CANBERRA, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- After being elected unopposed to lead the Australian Greens on Tuesday, Adam Bandt called for the government to make a "Green New Deal".
Bandt, the member of Parliament (MP) for Melbourne, was endorsed by the party to lead in Canberra on Tuesday morning following the resignation of Richard Di Natale.
He becomes the first member of the lower house of Australia's Parliament, the House of Representatives, to lead the Greens, a political party in Australia, while all of his predecessors having been members of the Senate.
Addressing the media after his election, Bandt made his intentions clear, promising to focus on a "Green New Deal" for Australia.
"We are in the middle of a climate emergency and long running jobs and inequality crises. People are angry and anxious because the government has no plan for the big problems facing the country," he said.
"That is why Australia needs a Green New Deal... A Green New Deal means government leading the country in transforming our economy, creating new jobs and industries powered by clean energy and delivering universal services like dental into Medicare and genuinely free education. This is what I will be fighting for."
Larissa Waters and Nick McKim, Senators from Queensland and Tasmania respectively, were elected to serve as Bandt's deputies.
Bandt, 47, has served as the MP for Melbourne since 2010 after previously worked as an industrial relations and public interest lawyer.
The Greens hold nine seats in the Senate, making them the third biggest party in the house.
