Toppled Greens MP labels Parliament ‘sick place’ with toxic work culture

In reflection of his time in Canberra, ousted Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather has described the workplace culture in Parliament as “bloody awful”.

Controversial former Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather – who lost his seat of Brisbane in this year’s 2025 federal election – has given an honest reflection on the workplace culture within the Canberra Parliament, labelling some of his experiences as “bloody awful”.

In his first appearance since losing his seat, Chandler-Mather expressed his outlook on the inner workings of Parliament, telling triple j Hack that, as a workplace, it was at times “miserable”.

“In terms of a workplace, it was bloody awful and frankly, a lot of the times miserable,” Chandler-Mather said.

“Can you imagine if you’re in a workplace and you have people in that workplace coming up and just yelling and screaming at you while you’re trying to give a speech … Parliament is a sick place.”

Despite the volatile nature of the “political arena” in Canberra, Chandler-Mather said he has no regrets about his three-year tenure.

“There were times when I was sitting in Parliament and you’d watch both sides of politics team up to defend the stage 3 tax cuts. Then we were getting attacked because we said we should spend a bit more on public housing and give something for renters,” Chandler-Mather said.

“I feel proud of that work … and I think if I had my time again, I would do it all again.”

As reported by the ABC, returning Prime Minister Anthony Albanese touched on Chandler-Mather’s comments, claiming that the former Greens MP needed a “mirror and a reflection on why he’s no longer in Parliament”.

“This is a guy who stood before signs at a CFMEU rally in Brisbane describing me as a Nazi,” Albanese said via the ABC.

“So, I think it’s a bit rich for him, of all people, who has been rejected by his own electorate after just one term.”

At the height of the CFMEU saga, Chandler-Mather stood by and rallied for the union that was besieged with allegations of corruption, bullying, and lawlessness – eventually leading to the construction arm of the union being placed in administration.

Chandler-Mather described this move by the Labor government at the time as an unfair attack on the entire union.

“Labor has used these untested allegations to attack an entire union. You will be dismissed as radicals … but it’s not radical to believe that a construction worker should be afforded a fair trial like a [chief executive], banker or a politician,” he said.

“The real radicals are the Labor and Liberal politicians on untested allegations who are doing this as judge, jury and executioner.”

Although the post-election headlines have been dominated by the abysmal results for the Liberal Party, the Greens also struggled to further cement themselves in Canberra, posting disappointing results from this year’s vote.

With Chandler-Mather and former party leader Adam Bandt on the outs, leadership for the Greens is set to look different over the next three years. Acting Greens leader Senator McKim offered comments about the party’s leadership process.

“Losing Adam on top of losing Stephen and Max is a bitter blow. They are outstanding people who have contributed so much to our movement. However, our party is bigger than any of us, and we are ready to get to work on the critical issues facing our country,” McKim said.

“Our party room will meet on Thursday to decide our next leader and leadership team. There are a number of incredible people who would make great leaders of our party, and I have absolute confidence that whoever is chosen will lead us strongly and well.”

“The Prime Minister’s instructions that the Senate should get out of his way reek of arrogance and hubris. We have been given a mandate to use our position in the Senate to hold Labor to account and make it act on issues like climate, environment, housing, and social and economic justice. We will be doing exactly that.”