Cate Faehrmann

Cate Faehrmann is a long-time campaigner for the environment, climate and social justice and a leading voice for progressive change in NSW.  

As a Greens MP from 2010-2013 and again since 2018, Cate has spent her time in parliament standing up for people, protecting nature and taking on powerful interests. While chairing the groundbreaking Upper House Inquiry into Koalas, she led an investigation that made headlines around the world when it found that koalas will become extinct before 2050 without urgent government intervention and action to protect their habitat. She has also used her role to expose the extent of PFAS contamination in this state, highlight the impact of lead pollution on children in Broken Hill and push for stronger protections for threatened species and their habitat.  

As the NSW Greens Water spokesperson, Cate has taken on powerful interests behind the mismanagement of NSW’s rivers and wetlands. In 2026 she led a campaign to restore environmental water to the internationally significant Gwydir Wetlands after flows were halted, leaving hundreds of turtles stranded in drying mud. Mobilising thousands of people, the campaign helped force the government to resume environmental flows and shone a national spotlight on the devastating consequences of putting big irrigator interests ahead of our rivers, wetlands and wildlife. 

Cate has also been at the forefront of the fight to make NSW’s drug laws fairer and safer. She has campaigned to allow pill testing, end criminal penalties for personal drug use and reform laws that discriminate against medicinal cannabis patients. She has also fought against the use of invasive strip searches and drug dogs, using her position in parliament to force the release of data that exposes the scale and failure of NSW’s “tough on crime” approach to drug policing. 

Cate has been a strong voice for people affected by gambling harm, pushing for mandatory cashless gambling and greater accountability for an industry that has wielded far too much power over politics. She successfully pressured the government to close loopholes that allowed poker machine venues to operate overnight when the risk of pokies harm is at its worst. She has also championed the importance of the arts, music and nightlife, standing alongside artists, venues and communities fighting for vibrant, creative and inclusive cities. 

Before entering parliament, Cate was Executive Director of the Nature Conservation Council, Chair of Sea Shepherd Australia, a founding director of GetUp! And board member of the Environmental Defenders Office. Cate has been a long-standing advocate for LGBTQIA+ equality and the right to die with dignity, and was Chief of Staff to Australian Greens Leader Richard di Natale when the federal parliament legalised marriage equality and medicinal cannabis.  

Cate believes politics should be about making people’s lives better and protecting our planet, not about serving powerful vested interests. Whether standing up for nature, fighting for someone caught up in an unjust law, helping a community stop a toxic mine or defending the artists and venues that make NSW special, Cate brings a sense of justice, compassion and willingness to take on the powerful. She knows that change doesn’t happen overnight but when people come together and keep on fighting, we can win. 

Cate’s portfolios: 

• Water
• Mining, Coal & Gas 
• Transport
• Drug Law Reform & Harm Reduction 
• Gambling Harm Minimisation 
• Healthy Oceans
• Fair Trading & Building 
• Music & Night-time Economy 
• Arts & Creative Industries 
• Multiculturalism 
• Innovation, Science & Technology 
• Illawarra & South Coast 
• Western Sydney