Greater Dandenong councillor Rhonda Garad has quit the Greens after seven years as a member.
She says her move is no slight on the Greens, but rather on politics generally being “pretty cooked”.
“I have nothing but good things to say about the Greens. They’re good people,” the outspoken councillor said soon after posting her resignation on social media on 4 July.
“I’ve been proud to be with the only party to stand against the genocide (in Gaza).
“But it’s not working. We can’t stop it.”
She attributed her resignation to “more than just Gaza – it’s more big picture than that”.
“The Greens are at least doing something, trying to get good people elected. It’s a successful movement. Of all the parties, it’s the one I follow.
“But people power doesn’t have an effect. There’s 100,000 people marching every Sunday (in support of Palestine) and it doesn’t get mentioned.
“The issues like income equality, climate change, housing and Gaza – they’re worsening exponentially. And there’s no real effective government response.
“The system is pretty cooked. I got to the point I’m just going to pull back.”
Cr Garad also hinted of opponents monitoring her social media, with prospects of a “creative story” on her “offending someone” coming out in coming days.
Cr Garad has stood for the Greens in the 2020 and 2024 council elections, as well as in state (Mulgrave electorate) and federal (Bruce) polls in the past year.
She said she’d focus on serving out her term as an independent councillor. She doesn’t intend to stand at the next election.
“I’ll direct my energy at a smaller scale.”
