Larissa Waters steps down as Greens leader due to ill health

Larissa Waters has announced she will step down as leader of the Australian Greens. Waters says the pressure of the party’s leadership, including additional travel demands, was detracting from a focus on her health. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images

Greens leader Larissa Waters has announced she will step down due to ill health, with a party room meeting expected within days to choose her successor.

Waters revealed on Monday night she has been managing a pre-existing kidney disease, but that her health had “declined significantly over the course of recent months”.