‘Biggest surge in new members’: Greens celebrate the leadership bump in their numbers

Almost 900 Australians have joined the Greens in the week since Senator David Shoebridge took the leadership, marking its largest membership bump since the party lost two seats and a leader at the last election.

The sudden growth in paying members follows Shoebridge’s pledge to give them a say in the next leadership contest, but the party is not alone in its growth as One Nation claims its membership now outpaces both the Coalition and Labor.

In the week following Shoebridge’s election, the party recorded an additional 884 members, with Victorian party leader Ellen Sandell saying 230 members had joined this week in the state Greens’ “biggest surge in new members on record”.

The Greens are hoping to build their base in Victoria by targeting eight lower house seats in the state election on November 28.

Card-carrying members of political parties are a vital financial and volunteering resource during campaigns.

The bump comes after a week-long media blitz from Shoebridge and deputy leader Steph Hodgins-May talking up established policies such as dismantling AUKUS and establishing a gas export tax, as well as regular posting to social media from the pair encouraging voters to “join the movement”.

In one video, posted to Instagram, Shoebridge encouraged supporters to sign up on the promise of members having a say in the election of future leaders. Currently, only sitting federal MPs have a vote in Greens partyroom elections, a point of contention in last week’s contest.

While the party’s membership surge – confirmed by internal documentation seen by this masthead – is a boon for its new leadership team, total numbers still pale in comparison to that of the ascendant right-wing One Nation.

One Nation memberships have increased by 40,000 since last May’s election, to a total of between 60,000 and 70,000, The Australian Financial Review reported in June. Those numbers were attributed to an unnamed source.

The party’s national director James Ashby told this masthead the quoted numbers were “not incorrect, if anything, slightly undercooked”. Ashby would not provide a definitive number for current memberships. The party chief previously told this masthead One Nation’s ranks grew by 300 members in an hour following the Bondi massacre of December 2025.

Parties are reluctant to share membership numbers, which have dwindled over recent decades as public sentiment shifts away from the political establishment and membership plays a smaller role in community life.

Reporting in this masthead following the 2019 election pinned the Greens total membership at around 15,000, though sources within the party were unable to confirm whether that number had shifted significantly over the past seven years.

Reporting in Guardian Australia in 2020 put the Labor Party’s membership at 60,085, according to national secretary Paul Erickson. Other estimates have put the number between 50,000 and 55,000. Erickson was contacted for an updated number.

The Liberal Party’s official website says its has more than 80,000 members, though the party’s president Tony Abbott said the Liberals “would be lucky to have 50,000 members around the country”, a situation he described as “an existential crisis” when he assmed the role at the end of May.

National Party federal director Andrew Fraser said he did not know the party’s total membership, as it was managed by state and territory branches. Reporting from 2019 in this masthead had the NSW membership at less than 6000.

“It’s clear that something big is happening. People are crying out for change that is centred on hope, and they’re joining the Greens to make that happen,” Shoebridge told this masthead.

⁠“ This is the time. The only way we take on the major parties and replace them is if the community comes together to demand more.”

Greens memberships can cost as little as $5 per year for concession holders in the ACT, Northern Territory and Tasmania, though standard memberships cost between $90 and $140 in larger states.

One Nation offers the lowest standard membership rate, at $60 per year, though the party offers a “Senator’s Circle” membership tier at $500 per year. That tier offers bi-annual invitations to Parliament House to “meet and greet senators” as well as access to “exclusive merchandise”.

Coalition party memberships cost between $100 and $120 in Victoria and NSW, while Labor sets its fees at between $80 and $85 for median-wage earners.

Greens insiders have confirmed the party is seeking to maintain its additional staffing arrangement of 17 personal staff afforded by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, but have yet to receive an official response.

In the most recent Resolve Political Monitor published by this masthead, the Greens received 11 per cent of the primary vote, behind the Coalition at 24 per cent, One Nation at 27 per cent and Labor at 28 per cent.

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