David Martin Shoebridge (born 17 September 1971) is an Australian politician and former barrister who is the leader of the Australian Greens. He has been a senator for New South Wales since 2022, and previously served in the New South Wales Legislative Council from 2010 to 2022 and on the Woollahra Municipal Council from 2004 to 2012.
Political career
Shoebridge was elected leader of the Australian Greens in a leadership election held on 30 September 2026, following the resignation of former leader Larissa Waters. Steph Hodgins-May was elected deputy leader. This was the first Australian Greens leadership election not decided by consensus within the party room, as all previous leaders had been elected unopposed.
2025 federal election context
At the 2025 federal election, the Greens lost three of their previous four representatives in the House of Representatives and retained all 11 of their Senate seats.
Role in misconduct allegations response
In his capacity as Greens leader, Shoebridge denied knowledge of an alleged crisis management document concerning how to deal with misconduct allegations against Western Australian Greens senator Jordon Steele-John being made public. The Nine newspapers reported the existence of a 47-page “secret dossier”, first drafted in 2016, which contained misconduct allegations against Steele-John and how to suppress their media coverage. Shoebridge stated the document was not “made by, used by, or seen by the leader’s office”. He said the office was committed to having the matters comprehensively investigated through a fair, independent and timely process.
Shoebridge referred complaints outlined in a letter to the parliamentary workplace support service (PWSS), which he said was unable to deal with them because of the circumstances and nature of the allegation. The PWSS chief executive, Leonie McGregor, said the office had not been given the letter but had provided Shoebridge’s office with options, including referring the complaints to the independent parliamentary standards commission (IPSC). Shoebridge subsequently referred the matter to the IPSC. He confirmed Steele-John would not return to parliament until independent investigations were completed.
Party context
The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a left-wing green Australian political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third-largest political party in Australia by vote and the fourth-largest by elected representation. The party was formed in 1992 as a confederation of eight state and territorial parties and cites four core values: ecological sustainability, social justice, grassroots democracy, and peace and non-violence.