Witty’s Triumph: Ousting the Greens’ Goliath – A Surprising Labor Victory in the 2025 Australian Elections

In the Australian federal election, an underdog defeat occurred in the progressive seat of Melbourne, where Greens leader Adam Bandt was defeated after 15 years in office by Labor candidate Sarah Witty. Initially, the Labor campaign appeared to be underfunded and seemingly no match against Bandt. However, a combination of electoral boundary changes, preference flows not favoring the Greens, and the Greens’ identity crisis contributed to Bandt’s defeat. While the Greens lost in Melbourne, analysts believe the loss could provide an opportunity for the party to reevaluate and potentially strengthen Australian democracy by fostering a strong leftwing party in parliament.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/09/sarah-witty-v-adam-bandt-seat-melbourne-federal-election-labor-greens