EFFIE BATEMAN | Lifestyle | CONTACT
After an election that claimed the scalps of both Liberal and Greens leaders, Elizabeth Watson-Brown has quietly emerged as the Greens’ most successful survivor – largely by avoiding the chaos altogether.
As the only Greens MP to hold her seat, Watson-Brown’s win wasn’t a result of fiery speeches or radical policies but for her ability to appeal to both the youth of her electorate and the savvy b drinking mums.
Representing one of Brisbane’s wealthiest postcodes and armed with a respectable pre-politics CV, Watson-Brown has neatly positioned herself as the Greens MP most likely to be mistaken for a Teal independent – especially when she pops on a well fitted blazer.
While the broader Greens machine raged against landlords and billionaires, Watson-Brown has stuck to the gentler terrain of new bus routes and fighting excessive aircraft noise.
Her survival in this election has prompted internal party discussion about whether the future of the Greens might involve more highly educated middle aged women.
Until then, Elizabeth Watson-Brown will continue her duties as the Greens’ sole representative of the middle-class inner-urban homeowner demographic.
More to come.
