Faruqi Remains Hopeful Greens Can Hold Melbourne, Rejects Leadership Talk

With over 15,000 absentee and declaration votes still uncounted party leaders insist Bandt still has a chance in Melbourne.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt, Senator Nick McKim and Senator Mehreen Faruqi during a press conference in the Senate Courtyard at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on May 12, 2021. Sam Mooy/Getty Images

With Adam Bandt trailing Labor’s Sarah Witty by over 4,000 votes for his once-safe seat of Melbourne, Greens Deputy Leader Mehreen Faruqi has rejected any suggestions of her stepping up to the leadership.

“Adam is still our leader. And can I say Adam is a fantastic leader, and we worked really well as a team, as leader and deputy leader, and I am hoping that he gets back in and we can continue on with that leadership team,” she told ABC Radio National on May 8 morning.

Asked whether she was quietly canvassing support, Faruqi said, “That is absolutely not correct. Like I said, we are still waiting for the result of Melbourne.”

She also backed the party’s stance on Gaza and rejected any perceptions of anti-Semitism.

“The Greens completely oppose, obviously, any sort of racism. We’ve been the strongest party and the only party which has an anti-racism portfolio.”

Votes Still Being Counted

Faruqi said the party has not conceded Bandt’s seat and remains hopeful.

“There are still as many as 15,000 absentee and declaration votes that have yet to be sorted and counted.

And often those votes have a swing towards the Greens. So we are waiting for those votes to be counted, to declare the result,” she said.

She blamed the shift away from the Greens on voter anxiety over the possibility of a Dutton-led government.

“That was a factor in some of the Lower House seats. But also those same voters clearly wanted us to hold a potential Labor government to account, which is why we also achieve record high Senate votes,” she added.

Her comments come as the Greens endured a rough election night with more than half of their lower house representation shaved off.

While Bandt’s stronghold of Melbourne strays further and further away, Brisbane-based MPs Max Chandler-Mather and Stephen Bates have already conceded their seats of Griffith and Brisbane.

Only Elizabeth Watson-Brown is likely to hold Ryan, which covers the western metro area of Brisbane.

The Greens were also unable to reel in the seat of Wills from Labor, which covers northern Melbourne, after they put up high profile state MP Samantha Ratnam.

‘Voters Held Them to Account’

Reacting to the Greens performance, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Greens housing spokesperson Chandler-Mather was guilty of self-sabotage.

The housing MP had said he was happy to be leaving Parliament, saying it was a “bloody awful“ place to work.

“Maybe what he needs is a mirror and a reflection on why he’s no longer in Parliament … it’s a bit rich for him, of all people,” Albanese told ABC Radio.

“This is a guy who stood before signs at a CFMEU rally in Brisbane describing me as a Nazi.”

Labor Minister Don Farrell said the Greens had now received a clear message from voters.

“Nobody wants to see anybody lose their job, and I’m not happy about Adam Bandt losing his job,” he told reporters. “But the fact is, they paid a political price for blocking sensible, progressive policies—particularly on housing—in the last parliament.”

Farrell added that he is hopeful that Greens will  now support constructive policies from the incoming Albanese government.

Nationals Leader David Littleproud also took aim at Greens leader Bandt.

“The electorate has seen through the Greens—they’re not the tree-huggers they once appeared to be,” he told the ABC.

“They’ve aligned with the CFMEU and they’re clearly out of step with the broader community. The voters have now held them to account.”