Larissa Waters suddenly quits as Greens leader after health ‘downturn’
Updated . First published at
Senator Larissa Waters has announced she will step down as Greens leader after her chronic kidney disease took a recent “downturn”.
The Queenslander said she would be taking medical leave but returning to the Senate as soon as possible to continue in that role.
Senator Larissa Waters has announced she will step down as Greens leader after her chronic kidney disease took a recent “downturn”. Alex Ellinghausen
“I need to be honest with myself about not being invincible,” she said in a statement posted to social media on Monday night.
“My doctors have been clear: my prospects for recovery are good, but the best path forward means a slower pace of life than leading a political party allows.”
The 49-year-old said she’d been managing the condition for “some time” but “recently it’s taken a downturn”.
Waters’ time as leader began last May, when she replaced long-time leader Adam Bandt, who lost his inner-city seat of Melbourne at the 2025 election.
She described leading the Greens as an “extraordinary experience and an honour” saying she was sad illness cut her time in the job short but she wanted to “pass the torch over to someone who is ready to take up the fight”.
“Friends, you know that we don’t have time to waste. The battle for a safer climate, a fairer country, and against the corporate greed gripping Australia is here, and it’s urgent,” she said.
Bob Brown hugs Larissa Waters after her maiden speech in 2011. AAP
“It can’t waste a day, and nor can the Greens.”
Waters claimed wins as leader included the long-overdue overhaul of Australia’s environmental regulation system and a push to put gun safety on the agenda after the antisemitic terror attack at Bondi Beach.
“Because of the Greens, native forest logging is being brought under national environmental standards, land clearing has been restricted, and we kept coal and gas projects out of the fast lane for approvals,” Waters said.
But the Greens have also faced questions about why they haven’t capitalised on voters abandoning the major parties in droves, instead leaving One Nation’s right-wing populism to soak up support.
It’s not known who will replace Waters or when the replacement process will begin.
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