Australia news live: Larissa Waters says Greens want to work with Labor to ‘get shit done’ | Australia news

Benita Kolovos

Waters says she will take a different approach to Adam Bandt:

I’m a different person to Adam. I take a different approach, and I’m really proud as a woman to have worked on issues for women’s health and equality that I have.

I won’t shy away from that, but I lead a really strong team, and we are committed to delivering for people and planet, and we will be firm but constructive under this government and any future government.

On her comments about getting “shit done” – is that a concession under the previous term the Greens slowed things down in the Senate? Waters says no. She goes on:

No, that’s a mere colloquialism. As a woman who likes to speak plainly, it’s definitely not a reflection on anything that’s come before. It’s, I think, a reflection of what people want from their parliamentarians. They’re sick of the arguments.

They’re sick of the navel gazing. They want to know that we’re here to deliver for the community, and I’m letting them know the Greens are here for that.

Greens want to work with Labor to ‘get shit done’, Waters says

Benita Kolovos

Larissa Waters says the Greens want to work with Labor to “get shit done”.

There’s a chance now for real reform that helps people, and that’s what the Greens want to encourage and work with the Labor government to do.

They can’t blame anyone else now, because we’re saying here, we will give you the numbers in the Senate to pass good reforms that helps people and helps the planet. People elected us to get shit done, and that’s what we intend to do.

Benita Kolovos

‘This team provides the skills and the grunt that we are going to need,’ Hanson-Young says

Sarah Hanson-Young is asked why she didn’t contest the Greens leadership. The South Australian senator says:

This team that we have had elected by our party room today, I think is the best team for us at this moment. We have just been through what has been an extraordinary election campaign …

We had strong results in the Senate and we sadly lost not just colleagues, but our leader in the house. This team provides stability. This team provides the skills and the grunt that we are going to need for this next three years.

And Larissa asked me to take on the role of manager of business, and I said I would, and I would do it with all the gusto, all of the effort and all of the loyalty I have in my bones.

Benita Kolovos

‘We are not going to take a step backwards,’ Faruqi says

Back to the Greens’ press conference.

The Greens deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, says it’s “exciting” as it’s the first time the party has had two women in the leadership positions.

She says she’s ready to “do the work” and thanks the millions of voters who backed the Greens at the election.

Faruqi says:

[There’s] tens of thousands who for the first time voted Green in areas that we haven’t been able to reach before, have backed our bold election agenda. Migrant and multicultural communities have in the tens of thousands – across Sydney, across Brisbane, across Melbourne – backed our strong stand against the genocide in Gaza and for us telling the truth about what is happening.

To the rightwing media, to the billionaires, to the big corporations and to the Albanese government, this is our message: we are not going to take a step backwards on action on climate, on the environment, on housing and for justice for Palestine. Our voters have put us there to fight for people and the planet, and that is exactly what we will be doing.

Albanese notes this year is the 80th anniversary of Indonesia’s independence, adding Australia was one of the first nations to support “that noble cause”.

We did not wait for permission from colonial powers on the other side of the world. This was Australia’s choice, and it was driven by Australian values in supporting Indonesia’s independence …

I thank you, Mr President. I thank you for the one-on-one discussions that we were able to have today … I thank you for the extraordinary welcome and the generosity in which we have been received here. It has indeed been an extraordinary honour for me to represent the country that I love here in the region that we share …

I look forward to continuing to build on our relationship on a personal level. But importantly as well, to build on the relationship between our two nations. Terima kasih [thank you].

PM tells Indonesians: ‘I want us to aim higher, go further and work even more closely together’

Albanese says the strengthening of investment in Indonesia is “vital”, but “it is not inevitable to convert extraordinary potential into concrete progress”.

He says the US government, business and civil society “need to demonstrate greater engagement and ambition”.

That is what has driven me since I came to Indonesia for my first bilateral leaders’ meeting as prime minister nearly three years ago, to build a partnership between our nations that matches the scale of the growth and transformation that is under way … to seize our common opportunities and the strength and resilience that enables us to deal directly and respectfully with our differences.

He points to a defence cooperation agreement agreed to last year, while adding “I want us to aim higher, go further and work even more closely together”.

Albanese speaks in Indonesia about his first bilateral meeting since re-election

We will return to Waters, however the prime minister has just stood up in Jakarta.

Anthony Albanese says he is “absolutely delighted” to be there for his first bilateral meeting following his re-election, and fourth visit to Indonesia as PM.

I have come to our region first because our region comes first to us. I am here in Indonesia because no relationship is more important to Australia than this one. And no nation is more important to the prosperity and security and stability [of our region] than Indonesia.

This is the fastest-growing region of the world in human history, and Indonesia is central to that growth. Already the fourth-largest nation in the world by population and projected to be the fifth-largest economy in the world by the end of the next decade. The growth and transformation is a credit to the hard work and aspiration of the people.

Waters goes on to send “all of my love” to the former leader Adam Bandt, who lost the seat of Melbourne.

We miss him desperately and he was a wonderful leader for this party, and all of our love goes to him and his family. We hope to welcome him back.

She says the Greens intend to “continue to grow”, acknowledging they are a Senate dominated team with one lower house seat.

