'Toxic': Embattled MP Jeremy Buckingham quits NSW Greens to run as independent

MP Jeremy Buckingham will quit the 'toxic' NSW Greens and will run as an independent at the next election.

JEREMY BUCKINGHAM QUITS NSW GREENS

Jeremy Buckingham says the NSW Greens are 'toxic' and have abandoned their core values. (AAP) Source: AAP

Embattled NSW Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham has quit the party and will stand as an independent at the next state election.

Mr Buckingham, who has come under sustained pressure from factional rivals to leave the NSW Greens over a 2011 sexual harassment allegation, made the announcement on Thursday.

Mr Buckingham described the NSW Greens as a "toxic" organisation that had abandoned their core values.

"They're a revolutionary socialist party that don't reflect mainstream Australian values," he told reporters in Sydney.

"The NSW Greens are no longer focused on the environment, they are no longer the party that Bob Brown founded and I, in good conscience, can no longer be a member of that party."

He said there was already an "exodus" from the NSW Greens over the party's factional infighting, and he asked other members to leave with him.

Mr Buckingham denies any wrongdoing in relation to the 2011 incident involving a party staffer and has pointed to an independent investigation that recommended no adverse findings.

He will be running as an independent at the March state election for a spot in the upper house.

However, he also wants to team up with "like-minded, independent, real Greens" with an eye on lower house seats - including the Newtown electorate of his factional rival Jenny Leong.


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Presented by Yang J. Joo
Source: SBS News, AAP

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'Toxic': Embattled MP Jeremy Buckingham quits NSW Greens to run as independent | SBS Korean