The Queensland senator will take medical leave and plans to return to Parliament, while the Greens prepare to choose her successor.
By the online editorial team
Larissa Waters has announced she is stepping down as leader of the Australian Greens after a deterioration in her chronic kidney disease, saying she needs to slow down and prioritise her recovery.
Waters said she had been privately managing the condition alongside her political responsibilities, but a recent downturn had made the demands of leadership incompatible with the advice from her doctors.
“Recently it’s taken a downturn, and I need to be honest with myself about not being invincible,” she wrote in a message to supporters.
“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.”
Her departure ends approximately 16 months as leader. She took over in May 2025 after Adam Bandt lost his Melbourne seat at the federal election.
Waters is stepping away from the leadership while retaining her position as a Queensland senator. She will take medical leave and intends to resume her parliamentary duties when her health allows.
“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,” she said.
The Greens said the pressures of the leadership, including additional travel, were incompatible with giving her health the attention it required. The parliamentary party will meet this week to determine the next steps for choosing a new leader.
Waters did not endorse a successor in her announcement. She said she was deeply disappointed that illness had cut her leadership short, but wanted the party to continue its work without delay.
“I want to pass the torch over to someone who is ready to take up the fight,” she said.
Her message reaffirmed the Greens’ priorities on climate action, economic fairness and corporate accountability. She also highlighted the party’s work on gun safety, native forest protection, land clearing and opposition to further coal and gas approvals.
Waters was first elected to represent Queensland in the Senate in 2010. Her announcement signals a change in her political responsibilities, with a return to the upper house remaining her stated intention.
Despite the personal setback, she told supporters she believed the movement’s best days were still ahead.