We got so close in a number of lower house seats to turn those seats Green … So folks, we’ll be back. We’re here and we continue to show up for the community and continue to try to represent them and their interests.

So it’s been an absolutely humbling day. And this is a big job, but I will give it my very best. And I’m proud that we have such strong women leading this party.

I’m proud that we have a Queenslander leading the Greens for the first time, and I commit to you that as a former environmental lawyer, as a proud feminist, that I will always work for equality and I will always work for nature and for the community and to help people.

Waters calls for action on the climate crisis, strong laws to protect nature and addressing inequality, including strong funding for public services.

We are the Greens, of course we stand firm always on social justice and human rights, whether that’s First Nations justice, whether that’s a free Palestine, whether that’s peace and human rights globally, we will always be there calling out atrocities, calling out a genocide and standing strongly on social justice and human rights.

Larissa Waters stands up next.

She thanks everyone for “waiting out here in the cold” for the press conference and says she is “thrilled” to have the support of her colleagues to be Greens leader.

I’m the fifth leader of our wonderful party, and I pay tribute to all of our previous leaders. And I really want to thank my party room colleagues for their support today.

It’s never been more important to have a strong Greens team in parliament. The issues that people are facing are getting harder and are getting worse. We need strong action on the climate, on nature, on the housing crisis, on the cost-of-living crisis. And we need our parliament to work to actually meet the needs of the people that it’s been elected to represent.

She acknowledges her team, including the deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi.

I feel so strengthened by the sentiment of the room and by this amazing team. We’ve got a lot of work to do because people are really hurting and the planet is hurting, and we need a parliament that actually delivers for people and has the courage and the boldness and the heart to deliver some help to people. So I’m calling today for a progressive parliament and a politics with heart.

Greens press conference begins

Nick McKim is addressing the media now.

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young … was elected unopposed by consensus into that role … I stay on as our whip and I was elected unopposed by consensus into that position.

And Senator Penny Allman-Payne is our deputy whip. That was a contested ballot, contested by Penny and Senator Dorinda Cox. And the results of that ballot were eight votes to Penny and four votes to Dorinda.

So I hope that gives an indication with full transparency about the process and the outcomes of the meeting. And I’m now thrilled to hand over to the new leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Larissa Waters.

Waters calls for ‘politics with heart’

The Greens have released a statement following the unanimous election of Senator Larissa Waters as their new leader.

The leadership ballot was uncontested.

As we mentioned earlier, Mehreen Faruqi will remain deputy leader and Nick McKim will continue as party whip. Senator Sarah Hanson-Young will be the Greens manager of business and Senator Penny Allman-Payne will be party room chair and deputy whip.

Waters said she called for “politics with heart”.

For a progressive parliament that gets outcomes for people and genuinely tackles the problems we’re all facing. This parliament could achieve real progress: climate and environment action, dental into Medicare and free childcare.

The Greens will be firm but constructive in our approach with the Labor government, and work for outcomes that help improve people’s lives and protect nature and the climate.

Sarah Basford Canales

Mehreen Faruqi remains as Greens deputy leader

The Greens are due to start a press conference any minute now in Melbourne with the new leader, Larissa Waters, expected to announce the results.

Mehreen Faruqi, who was deputy leader under Adam Bandt, will continue in the role under Waters.

Nick McKim will continue as the party whip with Penny Allman-Payne as deputy whip and party room chair.

The leadership role was not contested and did not go to a ballot.

Sarah Basford Canales

Di Natale congratulates ‘terrific’ new Greens leader Waters

The former Greens leader Richard Di Natale has congratulated the party’s new leader, Larissa Waters, on her win.

In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Di Natale described the Queensland senator as a “terrific deputy” during his time as leader.

Larissa has fifteen years experience in parliament working hard to strengthen our democracy, create a more just society and uphold the rights of women.

She was a terrific deputy during my time as leader and I always appreciated her policy expertise, friendship and her sheer hard work.

Listen to our interview with Di Natale here:

PM politely declines honorary citizenship offer from father’s home town

Anthony Albanese has politely declined an offer to be an honorary citizen of the Italian city of Barletta, the birthplace of his late father, Carlo, due to constitutional legal concerns.

An article published in the southern Italian outlet Corriere del Mezzogiorno confirmed the symbolic honour was proposed by the mayor of Barletta, Cosimo Cannito, after the PM’s re-election:

Cannito described the prime minister’s political journey as a source of immense pride for the Puglia region in southern Italy.

Carlo worked as a steward on an Italian cruise ship where he met Maryanne Ellery, Albanese’s mother. The PM believed Carlo had died in a car accident until he was 14. After his mother’s death, Albanese met his father in 2009 in Barletta, visiting again in 2013 prior to his death a year later.

The mayor, Cannito, said Albanese’s personal story had allowed the city to be “brought to the forefront of the world stage”.

It is the success story of a man who, starting from the other side of the world, was able to rediscover his origins and now claims them with pride. And this makes the entire community of my city proud to have him at the helm of a great country like Australia. We await him again with open arms, to celebrate him as he deserves.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Albanese was unlikely to accept the honorary title while serving in parliament, which had been diplomatically relayed to the regional city council.

Rafqa Touma

Thank you for joining me on the live blog today. Handing over now to the great Caitlin Cassidy, who will keep you posted with the afternoon’s news.