Greens leader Adam Bandt has conceded defeat in his Melbourne electorate, saying he had to overcome an “Everest” in order to win.

Bandt was defeated by Labor’s Sarah Witty, but he said the battle had come from all sides, including the Liberal Party and One Nation.

“The Greens got the highest vote in Melbourne, but One Nation and Liberal preferences will get Labor over the line,” he said.

The ABC had earlier called it a loss for the Greens leader.

“To win in Melbourne we needed to overcome Liberal, Labor and One Nation combined, and it’s an Everest we’ve climbed a few times now, but this time we fell just short,” he said.

Despite losing his seat — and the ousting of two other Greens MPs — Bandt said he was leaving the party in its best shape.

“This election we may also end up with a record high vote in the Senate of around 13 per cent,” he said.

Bandt said what happened to the Greens in Melbourne included boundary changes, which cut many Greens voters from the electorate.

But he also highlighted the “Dutton” factor, with voters so averse to Peter Dutton that they did not want to risk their vote with the Greens.

“People in Melbourne hate Peter Dutton with a very good reason,” he said.

“They have seen his brand of toxic racism on display for many years, seen his time as immigration minister, seen him make comments about Melbourne and…many, many of them wanted him as far away from power as possible.

“Despite us making it very clear that we shared their position, my initial take is some votes leaked away from us as people saw Labor is the best option to stop Dutton.”

Bandt said people who would usually vote Green had told him “this time they did not because of Peter Dutton”.

“Labor made it very clear that Dutton was about trying to bring the Trump of politics to Australia and I think it became one of the key defining features of the election that drove a big part of the five-week riptide.”

Bandt said he was proud of his record over the last 15 years. He held the seat since 2010.

“Together we made marriage equality law after getting the highest vote in the country on this so no-one should have ever had to fight,” he said.

“Together we got dental into Medicare for kids and got world-leading climate legislation.

Bandt, who has been party leader since 2020, joins firebrand Griffith MP Max Chandler-Mather and member for Brisbane Stephen Bates in heading for the exit.

Fellow Queenslander Elizabeth Watson-Brown is expected to retain the seat of Ryan to be the sole Greens MP in the House of Representatives.

Deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi and manager of business in the Senate Sarah Hanson-Young are early front-runners to take over the leadership.

Greens Senate leader Larissa Waters is another contender, as is high-profile senator David Shoebridge.

The Greens, who campaigned heavily on housing and the war in Gaza, have faced criticism for straying from their core principles of advocating for action on climate change and environmental protections.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who spearheaded Labor’s dominant victory at Saturday’s federal election, said the Greens lost their way during the last term, holding up legislation boosting public housing and environmental protections.

“It’s pretty hard to see that they have a reason for any joy arising out of this election,” he told Sky News.

Faruqi blamed the swing against the Greens on voters switching to Labor to avoid the prospect of a Peter Dutton-led government.

“A lot of progressive Australians were deeply anxious about a Dutton government, and I think that was a factor in some of the lower house seats,” she told ABC Radio.

“But also those same voters clearly wanted us to hold a potential Labor government to account, which is why we also achieved record high Senate votes.”

While the Greens have been wounded by the loss of their leader, their power in shaping legislation has arguably increased.

Despite having four lower house MPs in the last parliament, Labor’s majority in the House of Representatives essentially made them redundant.

But with Labor increasing its Senate numbers and the Greens holding onto 11 seats in the upper house, the minor party now boasts sole balance of power.

Labor can pass legislation opposed by the coalition with only the support of the Greens and without needing the help of independent senators such as David Pocock or Jacqui Lambie.

–with AAP