Two Greens MPs are likely to become one-term wonders, predicted to lose their federal seats despite the minor party’s primary vote holding up.
Golden boy Max Chandler-Mather is on the chopping block, with Labor claiming victory in his Brisbane-based seat of Griffith after a sizeable swing to candidate Renee Coffey.
Admitting defeat last night, Mr Chandler-Mather told his supporters that he had set out to ‘fundamentally transform Australian politics, economy and society in favour of ordinary working people’.
‘That sort of project is going to have more setbacks than it has victories, because the forces that we are coming up against are enormously powerful,’ he said.
‘I believe we can get there. I believe we can win. It is going to take time.
‘There is a reason that so much of the political establishment is happy about this result for us tonight — not because they think we’re beat, because they know what we’re capable of.’
While in parliament, Mr Chandler-Mather earned the nickname of ‘Albo’s nemisis’ due to his clashes with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over housing policy.
In 2023, tensions first flared up during a debate over the $10billion Housing Australia Future Fund.
As Mr Albanese was leaving the chamber, he reportedly turned back and directed an angry remark to Mr Chandler-Mather, saying: ‘You’re a joke, mate.’
Labor claims victory in Griffith as Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather faces a shock swing against him
Nicknamed ‘Albo’s nemesis,’ Mr Chandler-Mather repeatedly locked horns with Anthony Albanese over housing policy.
Last year, Mr Chandler-Mather questioned why the Prime Minister was able to rake in an extra $115,000 a year in rental income while he lives rent-free at The Lodge and Kirribilli House during a housing crisis.
These confrontations led many young Australians to see Mr Chandler-Mather as a strong voice representing their concerns about the housing crisis.
In a post to social media on Saturday night, Greens leader Adam Bandt claimed Mr Chandler-Mather would be back.
‘There’s never been a first term MP who has had the impact Max Chandler-Mather has had,’ he wrote.
‘He put the rental crisis firmly in the spotlight. He secured billions of dollars for social housing. He fed his local community with his own money.
‘This is not the last we’ve seen of him.’
Greens’ Brisbane MP Stephen Bates is also projected to lose his seat to Labor’s Madonna Jarrett.
The Greens’ nationwide vote was 12.2 per cent with 70 per cent of the ballots counted on Sunday morning.
Mr Bandt had a major scare on Saturday night: as of midnight, Labor’s Sarah Witty was leading with 50.7 per cent of the vote, while Bandt trailed with 49.3 per cent.
However, by Sunday morning, the tide had turned in his favour — Mr Bandt had taken the lead with 51.5 per cent, ahead of Witty’s 48.5 per cent.
If Mr Bandt had lost, the party would have been thrown into chaos without their leader in Parliament.
