Yet another high-profile Victorian Greens member has quit the party citing “deep-seated cultural issues.”
Former southeastern metropolitan MP Nina Springle announced her “heartbreaking” decision to resign on her Facebook page on April 9.
“Nothing I have seen or heard has indicated to me that the leadership has a willingness to acknowledge the deep-seated cultural issues that must be addressed if the party is to thrive and grow,” she said.
“Reforms that have been talked about tinker around the edges and go nowhere near the root causes of these problems.”
Springle lost her seat in November’s state election and is the second former MP to quit the party since the poll, citing issues with the minor party’s culture.
Last month, former upper house MP Samantha Dunn announced her resignation from the party during an online tirade, claiming the party was riddled by megalomania.
“The Greens are distracted by populism, self interest, power, ego, narcissism, megalomania, appealing to narrowcast demographics and virtue signalling while exercising that old war strategy of divide and conquer,” she wrote.
At the time, the party’s Victorian leader Samantha Ratnam denied bullying claims and said she was “surprised” about Dunn’s decision to leave.
A statement from the Australian Greens Victorian branch on Tuesday said members and supporters were right to feel disappointed with how Springle and Dunn left the party.
“Being an MP representing the Greens is an honour and a privilege. It is a position of leadership and an opportunity to affect change,” the statement said.
“We are a grassroots party and thousands of Greens members and supporters are actively working to strengthen our party and promote our policies because we know how important the Greens are as a political force in Victoria.”
