Greens Co-Founder Challenges New Leader on Hamas, Transgender Stance

Drew Hutton, a co-founder of the Australian Greens, has publicly challenged the party's new leader, David Shoebridge, on key policy areas including the stance on Hamas, transgender issues, and the slogan "globalise the Intifada." Hutton posed the same questions to former deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi, signaling his concerns about the party's trajectory.

Hutton, who helped establish the Queensland Greens in 1990 and the national party in 1992, expressed skepticism about the Greens' ability to connect with voters outside their traditional base. "And how are the Greens going to fight One Nation when they think a man can be a woman, won't criticise Hamas and continually wear keffiyahs and have no idea how to communicate with ordinary Australians who aren't young, live in the inner-city and have university degrees?" he stated on social media following Shoebridge's election.

This intervention follows Hutton's resignation from the Greens in Queensland in June, citing that the party had abandoned its founding principles. He had previously been expelled for refusing to remove Facebook comments, deemed transphobic by the party, made by others on a post he shared in 2022. Hutton has been vocal about his disagreement with the party's approach to gender policy, arguing that dissenting views on biological sex are suppressed.

Shoebridge secured the leadership in a 7-4 party room vote, succeeding Larissa Waters who stepped down due to health reasons. The election result was met with immediate criticism from Senator Mehreen Faruqi, who lost the leadership contest. Faruqi argued that the party's leadership should be decided by its grassroots membership through a one-member, one-vote system.

Faruqi declined the deputy leadership position, stating her intention to pursue "radical action" independently. This has fueled speculation about internal divisions within the parliamentary party. However, Shoebridge downplayed these suggestions in a radio interview, emphasizing the workload of all frontbenchers and expressing support for Faruqi's focus on her areas of passion.

Hutton's questions to Shoebridge were not immediately answered by his office, according to reports. The co-founder's public challenge highlights ongoing debates within the Greens regarding their ideological direction and electoral strategy.