Internal tensions within the Greens have boiled over, with members of the hard-left of the party grouped around NSW Senator Lee Rhiannon forming their own faction dedicated to the "fight to bring about the end of capitalism".

The formation of the group calling itself "Left Renewal" is an escalation of an ongoing battle between the so-called eastern bloc of the Greens and the group they dismiss as "tree Tories".

Left Renewal's logo.

Candidates backed by the hard-left have lost out in the two most recent state preselections in NSW, with members of the eastern bloc claiming the party has been infiltrated by "those with liberal politics who manipulate party processes [to] solidify their control".

The emergence of Left Renewal poses a challenge for Greens leader Richard Di Natale as the party has always argued publicly that it has no factions and governs itself and formulates policy on a consensus model of decision-making.