Hodgins-May, who has been in the Senate for less than three years, was on holiday at Phillip Island in Victoria when she received the call that Waters was resigning and a leadership spill would be held. Three days later, she addressed 10 colleagues in a Sydney skyscraper, telling them: "I understand I'm pretty new to this parliamentary job. I'm not a polished politician. That's the reason I should be doing this."
The new deputy leader joins David Shoebridge, who was elected leader earlier this week. Shoebridge brings two decades of parliamentary experience to the role, while Hodgins-May highlighted her understanding of young Australians' struggles and her campaign experience after three lower house tilts and a run for the Victorian parliament.
Hodgins-May's great-great-grandfather helped create the National Party, a fact that underscores her family's shift from the conservative party to the Greens. In her pitch to the party room, she presented herself as an unpolished candidate who represents a generation facing economic and environmental challenges.