Bandt clings to Melbourne seat as members internally clash on party direction

The Age

04-05-2025

The Greens are blaming the loss of at least two lower house seats on inconsistent and confusing messaging during the campaign, and members are debating whether the party should double down on its emphasis on the war in Gaza.
The party's leader, Adam Bandt, looks set to maintain his position despite a 5.4 per cent swing to Labor in his seat, as the party reckons with the 'devastating' losses of firebrand Griffith MP Max Chandler-Mather and his Brisbane colleague Stephen Bates.
The Greens still hope to retain the Queensland seat of Ryan, held by Elizabeth Watson-Brown who is in a complex three-horse race with the Liberals and Labor.
Melbourne's progressive inner-north seat of Wills, where former state Greens leader Samantha Ratnam is attempting to unseat Labor's Peter Khalil, is still too close to call, disappointing party strategists who hoped an advantageous redistribution would hand them a seat they have been trying to win for over a decade.
One source told this masthead that the possibility of winning at least three to five extra Senate seats was proof the minor party just needs to better define itself and advocate more on climate, Israel-Palestine and housing.
'There was inconsistent and confused messaging from within the party and it stemmed from a disagreement between those who wanted a more moderate approach and those who wanted to be bolder,' they said.
'We need to be bolder, we need to be seen as an alternative.'
However, another source argued the opposite.
'[We got] sucked into the culture wars, and when you do that, you don't win – you have to help people at the local level. You saw it in Brisbane and Griffiths in 2022,' they said.