Larissa Waters is a shameless optimist

Greens Leader Larissa Waters has described herself as someone who was elected to “get shit done”. But what does that actually mean? As the first Greens Senator for Queensland, and just the second female leader for the party, Larissa Waters has risen to lead after a difficult election where the party was rejected in some of its inner city heartland, losing its long time leader Adam Bandt. So how does Larissa Waters think about leadership and compromise - and is she actually the ultimate deal maker? In this special Politics Now: The Interview summer series, recorded in the final parliamentary sitting week of 2025, Patricia Karvelas sits down with movers and shakers across the Australian political sphere to unpack the person behind the politics. In this episode Patricia Karvelas is joined by Larissa Waters to explore how she maintains her optimism, managing political leadership as a single mum, and the tension between action and outcome. Production note: This episode was recorded before the Bondi attack on December 14th. Got a burning question? Got a burning political query? Send a short voice recording to PK and Fran for Question Time at thepartyroom@abc.net.au