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Ousted Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather has claimed he was ‘personally abused’ by
Anthony Albanese
during his time in Parliament.
The high-profile MP lost his Brisbane-based seat of Griffith after a sizeable swing to Labor candidate Renee Coffey following the federal election on Saturday.
In his first interview since losing his seat, Mr Chandler-Mather said he had no regrets in his one-term stint but was happy to not spend more time in Parliament.
Mr Chandler-Mather explained he was often ‘screamed and yelled at’ by Labor MPs to the point he felt like vomiting.
‘Basically, every time I stood up, I got screamed and yelled at,’ he told
Triple J
.
In a work environment, it was absolutely terrible and quite often, downright depressing.
‘Frequently, it felt extremely tiring. On one occasion, several members of the Labor frontbench were essentially yelling at me, branding me as a laughingstock and a fool. One minister even made a remark about my mother.’
‘I was merely starting to speak about imposing limits on rental price hikes. Recalling this, I remember returning to my office and feeling so stressed that I felt nauseous.’
Mr Chandler-Mather described Parliament as an ‘unusual location’ because Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would frequently ‘personally attack’ him during sessions in the Chamber.
“The Prime Minister dedicated considerable time in my constituency criticizing me, the real estate sector, and the mining industry, all of which were targeting us,” he stated.
In the chamber, we used to stand up and say, “All we’re asking for is that the government does something for the one-third of the nation that consists of renters.” Once, the prime minister approached me in the chamber, referred to me as a “joke,” and proceeded to personally insult me.
Imagine being in an office environment where colleagues approach you during a presentation and start yelling and screaming. It’s quite bizarre.
Mr Chandler-Mather said the attacks were a point of pride as it showed he was fighting for lower income earners and the millions of Aussies who rent across the country.
In his three-year tenure, Mr Chandler-Mather said he was grateful for giving renters a voice on a national stage but ultimately felt as though he had let the people down.
The 33-year-old blamed the loss in Griffith on the massive collapse for the Liberal Party vote, which saw Aussie voters opt for the Labor party instead.
Mr Chandler-Mather said he was confident Greens Leader Adam Bandt would win Melbourne, with the party likely to hold into the seat of Ryan in Queensland as well.
“This election stands as the second-best outcome in Green Party history, surpassed solely by the period when Adam was at the helm in 2022,” he stated.
‘Adam has played a significant role in reshaping the party. I believe he performed an outstanding job steering the party through this election.’
We will conclude with two or three members of the lower house and secure the highest number of votes for the Senate in our history.
Mr. Chandler-Mather expressed excitement about not needing to commute to and from Canberra anymore, looking forward to taking well-deserved time off to be with his partner, Jo, and their 18-month-old son, Felix.
He stated it was far too premature to consider whether he would return to politics, yet asserted he would keep up his efforts toward achieving a better world.
‘I haven’t had a single day off in the past three years. I am really anticipating getting some relaxation time,’ he mentioned.
I am certainly not stepping down from my commitment to fight for a better world. Being an MP isn’t necessary to make this happen.
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