NSW senator, who has denied being involved with the far-left group, says diversity of opinion within the Greens party should be welcomed

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Lee Rhiannon has downplayed reports that the Left Renewal faction she is linked to is splintering the Greens and compromising support from its members, and said diversity of opinion within the party should be welcomed.

The far-left group formed in late December by members of the New South Wales Greens has been publicly disavowed by the party leader, Richard Di Natale, and presented as evidence of internal tensions within the Greens boiling over into the public.

But NSW senator Rhiannon said on Wednesday morning every political party had its differences, which only became problematic when they threatened to derail or overwhelm it.

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“We’ve got tensions, we’ve got contradictions, which I think are very important in helping to resolve the challenges that we face.



“But if you don’t handle that in a constructive way, the tension can become to a point where it becomes so fractious it’s hard to hold the show together, it’s hard to be constructive.

“Tensions and contradictions don’t have to be the opposite of a constructive party. It’s working out that balance.”

Rhiannon has consistently said she is not involved with Left Renewal, but has been reported as a leader within the group, and has expressed support for its stated aim of ending capitalism.

Di Natale described the group’s manifesto as “ill-thought through” when it was published in December, and said the majority of Greens members did not support “the overthrow of capitalism or any other ridiculous notions of the sort”.

He also voiced opposition to “going down the Labor route” of establishing formal factions, which the Greens National Council later, on 28 January, declared “incompatible” with the party’s principles.

But on Wednesday Rhiannon said in her experience Greens members were not concerned by Left Renewal.

“I spend my life padding around Green seats, that’s what you do as an MP, and you learn a lot about where members are at in terms of how you represent them and how you deal with issues.

“Most people, Left Renewal is not this divisive problem for them – it’s just one more aspect of the party.”

The former party leader Bob Brown has condemned Left Renewal as “trying to do away with law and order and end capitalism” – an extension of his attack on Rhiannon, whom he accused of introducing factionalism to the party after the July 2016 election.

In January Brown said she was the “Greens version of Tony Abbott”, after she told Fairfax Media the party was at a “crossroads” and should look to “the Bernie Sanders experience” for inspiration about how “people with radical and anti-establishment policies can win mass support”.

On Wednesday Lee told Guardian Australia criticism of “the powers that be of capitalism” was not new for the Greens, referring to its first policy document, More Good Oil published in 1984.

Progress towards addressing racial and gender inequality was frustrated within a capitalist society when “the system rests on it, and history shows that”, she said.

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“It doesn’t mean there can’t be advances ... but overall, that division of pitting one group of people against each other has been a hallmark of capitalism. We’re seeing it in a very crude way under Trump.”

Rhiannon said Left Renewal was “depicted as divisive” but that was not necessarily the reality. “A lot of these people in Left Renewal are hard-working members, we work with them – there are rightwing people in the party, too. You work together in different ways.”



There were also other groupings within the Greens that did not get the same media attention, which she said she found “disturbing”. One known faction is the NSW Greens Supporter (No Nastiness) group, set up in early September over selection for Greens MLC John Kaye’s successor.

On Thursday the Australian reported that two activists linked to the Greens had criticised Left Renewal as being constrained by “staffer cliques” from within, singling out Rhiannon and NSW upper house MP David Shoebridge.

Rhiannon said Left Renewal was “causing problems for a few people” but the party had continued to function in the more than two months it had been active.

“We’re doing really good work, we’re getting ready for local government elections, there’s no moves to expel people, there are debates going on – that’s what political parties should be.”