The NSW Greens are facing dual crises this week, with a federal senator throwing her support behind a complaint designed to expel a state MP, and party leader Richard Di Natale’s former chief of staff facing constitutional barriers in her attempt to re-enter parliament.

A six-page complaint against NSW upper house MP Jeremy Buckingham was lodged with the NSW Greens on December 30 last year. The complaint, which Junkee has seen, has the backing of federal Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon, and accuses Buckingham of making “serious and false criticisms about both The Greens NSW and some Greens NSW members” in an appearance on the ABC’s Four Corners program.

The Four Corners report, which aired in August 2017, covered the factional turmoil racking the Greens at both a state and national level. The complaint is specifically concerned with the following exchange between Buckingham and Four Corners reporter Louise Milligan:

LOUISE MILLIGAN: Member of the NSW Upper House, Jeremy Buckingham, has been pushing to reform a party structure he sees as deeply undemocratic.

JEREMY BUCKINGHAM, NSW GREENS MLC: At every stage where I’ve tried to democratise NSW, I’ve been blocked by Lee Rhiannon and her faction.

I’ve pushed for membership plebiscites on key policy issues. I’ve pushed for direct election of office bearers. I’ve pushed to have our committees and State Delegates Conference opened up through online webcasts, so more people can participate. But, at every stage, I’ve been blocked by Lee.

LOUISE MILLIGAN: When you say, ‘blocked by Lee, how do you know, ‘blocked by Lee’?

JEREMY BUCKINGHAM, NSW GREENS MLC: What I see, again and again is Lee and her factional allies, blocking these moves at State Conference, blocking them in key committees.

They get up, they say, ‘no, no, no’.

The complaint, which has been co-signed by eight party members, claims Buckingham has been “grossly disloyal to the Greens NSW”. It calls for Buckingham to be expelled from the party or “suspended for many years”.

In the Four Corners interview, Buckingham also alleged he was strong-armed by Rhiannon and her partner Geoff Ash during a Greens conference.

“At the national conference, I was pulled aside by Lee Rhiannon’s partner, Geoff Ash, who demanded that I go into the National Conference and attack Bob Brown and call him a megalomaniac,” he said. “They wanted me to say that he should not be the parliamentary leader because he was a megalomaniac, he would accrue too much power and they would never get rid of him.

“I said to Geoff, I said to Lee ‘I’m not going to do it’. I left the conference.”

Rhiannon has written a statement, included in the comment, refuting Buckingham’s allegations. Junkee asked Rhiannon whether she was aware the complaint called for Buckingham’s expulsion when she provided the statement.

“It is inappropriate for MPs to make public comment on internal complaints,” Rhiannon told Junkee. “However I feel I have no choice but to deny the public slurs Jeremy Buckingham has made against me. The complaint has not been lodged by me or on my behalf, or on behalf of Geoff Ash.”

Will Buckingham Be Expelled?

The complaint entered the public domain in spectacular fashion this morning when a NSW Greens MP and close Buckingham ally, Justin Field, posted about it on Facebook.

In the post, which was addressed to Greens members, Field shared details about the complaint and said: “The complaint has been escalated by the NSW Convenor to a Conflict Resolution Committee. This is a committee of four members, drawn from a hat, who have the constitutional authority to suspend or expel any member of the Party. Any decisions they reach is final and not subject to review by the SDC or the membership.”

The NSW Greens constitution says the Conflict Resolution Committee is made up of four randomly selected members drawn from the party’s office bearers and executive committees. The constitution further gives the Conflict Resolution Committee the power to suspend and expel members, including MPs.

The incident has already spilled into the Greens federal party room. Tasmanian senator and spokesperson for immigration Nick McKim tweeted his support for Buckingham this morning.

Trying to boot @greensjeremy out of the party? Utter madness. He is a mighty voice for the Murray Darling and fearlessly takes on the frackers and water thieves. He is a tireless and highly effective activist MP. We need more like Jeremy, not fewer.

— Nick McKim (@NickMcKim) February 20, 2018

In a letter to the federal party room sent on Monday, Buckingham alleges the complaint “seeks to usurp the grassroots preselection ballot for the 2019 NSW State Election Upper House ticket that is scheduled for April-May 2018, by potentially excluding me as a high profile candidate and sitting MP”.

Buckingham is running for re-election and is expected to face-off against his factional enemy, sitting MP David Shoebridge. A ballot of Greens members, scheduled to be held early this year, will decide whether Buckingham or Shoebridge end up in the number one position for the Greens upper house ticket, likely resulting in their comfortable re-election.

Former Di Natale Chief Of Staff Cate Faehrmann Being “Blocked”

And in another Greens constitutional crisis this week, former NSW MP and Senate candidate Cate Faehrmann is being prevented from nominating for party preselection.

Faehrmann, who recently served as federal leader Richard Di Natale’s chief of staff, announced last month she was stepping down from the role to contest an upcoming preselection for a NSW upper house casual vacancy. Faehrmann served as a NSW MP between 2011 and 2013, and unsuccessfully ran for a Senate seat in 2013.

However, Junkee understands that Faehrmann’s nomination for the preselection may not be accepted by the party, due to a dispute over membership technicalities. Greens sources said her nomination had been “blocked” by the details are more complex.

While Faehrmann was a paid up member of the Victorian Greens and has transferred her membership to the NSW branch, NSW party officials have argued she is “provisional” and thus ineligible to nominate. Junkee understands Faehrmann has produced legal advice contesting that interpretation.

Proposals to resolve the issue and allow Faehrmann to nominate will be discussed at this weekend’s Greens state conference, but Junkee has spoken to several sources concerned that she may be blocked by factional enemies. Faehrmann is considered an ally of Buckingham.

Moves to block Faehrmann’s nomination and prevent her return to the NSW upper house are likely to lead to a further escalation in party tensions given her close relationship to Di Natale. Faehrmann declined to comment when contacted by Junkee.

Both the Buckingham and Faehrmann matters are expected to dominate the party’s conference in Sydney this weekend, setting up a dramatic factional showdown just 12 months from looming state and federal elections.

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Osman Faruqi is Junkee’s News and Politics Editor. He’s a former Greens staffer, candidate and party official.