Faruqi stood on a joint ticket with Tasmanian Senator Nick McKim as deputy.

Leadership selection in the Australian Greens is a matter for the party room, unlike the Labor Party, where members have a say, and unlike some of the Greens’ counterparts in other countries, such as New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

In the final vote, between Shoebridge and Faruqi, Shoebridge prevailed seven votes to four. This was the first time the federal party leadership was contested in a party-room ballot, with all previous leaders elected through a consensus-style process.

So who is Shoebridge? And with One Nation on the rise on the right, will he be able to help his party gain similar traction on the left?

Who is David........

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