2024-03-13
Shane Rattenbury and Rebecca Vassarotti have been elected the Parliamentary Leader and Deputy Parliamentary Leader of the ACT Greens, in an Australian-first ballot of members to determine the parliamentary leaders of a political party.
The ACT Greens are the only state and territory-level political party in the country to offer one-member-one-vote leadership elections. This comes after the ACT Greens moved in August last year to shift the decision out of the Legislative Assembly party room and completely into the hands of members.
“Grassroots democracy is all about including people in the decisions that affect them. That’s what we want to normalise for all Canberrans. This leadership ballot is one of many ways that we Greens walk the talk,” said Julie Randall, ACT Greens Co-Convenor.
“It’s exciting for us as a party, but it’s actually exciting for the entire ACT community who’ve never had a chance to choose the leaders of a political party before.”
“The Greens want to make it easier for people to participate in all parts of politics, so we’d encourage Canberrans to get involved, join our party, and have more of a say in all kinds of political decisions that affect their lives,” said fellow Co-Convenor James Cruz.
“We are pleased to confirm Shane Rattenbury, who was the only candidate for Leader, will continue in this position and Rebecca Vassarotti will be our party’s first Deputy Leader. We also wish to acknowledge our other candidates, Jo Clay, Emma Davidson and Laura Nuttall for putting their hands up and giving us such excellent candidates to choose from.”
Quotes attributable to ACT Greens Leader Shane Rattenbury:
“This is a crucial election year for the ACT. It is our chance as a community to chart a new path and make truly transformative change to the systems that fuel the housing, climate and inequality crises, to relieve cost of living impacts and make Canberra an even better place to live.
“We need more Greens in the Assembly to do it, and I’m honoured to be leading such a committed, talented, passionate team of MLAs and candidates with Rebecca as Deputy Leader.
“Leadership isn’t about hierarchy. It’s about empowering and uniting people to achieve our shared vision for this community and the world we share. All Greens are leaders in their circles of influence, shaping debates and generating solutions. Our responsibility is to do this in the local parliament.”
Quotes attributable to ACT Greens Deputy Leader Rebecca Vassarotti:
"The ACT Greens are a party of strong grassroots membership and it's a privilege to be directly elected to the Deputy Leadership by our party.
“I’m proud to work with such an amazing team of MLAs, and such a well-respected and experienced party leader in Shane.
"Together our parliamentary team and our candidates in every electorate are raring to go. It’s time to take action faster, and go further, to make Canberra a fairer place.
"Bring on October!”