Charlotte Mortlock, a former journalist and campaigner who worked to attract women into the Liberal Party, has started a new grassroots movement to create Australia’s next major political party.
After leaving the Liberal Party and Hilma’s Network after running out of “patience and steam” to reform the party from within, Mortlock is now the founder of Something Better Australia.
“It has become increasingly apparent that Australians are starving for hope and for more alternatives,” Mortlock tells Women’s Agenda.
“We’re seeing this anti-establishment rhetoric, and that phrase has links to a radical anarchy. But I don’t actually think that that is what Australians want. They don’t want to be radical. They just want effective governments.”
Mortlock says she hopes the movement will build a foundation to trigger a new political party that can fill the void left by the declining vote of the major parties.
Something Better Australia does not have any policies, instead it has adopted four key principles:
- 10-year goals and visions for Australia
- decisions based on evidence not ideology
- collaborative politics across the aisle for the greater good
- valuing prosperity, democracy and cohesion (over a desire to stay in power, grievances and division).
Mortlock makes clear the movement isn’t about “left” or “right” or fitting into a particular progressive or conservative echo chamber.
“I have long resisted the idea of the Scandinavian model of smaller parties making up government, but at the end of the day, if the major parties aren’t willing to evolve, then we have to look at alternatives. This is the way we can do that,” she said.
It comes as the Liberal Party continues to lag in the polls after losing federal elections in 2022 and 2025 and rolling their first female leader in Sussan Ley. The Labor Party may have won government in a landslide election win in 2025, but the win does not mean the party has a lot of voter support: it won almost two thirds of seats in the House of Representatives despite receiving just over a third of the primary vote.
There is also a backdrop of the rise and continued success of the community-backed independents, and the recent boost experienced by One Nation as disaffected voters look for new options.
The 2025 federal election was also the first in Australian history where a major party received fewer votes than independents and minor parties.
The ‘Teal wave’ and now the increasing vote for One Nation, tell us that Australians are demanding a disruption to the political system beyond what the major parties can offer, Mortlock says.
Mortlock wants to provide an option for the growing cohort of Australians who are seeking a new way that party politics can be done.
“I do think that it is important to have a political party, because whilst independents can be effective, they are championing their own individual causes, as opposed to a collective one,” she says.
Mortlock, who confirms she has no interest in becoming a politician herself, started working on the movement during maternity leave and says she’s the only person to invest time and money into it so far — meaning there are no financial backers.
“I just think that Australia deserves something that has completely no strings attached,” she said. “It’s free for people to join. It’s free for them to come along to explore this as an option for them.”
“It’s really important that this is completely grassroots, that is built by the community first, and they have the opportunity to shape it.”
The movement has a focus on long-term thinking and policy, as a way to counter the way our current politics concerns itself with the next election and winning the sugar hits of the 24-hour news cycle.
“I actually think lots of Australians know exactly what they want, and it doesn’t necessarily fit into these echo chambers, because it’s simply effective policy, and they’re very confused and frustrated and running out of patience as to why certain things have taken a really long time to be solved in our country.”
Mortlock points to fast rail as an example of the kind of policy that has not been delivered by any government due the short-termism of our current politics.
“We have to start doing some long term planning for the country, regardless of whether or not you stay in power for however many terms. We just need to start putting Australians first.”