Teal independents in talks to set up their own party
· Michael West
The teal independents are mulling forming a new political party to present voters with an alternative to the major parties, as polling shows surging support for One Nation.
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Independent MP Zali Steggall, who holds former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott’s old Sydney seat of Warringah, confirmed the group was discussing how they could be more effective in parliament as Australia entered a time of “political flux”.
“I’m always open … I’ve made my third term, and after seven years in parliament, I can see how there are many things we could do politics better and differently,” she told ABC radio on Monday.
Zali Steggall has acknowledged talks are underway about creating a new political party. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)“There’s huge frustration and unhappiness with the major parties.
“You see the coalition lurching to the right. The rise of One Nation is really concerning for many in our community.”
A number of independents were swept into power at the 2022 federal election, taking away a number of inner-city seats traditionally held by the Liberals across the country.
Ms Steggall acknowledged the potential loss of votes if they were no longer independents.
RedBridge Group and Accent Research analysis published at the weekend, shows Pauline Hanson’s party could win up to 59 lower house seats if a federal election were to be held.
This would mean One Nation becomes the federal opposition, and force Labor into minority government.
Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull denied rumours he was involved in the talks to create a teal political party.
“There is a vacuum in Australian politics at the moment, because the Liberal Party has moved so far to the right, and in doing so … it’s done itself enormous damage,” he told ABC radio.
“There is a vacuum for an alternative centre party.
“The teals would be obvious people to be part of that … but whether they actually decide to do so is up to them. So I’m not involved with any plans to set something up.”
Allegra Spender says there’s a need “to do something different”. (Dominic Giannini/AAP PHOTOS)Wentworth MP Allegra Spender, who now holds Mr Turnbull’s old seat, said conversations have been held over time about how politics “could evolve”.
“They (voters) are really concerned that, frankly, the major parties are not addressing the issues that matter most to people,” she said.
“A lot of people are saying, you know, we need to do something different.
“So I’ve certainly had lots of conversations, nothing more than that to announce at the moment.”
RedBridge analysis cautioned against the “reflexive interpretation” that growing support for One Nation was showing Australian society lurching towards the far right.
Many people were instead experiencing deteriorating living standards and public services, while trust in institutions such as government, media and businesses had collapsed.