Imagine waking up the morning after an election, checking your phone, and reading this headline: “Greens to Form Government.”¹

For the Greens, this is no fantasy. According to Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather, it’s the party’s most important goal, no matter the cost. 

But what price are they willing to pay?

Increasingly, it seems the cost includes the well-being of their own members, particularly women.

One former party member put it bluntly: “The Greens don’t care what happens to women within the party. What they care about is their public image.” Her experience of being “shocked and afraid” is not unique.²

In 2018, former Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon warned that the party could no longer trade on its “good name” to protect powerful men who “abuse their privilege and influence”, and likened the Greens to the big institutions that covered up the sexual abuse of children.³

In 2021, Green party members submitted a formal letter of complaint to the party alleging that Green Senator David Shoebridge had bullied former female colleagues for over a decade, stating his behaviours contravened their core principles of respect and nonviolence. These allegations highlight the ongoing governance struggles and the unique challenges faced by women within the party.⁴

More recently, over 2023 and 2024, multiple staffers accused Greens Senator Dorinda Cox of presiding over a toxic workplace, with allegations of bullying and oppressive management adding to the mounting evidence of internal turmoil. ⁵

In November, Victorian Greens co-deputy leader Sam Hibbins stood down from the party room after admitting he had an affair with a staffer.⁶

These accounts form part of a troubling pattern that paints the Greens’ internal culture as a “toxic mire” characterised by factionalism, bullying, and systemic failures.⁷

Since they formed in the 1980s, the Greens have claimed to be all about the environment.

However, beneath this carefully crafted image lies a stark reality.

Women, including former members and staffers, have recounted numerous experiences of being sidelined, dismissed, or subjected to inappropriate treatment. Allegations of sexism and harassment have repeatedly surfaced.  ⁸

ADVANCE will campaign on this too-little-known aspect of the Greens.

There’s a massive disconnect between what the Green’s say and do. 

This question looms large over the Greens’ credibility.

The Greens’ truth is becoming increasingly clear: they are no longer who they used to be.

1. The 18 Year Plan for a Greens Government
2. Is the Greens’ Senate Stunt a Distraction From Their Own Woman Problems
3. The Sydney Morning Herald, Michael Koziol, “Lee Rhiannon compares Greens to churches for 'failing to act' on abuse and misconduct claims”, 31 October 2018
4. Greens MP hit by bullying claims
5. Dorinda Cox staff quit Greens senator’s office over toxic workplace claims
6. Victorian MP Sam Hibbins quits Greens party after brief affair with staffer
7. Former Victorian Greens MP Samantha Dunn quits over party's 'toxic' culture
8. Greens staffers on toxic bullying culture in their own words