David Shoebridge’s ambition to replace Labor puts a larger question at the centre of Australian politics: can the Australian Greens become a party voters trust to govern? After losing three lower-house seats at the 2025 federal election, including Adam Bandt’s seat, the Greens face the ultimate challenge: they need to connect their criticisms of government with a convincing account of how people’s lives could improve under their policies.
The cost-of-living crisis provides an opening, but public frustration doesn’t necessarily automatically flow towards those who provide the solutions: their story needs to be a convincing one. Anger over rising rents, unaffordable housing, grocery prices and electricity bills can feed demands for stronger public services and corporate accountability. But it can also be redirected towards migrants and welfare recipients, which is what most of the mainstream parties have been doing. While One Nation seeks to capture discontent from the right, the Greens need to make an equally clear argument about who holds economic power, whose interests government protects, and what could change.
Shoebridge’s performances in Senate estimates have given him a platform. Building lasting support requires taking those arguments beyond parliament; housing policy must speak to the renter facing another increase; energy policy must connect climate action with affordable electricity. Opposition to AUKUS needs a credible explanation of the spending choices Australia could make instead, including investment in healthcare, childcare and housing.
The demand that the Greens confine themselves to environmental issues also misses how closely those issues intersect with everyday life. PFAS contamination in Blue Mountains drinking water, the electricity and water demands of data centres, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure in war all raise questions about regulation, public resources and government responsibility. The political task is to make those connections real – and to offer workable responses.
Declaring an ambition to replace Labor is the easy part. The harder work is building the policies, public confidence and electoral support to make that ambition credible. Even if winning government never happens, a stronger Greens challenge could force Labor to compete more seriously for the progressive vote.
