Larissa Waters resigns as Greens leader over kidney disease

Larissa Waters has resigned as leader of Australia’s Greens, saying worsening chronic kidney disease and medical advice that she slow her pace made it impossible to continue leading the party. She plans to take medical leave and return to the Senate, while Greens MPs prepare to choose her successor at a meeting or retreat in Sydney later this week. Waters said she had been managing the condition while serving as leader, but it had recently worsened. In a statement, she said her doctors considered her prospects for recovery good, but advised that recovery required a slower pace than party leadership allowed. Her comments and the party’s account describe her health and medical advice; no independent medical assessment was reported. The leadership ballot has not yet taken place. South Australian senator Sarah Hanson-Young has said she asked colleagues to support her bid, making her the first reported candidate to declare. New South Wales senators Mehreen Faruqi and David Shoebridge and Tasmanian senator Nick McKim have also been identified as possible contenders, but the reports do not establish whether they will run.