Australian Greens leader resigns unexpectedly

Australian Senator Christine Milne yesterday unexpectedly resigned as leader of the small but influential Greens Party. Milne, who took over the party in 2012, quickly built on its early successes by aggressively peeling voters from the main opposition Labor Party’s left flank on issues such as climate change and asylum seekers. The Greens chose as her replacement the largely unknown Senator Richard Di Natale, a doctor from Victoria state who was elected to parliament in 2010. “Richard Di Natale has been elected unopposed as the Australian Greens leader,” Senator Rachel Siewart said after the closed-door vote.