The Aporia · Larissa Waters quits as Greens leader due to illness

Larissa Waters quits as Greens leader due to illness

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Sakkal, P. (2026, September 28). Larissa Waters quits as Greens leader due to illness. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/larissa-waters-quits-as-greens-leader-due-to-illness-20260928-p61178.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Greens leader Larissa Waters stepped down due to chronic kidney disease, stating that her health requires a slower pace than leading allows. The party will hold a secret ballot among its MPs later this week to choose a new leader from contenders like deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi and Senator Nick McKim. Despite facing challenges post-election, the Greens have maintained steady support with significant achievements in environmental reforms.

Written by AI on 2026-09-28, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Larissa Waters, the federal leader of Australia's Greens party, announced her resignation on Monday night due to health issues related to kidney disease. Waters took over as leader from Adam Bandt just over 15 months ago after Bandt lost his seat in Melbourne to Labor in the May 2025 election. The party plans to hold a secret ballot among its MPs later this week to elect a new leader, with David Shoebridge seen as the frontrunner.

Waters revealed that her condition had recently worsened and required her to step down for the sake of her health. She expressed optimism about recovery but emphasized that leading the party demands too much energy at present. The Greens have struggled in recent years, losing several seats and seeing their influence diminish with Labor's increasing numbers in the Senate.

Waters intends to return to the Senate after taking medical leave, emphasizing that handing over leadership will allow a healthier candidate to better serve the party's goals leading up to the next election. Some members of the Greens have criticized the party’s recent performance under Waters' leadership, noting difficulties in connecting with voters amid growing support for parties like One Nation.

Written for “Larissa Waters Resigns Greens Leader” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

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“Article A reports on Larissa Waters quitting as Greens leader due to illness, while Article B discusses a leadership contest and upcoming vote for a new leader after her resignation.”

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“Article A describes Larissa Waters announcing her resignation due to illness, while Article B reports on the election of a new Greens leader following Waters' departure.”

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“While related, Article A describes Waters' resignation due to illness, and Article B reports on a subsequent leadership election where Shoebridge is named as the new leader.”

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“Article A describes Larissa Waters quitting her position due to illness, while Article B discusses the broader context and implications of this resignation within the party's leadership dynamics.”

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“While both articles discuss Larissa Waters' resignation and the election of a new Greens leader, they describe different stages or aspects of this process occurring at distinct times.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

Leans left

of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate

Publisher signals

61/100

The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Politics

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articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-28 · how these are computed

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The Sydney Morning Herald · 5572 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Paul Sakkal

35 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 35 articles by Paul Sakkal →

Topics

Australia Greens Labor Melbourne Senate

Subjects

Greens ORG · 9× Labor ORG · 5× Waters PERSON · 4× Senate ORG · 3× Australia GPE · 2× Adam Bandt PERSON · 1× Brisbane GPE · 1× Larissa Waters PERSON · 1× Max Chandler-Mather’s PERSON · 1× Melbourne GPE · 1×

Narrative

Some Greens MPs including deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi have expressed frustration that the party has not tapped into the same populist-left wave that has boosted the careers of New York City’s socialist Democrat Zohran Mamdani and UK Greens leader Zack Polanski.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-28

🔮 The party will hold a secret ballot of its MPs later this week to elect a new leader.

2026-09-28 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Larissa Waters quits as Greens leader due to illness · assertive framing

Claims (24 extracted, 1 hedged)

Greens leader Larissa Waters has quit the party’s top job due to illness. asserted

Waters → quit → illness

The party will hold a secret ballot of its MPs later this week to elect a new leader. asserted

party → hold → leader

“For some time now I’ve been quietly managing chronic kidney disease alongside doing the work I love. asserted

I → manage → work

But recently it’s taken a downturn, and I need to be honest with myself about not being invincible,” Waters said in a statement. asserted

Waters → take → statement

“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.” asserted

leading → mean → party

Waters took on the job just over 15 months ago at a tumultuous time for the Greens. asserted

Waters → take → Greens

At the last election, the party’s then-leader Adam Bandt lost his previously safe seat of Melbourne to Labor. asserted

leader → lose → Labor

The Greens also lost Max Chandler-Mather’s seat in Brisbane, leaving the party with only one lower house seat and devoid of Chandler-Mather’s firebrand energy. asserted

Greens → lose → energy

One of their senators, Dorinda Cox, defected to Labor shortly after the election, and as Labor picked up numbers in the Senate, lost sway over the numbers along with crosssbench kingmakers David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie. asserted

Labor → defect → kingmakers

Waters, 49, plans to return to the Senate after time away dealing with her health, so her resignation as leader does not open a vacancy. asserted

resignation → plan → vacancy

She said the minor party had achieved significant wins including protecting native forests in a deal with Labor to reform Australia’s 25-year-old environmental laws. asserted

party → say → laws

The Greens’ primary vote has remained steady since the election as voters have flocked to One Nation. asserted

voters → remain → Nation

that → include → Democrat

But the steady vote indicates the party’s support base is at least solid, unlike Labor’s shrinking support. asserted

base → indicate → support

Contenders for the party leadership include Faruqi, Sarah Hanson-Young (a dealmaker considered too moderate by the party’s hard-left), environment-focussed Tasmanian senator Nick McKim, and hard-left NSW Senator David Shoebridge. asserted

Contenders → include → party

Steph Hodgins-May, a young new senator who features heavily on the party’s social media, is a dark horse for the leadership as the party tries to appeal to younger generations where its vote is strong. uncertain

vote → feature → generations

Another senator, Penny Allman-Payne, is also well liked internally. asserted

senator → like → ?

“Friends, you know that we don’t have time to waste. asserted

we → know → time

The battle for a safer climate, a fairer country, and against the corporate greed gripping Australia is here, and it’s urgent. asserted

it → grip → Australia

It can’t waste a day, and nor can the Greens,” Waters said. asserted

Waters → waste → day

“I’m really sad that illness has cut my time as leader short. asserted

illness → ’m → leader

But our Greens movement is too important, and I want to pass the torch over to someone who is ready to take up the fight. asserted

who → want → fight

I’ll be taking some medical leave, and I’ll be back in the Senate as soon as I can, as one of your two Greens Senators for Queensland. asserted

I → take → Queensland

“Being your leader has been an extraordinary experience and an honour, and I want to thank you for what we’ve achieved together.” asserted

we → want → what