Federal Greens MPs have launched an extraordinary attack on their colleague Lee Rhiannon, accusing the senator of betraying them by attempting to derail the party's school funding negotiations with the Turnbull government.
Fairfax Media can reveal all nine of Senator Rhiannon's federal colleagues – including leader Richard Di Natale – have co-signed a letter of complaint against her that has been sent to the powerful Greens national council.
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Lee Rhiannon hits back at betrayal claims
Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon has spoken out against claims she derailed her party's school funding negotiations with the government, responding to the colleagues who accused her of betrayal.
A senior Greens source described the intervention as "seismic" and said it could make the NSW hardliner's position in Parliament untenable.
Another source said: "This is unprecedented. Lee has breached the faith of the party and the party room."
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Federal MPs believe Senator Rhiannon white-anted them at a crucial point in the party's history and should be sanctioned, sources said.
The letter reflects fury within the Greens about the party's inability to arrive at a consensus position on the "Gonski 2.0" school funding changes.
Despite securing all their key negotiating demands – including $5 billion in extra funding – the Greens were too paralysed by division to strike a deal with the government.
The Nick Xenophon Team and other crossbench senators instead claimed credit for delivering schools an extra $23.5 billion over the decade.
In the letter, the Greens MPs say they were "astounded" by a leaflet that was recently sent to NSW residents carrying an official authorisation from Senator Rhiannon.
The leaflet said the Turnbull government's schools plan would "rob" money from schools and called for supporters of public education to lobby Greens senators to block the school funding legislation.
It landed in mailboxes in Sydney's inner-west as Senator Di Natale and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull were on the verge of striking an agreement on school funding.
Senator Rhiannon's colleagues only learnt of the leaflet when a photo of it was posted on Twitter on Wednesday.
"We are extremely disappointed that the education portfolio holder, Party Room and the Australian Greens were not made aware of this leaflet and Senator Rhiannon's support for it," the letter from the nine Greens MPs says.
"We were astounded that Senator Rhiannon was engaged with its production and distribution without informing [the] Party Room at a time when we were under enormous pressure from all sides as we considered our position on the [school funding] bill."
It continues: "This leaflet was in circulation when the Leader and the portfolio holder, authorised by Party Room, were in discussions with the government [about] securing billions of dollars of additional funding for underfunded public schools.
"Clearly, this leaflet had the potential to damage those negotiations."
The letter was signed by: Senator Di Natale, Melbourne MP Adam Bandt, West Australian senators Scott Ludlam and Rachel Siewert, South Australian senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Queensland senator Larissa Waters, Victorian Senator Janet Rice and Tasmanian senators Nick McKim and Peter Whish-Wilson.
The MPs say they will "consider what further action should be taken" against Senator Rhiannon when the Greens party room next meets.
Fairfax Media understands Senator Rhiannon has insisted to colleagues she did nothing wrong. She did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday.
It is the latest display of disunity in the Greens after Senator Rhiannon publicly questioned the party's direction under Senator Di Natale's leadership earlier this year.
A Greens source said education spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young, who could not be reached for comment, was "enraged" by Senator Rhiannon's behaviour during the school funding negotiations.
The NSW branch of the Greens is dominated by Senator Rhiannon's "hard left" faction, which takes a more rigidly left-wing approach than anywhere else in the country.
Internal rivals disparagingly refer to the Rhiannon group as "watermelons" – a reference to them supposedly being green on the outside but red (communist) within.
Former Greens leader Bob Brown last year called for Senator Rhiannon to step down and said she was suppressing the party's vote in NSW.
"When it comes to political white-anting, Lee is the Greens' version of Tony Abbott," he said this year.
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