Tough personal issues cut short Greens senator's career

Greens senator Barbara Pocock will not re-contest the next election, citing personal reasons.

The South Australian will step away from parliament when her first term expires in 2028, Senator Pocock announced on Tuesday.

"After much consideration, I have made the decision that I will not be nominating for preselection for a second term in the Senate," she said in a statement.

"The reasons are personal: for the past year my partner has had brain cancer and despite his good prognosis, I've reached the view that running for a second term is not right for me."

Senator Pocock was elected to parliament in the 2022 poll as one of two Greens senators from SA alongside Sarah Hanson-Young.

Raised on a farm in Mallee country 200 kilometres east of Adelaide, Senator Pocock studied economics at university before working at the Reserve Bank of Australia, in academia and for the union movement.

She will remain the Greens spokesperson for housing, finance and workplace relations and continue her committee work, including spearheading upcoming inquiries on social housing and superannuation for under-18s.

Since the 2025 election, Senator Pocock and her nine Greens Senate colleagues have held the balance of power in the upper house, enabling them to support the passage of Labor legislation, such as curbs to investor tax breaks introduced in the federal budget.

As well as advocating for the changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax, Senator Pocock has been a vocal critic of the scandal-plagued consulting firms KPMG and PwC.

"The next federal election is a long way off and I still have plenty of work to do on housing, securing super for under 18-year-olds, holding KPMG to account and reforming the Big Four firms," she said.

"I remain committed to continuing my work on climate and environmental justice."