Melbourne’s inner-city streets buzzed with tension on May 3, 2025, as the federal election vote count dragged into the night. Adam Bandt, the Greens’ long-standing leader, clung to his Melbourne seat by a thread, fending off a fierce Labor challenge. But while Bandt’s victory seemed likely, the party’s broader results sparked a fiery internal clash over where the Greens should steer next—toward the center or deeper into leftist roots.
Bandt, who’s held Melbourne since 2010, faced a tighter race than ever. Labor’s Sarah Witty, a local council candidate with a knack for connecting on cost-of-living woes, drove a 5.4% swing against him. With 62% of votes tallied, Bandt led narrowly, his primary vote hovering around 28,000. The Australian Electoral Commission’s early figures showed Liberal preferences flowing heavily to Labor, making every ballot a nail-biter. Bandt, speaking to supporters at a Docklands party on election night, struck a defiant tone. “We’ll hold Melbourne,” he said, projecting confidence despite the numbers. By May 4, major outlets like the ABC and The Age reported he was likely to scrape through, though the final count could stretch days.
The Greens’ night was a mixed bag. Nationally, their primary vote inched up to 13.4%, a record high, with nearly a third of ballots counted. But the party took a beating in Queensland, losing two Brisbane seats—Griffith and Brisbane—to Labor. Max Chandler-Mather, the Greens’ housing firebrand, and Stephen Bates both fell, with Labor’s Renee Coffey and Madonna Jarrett riding Liberal preferences to victory. The Queensland seat of Ryan, held by Elizabeth Watson-Brown, remained too close to call, a three-way tussle with Labor and the Liberals. In Melbourne’s Wills, former state Greens leader Samantha Ratnam pushed Labor’s Peter Khalil to the edge, with a 10% swing her way but no clear winner by May 4.
Inside the Greens’ camp, the losses stung. At the Melbourne election-night bash, the mood swung from dance-floor energy to quiet unease as results rolled in. Bandt, addressing the crowd at 9:10 p.m., leaned hard on the party’s Senate strength, claiming they’d hold the balance of power there. He blamed the Queensland wipeout on Liberal-Labor preference deals, a “two-party stitch-up” designed to kneecap the Greens. But behind the scenes, party members were at odds. Some pushed for a centrist pivot to broaden appeal, eyeing Labor’s success in suburban seats. Others demanded a bolder leftist stance, doubling down on policies like taxing billionaires, wiping student debt, and banning unlimited rent hikes—ideas Bandt had championed since April 16, when he outlined priorities for a potential hung parliament.
The Melbourne seat itself, redrawn before the election, didn’t help Bandt’s cause. Boundary changes shaved the Greens’ margin from 10.2% to 6.5%, shifting progressive strongholds like Clifton Hill to Cooper and Brunswick East to Wills. New additions like South Yarra and Prahran, where the Greens polled weaker, tilted the electorate toward Labor. Witty, campaigning on housing affordability and slamming Bandt for blocking Labor’s Help to Buy scheme (later passed with Greens’ support), gained ground fast. The Liberal candidate, Stephanie Hunt, trailed but siphoned enough votes to complicate the race.
Nationally, Labor’s landslide victory reshaped the landscape. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, re-elected with a boosted majority, became the first Labor leader since Bob Hawke to win two terms. The Liberal-National Coalition, led by Peter Dutton, crumbled, with Dutton himself losing his Dickson seat to Labor’s Ali France. The Greens, despite their record vote, faced a stark reality: their lower-house presence could shrink to just Bandt and possibly Watson-Brown, a far cry from the “Greenslide” of 2022.
As counting continues, the Greens’ path forward remains murky. Bandt’s leadership, tied to a party-room vote after every election, could face scrutiny if losses mount. For now, he’s focused on holding Melbourne, a seat he’s made a Greens fortress over 15 years. But with members split on whether to chase moderates or rally the progressive base, the party’s next move is anyone’s guess.
The Australian Electoral Commission reported 4.8 million pre-poll votes cast nationwide before May 3. Melbourne’s final result, along with Ryan and Wills, awaits postal and pre-poll counts, expected to wrap up by mid-May.