Larissa Waters quits as Australian Greens leader after worsening kidney disease

Larissa Waters has quit as leader of the Australian Greens, announcing she has been managing kidney disease that has recently taken a downturn.

The Queensland senator made the announcement in a post on X, saying the condition — which was not publicly known — had deteriorated. “I’ve been managing kidney disease for some time but recently it’s taken a downturn,” she wrote. “My prognosis is good, but doctors are clear that recovery needs a slower pace than leading a party allows.”

“I’m really sad that illness means my time as leader has been cut short, but our movement needs a leader in good health to lead us to success,” she added.

Waters assumed the Greens’ leadership after former leader Adam Bandt sensationally lost his seat at the May 2025 federal election. In a statement, the party lauded her efforts to secure an overhaul of Australia’s environmental laws, reforming native logging and land clearing and pushing back on fast-tracking coal and gas projects.

The party also helped Labor pass revamped gun laws through the Senate in the wake of the Bondi massacre, which include a planned national gun buyback, and has pushed back hard on reforms aimed at drastically cutting NDIS spending, delaying the bill’s passage for months.

The Greens said they would begin the process of selecting a new leader in the coming days. Waters, a senator since 2011 save for a 14-month period when she was forced to resign over holding Canadian citizenship, will go on medical leave but will not quit the Senate.

Sources

• AAP, “Greens leader suddenly quits after health ‘downturn’” — https://aapnews.aap.com.au/news/greens-leader-suddenly-quits-after-health-downturn