‘I’m up for a red hot fight’: polarising new Greens leader David Shoebridge is taking on the top ‘1%’ – and One Nation

New Greens leader David Shoebridge has said he is “up for a red hot fight” and hit out at One Nation’s “politics of hate”, signalling a more confrontational style of delivery under his leadership.

The NSW senator, elected as leader on Wednesday afternoon following Larissa Waters’ shock resignation, said the minor party would show people it understood their anger and mistrust with mainstream politicians, and “show them who their real enemy is” – the elite 1%.

“I think what people are looking for in this moment is a red hot fight – a red hot fight for them, a red hot fight for their kids, a red hot fight for a safe climate,” Shoebridge told Guardian Australia.

“I think my political career shows that I’m up for a red hot fight on these things.”

Entering federal parliament in 2022 after more than a decade in NSW state politics, the 55-year-old becomes the sixth federal Greens leader since the party was created in 1992.

Shoebridge leads the party following a devastating 2025 election outcome, which resulted in its former leader, Adam Bandt, and two up-and-coming lower house MPs losing their seats.

While the Greens have maintained their primary support at around 10-12%, the rise of One Nation has meant they are no longer the main minor party threat to future Labor and Coalition governments.

The one-time barrister and corporate lawyer from Sydney’s wealthy eastern suburbs said his mission now is to show voters One Nation is not the answer they’re looking for.

“When you get out and meet with Australians who are facing these kinds of challenges … working two jobs and still not being able to afford the rent, no one would criticise people for being angry with politics in those moments and searching for whatever answer they can find,” Shoebridge said.

“Our job is to is to take them away from the politics of hate, the politics of racism that One Nation wants to provide in that moment, and show them who their real enemy is.

“It’s not their neighbour who’s from the Philippines who’s working at the local emergency department.

“It’s the 1%, the corporates that are literally stealing their future from them.”

Shortly after Shoebridge emerged the victor of Wednesday’s party room ballot, the former deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, posted a stinging criticism of the process.

“I’ve long advocated publicly that Greens leaders should be elected by members with enough time for thoughtful deliberation on who is best to grow our party,” Faruqi said.

“I share members’ frustration that the opposite happened this week. Without a member vote, we cannot call ourselves a grassroots party. I call on the new leadership team to set a timeline for one member, one vote.”

Shoebridge said he would give the membership a “real and direct say on the next choice of a federal leader” before the next federal election.

“This is a process that will take months to work through with the party and work collaboratively with the party to deliver, and we are committed to having that in place before the next federal election,” he said.

“After the election [it] will trigger an automatic vote for the next leader. That’s the timeframe we’re working to, and that’s the timeframe we’re committed [to].”

The polarising NSW senator

Shoebridge is one of the minor party’s newer additions but almost all of his upper house colleagues have an opinion about him.

In his four years in Canberra, he has built up a reputation of being one of the most effective senators and political communicators.

Greens senator, Barbara Pocock, said Shoebridge and his deputy, Steph Hodgins-May, would “bring new energy and grow momentum on the issues that Larissa’s laid the groundwork for”.

“Given the crisis in politics across our country right now, that is very welcome, and I think it will make a difference,” she said.

The popular independent ACT senator, David Pocock, described him as “smart” and a “hard worker”.

“He recognises politics in our country is in a time of flux and I’m sure he will keep pushing hard and holding the major parties accountable as leader of the Greens,” Pocock said.

Shoebridge’s role as the grand inquisitor of Senate estimates – of which many of his performances are clipped up and shared on social media to a much larger audience – has earned him both praise and criticism.

One of his Senate colleagues said no one gets under Labor’s skin more than Shoebridge.

Earlier this month, the government’s Senate leader, Penny Wong, took issue with his interjections.

“Oh, the smartest man in the Senate is speaking again! So good to hear from you,” she said.

Labor sources, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, described Shoebridge as annoying but “very effective” in the Senate while others said he had “huge ego”.

“In the face of an insurrection among the grassroots led by Mehreen Faruqi, Senator Shoebridge will have to convince the membership and his Canberra colleagues that the straight, white man from Woollahra is their best hope,” one Labor source said.

A senior Labor figure said their honest assessment of Shoebridge was that he does not invest in relationships, likes things done his way and is not a natural negotiator.

They pointed to a recent scenario where Labor offered the Greens the final seat on a joint artificial intelligence committee, as long as it didn’t go to Shoebridge. Waters refused, so Labor sent it to a vote in the Senate, where Shoebridge lost decisively to Pocock, 49 votes to 12.

Former party colleague, Lidia Thorpe, said Shoebridge wasn’t a “team player”.

While they had personal differences, Thorpe said she respected Shoebridge’s strong support for reducing Indigenous incarceration rates.

“I just want outcomes for my people and if it means that he’s going to platform the same issues, then that’s what I’ll work with,” the independent Victorian senator said.