Greens weigh Steele-John's party expulsion and Senate estimates participation

More than seven secret-ballot votes needed to compel party-room leave

More than seven members — or two-thirds — of the Australian Greens’ party room would have to support Jordon Steele-John’s expulsion in a secret ballot before the Western Australian senator would have to comply with leave. Shoebridge maintains that Steele-John agreed to take leave but acknowledges that he lacks the power to force compliance alone. More than a week after allegations that the 32-year-old senator had behaved inappropriately towards women made headlines, Guardian Australia reported that his party position remained in limbo and that Shoebridge’s handling of the issue was in question.

A second immediate choice concerns Monday’s Senate estimates, where Guardian Australia said Shoebridge’s ability to deal with the matter would be on show. The Greens must decide whether their disability spokesperson, Steele-John, should be allowed to attend, perhaps virtually, while the NDIS undergoes major changes between now and the end of the decade. Guardian Australia characterized Steele-John as “championed and well-liked within the disability community.”

Guardian Australia described Senate estimates as a time for upper-house members to have their moment in the spotlight. For the Greens, the report said the session is a chance to extract answers about government policies from carefully trained bureaucrats to “drive home a political point.”

Guardian Australia characterized the matter as Shoebridge’s “first major challenge at the helm of the federal Greens.” Earlier this month, the Nine newspapers reported that a three-page letter had been sent to Shoebridge urging an independent investigation into Steele-John. The letter referred to secondhand allegations that the Western Australian senator had acted inappropriately towards women between 2017 and 2025. Guardian Australia said it made sense for Shoebridge to announce the 32-year-old’s leave amid the independent probe, noting that the Greens are a progressive party that prides itself on taking such matters seriously and fairly.

Days later, Steele-John rejected the allegations against him, denied he had agreed to take leave from parliament, and accused an internal faction within the WA Greens of playing “nasty political games” in its decision to release the letter to the media. Steele-John said he made a public statement because he did not want his silence on the letter’s claims to be perceived as guilt.

Guardian Australia noted that no complainant had come forward directly to make the allegations. The report said many supporters within and outside the Greens would find it difficult for a federal party member accused of sexual misconduct to continue public duties, particularly as the “manosphere” phenomenon and backlash against the #MeToo movement gained momentum in mainstream society.

If the party pursued the secret-ballot expulsion route, Guardian Australia said Steele-John’s standing in the party room would be shattered even if the WA Greens’ independent investigation cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Guardian Australia said the question of whether the allegations were politically motivated by adversaries of Steele-John looking to gain an advantage in the state’s pre-selection was part of the equation. The report noted that the rumours had persisted over the senator’s time in office. Even if the rumours were malicious, as Steele-John contends, Guardian Australia said the simpler option would still be to stand aside and settle them while they were investigated.

Guardian Australia assessed that the decision over whether to force Steele-John to take leave would be as much about Shoebridge’s leadership as about the party’s processes. Guardian Australia said the party room and its broader membership prided itself on being a movement based on consensus decision-making, and that Shoebridge would need the party room’s support to pursue the expulsion route. It said his handling of the dispute would set the tone for the rest of his leadership and, depending on his actions, could prompt “an ugly battle with Steele-John.”

Guardian Australia called the situation “a quagmire – politically, legally and ethically” and said, “There are unlikely to be any winners.”

Steele-John’s unresolved party-room position extends MSI’s Oct. 16 report on the referral for independent investigation and its Oct. 15 report on Steele-John’s disputed leave.