Earlier this week Greens staffer Osman Faruqi announced via Twitter that he was stepping down from his party roles to try out some new projects. Along with working in Senator Lee Rhiannon’s office, Faruqi was also the Greens candidate for the seat of Heffron at this year’s NSW election, and his mother is a NSW MLC. The decision to step aside and do something new has set tongues wagging in inner-city Sydney circles. Ms Tips hears that Labor expected Faruqi to be the Greens candidate in the seat of Sydney, running against Tanya Plibersek. Crikey reported on ructions within the NSW Greens after the state election, with tension over the lack of support for inner-city candidate Chris Brentin boiling over in emails criticising the party strategy. We asked Faruqi if factional issues were at play in his choice to resign from his roles. “Not at all. My decision to step back from the party was a personal one. I’ve enjoyed my time in the Greens and the support members gave me as a candidate in the state election, but after being an active member for nearly a decade it’s time to do something different.”

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