New Greens leader David Shoebridge has promised to change how his party chooses its federal leader. He says members will have input, though he hasn't explained what form that input will take.
The Leadership Promise
The Greens' party room currently picks the federal leader, as do the Liberal and Nationals parties. Labor is the outlier: it uses both a party-room vote and a membership vote.
Earlier in the week, when he announced his leadership bid, Shoebridge said he backed giving members a say. Mehreen Faruqi, unsuccessful in her leadership candidacy, also called for members to have input after the party-room vote.
In a social media video captioned "your say on Greens leadership," Shoebridge told supporters: "You absolutely should have a say in the leadership for the Greens." He added: "The good news is Steph [Hodgins-May] and I are gonna make this happen."
No Model Yet
Details remain thin. Shoebridge hasn't committed to a specific model. Instead, he described "a conversation we're going to have right across the Greens. Every state and territory, hundreds and hundreds of branches, thousands and thousands of members, because members want to be engaged in this."
The timing, at least on paper, is firm. Shoebridge said the change would happen "before we make the next decision on the federal leadership." Greens rules require that decision after every federal election. That means the membership discussion and any rule change would take place during this term of parliament.
Hundreds of branches and thousands of members will weigh in on a question the party room has so far settled itself, just as the Liberal and Nationals parties do. The consultation is broad, but its outcome remains open.
Storms Hit Victoria
Elsewhere, the live update reported heavy rain continuing across much of Victoria after storms and flash flooding. From 9am on Thursday, Melbourne recorded 47.8mm at the Melbourne (Olympic Park) measuring station.
Emergency crews faced a heavy workload. The State Emergency Service took more than 200 calls for help, including six water rescues.
David Crock, a senior meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology, said the total was Melbourne's highest daily rainfall since April 2024, two years ago. The warning hadn't ended. Rain was expected to continue Friday and Saturday, while a flood watch remained current for catchments across much of central and eastern Victoria.
"There is much more to come," Crock said. Conditions were expected to ease on Sunday as the low-pressure system moved offshore.
Why This Matters:
The stories differ, but both concern how institutions respond to pressure. Shoebridge has set a deadline and promised broad consultation without offering a design; members and voters watching a party with a share of parliamentary influence can't yet judge how much control the party room will retain over its leadership. From a center-right perspective, clear rules and accountability matter more than the promise of a conversation. In Victoria, the SES's 200-plus calls and six water rescues show how heavily communities rely on emergency services when storms hit. With more rain forecast through Saturday, the practical test is whether people heed warnings and response capacity holds.