The community independents, often referred to as ‘teals’, are reportedly in talks about forming a new political party, with Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender leading the charge.
Supporters of the idea have been planning the potential new party for months and an official announcement could be weeks away, according to reports from Nine’s Sydney Morning Herald.
Currently, the hyper-local community independent model sees independents elected without any formal structure. The idea is that they are answerable to their electorate only, unlike major party politicians who are constrained by party rules as to how they vote in parliament.
Stegall and Spender confirmed on Monday morning these talks about forming a new party have been underway, and on Sunday, independent senator David Pocock left the door open to forming a party.
“There are conversations [with independents]. That’s about all I can say at this point … I’ve worked with my fellow members on the crossbench a lot across both houses, the Senate and the House. And I can really see how we find efficiencies, we work together in supporting one another,” Steggall told ABC Radio National on Monday.
“I’ve had discussions with David [Pocock], as I have with many others. Only independents, though, speculation about discussions with Liberals … I certainly have not had those discussions.”
The discussion about a new party comes as One Nation continues to rise in popularity, and a recent opinion poll showed that if a federal election were held today, One Nation would become the official opposition as the Liberal Party continues to decline.
It also comes ahead of the implementation of new donation and campaign finance reforms introduced by the Albanese government, which critics say are designed to curb independents by allowing major parties to outspend them significantly on campaigning.
Stegall said it was no secret she had a “showdown” with special minister of state Don Farrell over the changes, which she said were “rigged” towards the major parties for their benefit. Fellow independent Kate Chaney previously said the reforms were a “blatant power grab”.
There is also a desire for more independents to be elected to the Senate, where a party structure makes it easier to be elected.
On Monday, Spender said she’d been having conversations over a “period of time” about how the movement could evolve.
“People keep on coming to me and say they really worried about the times that we’re in,” she told ABC Radio National
“The question is: look, are there ways to better collaborate to evolve and how we work together or how some of us work together so that we can more explicitly align on certain areas and then where our communities and where we fundamentally disagree to have that freedom.
“I don’t think people want a party like we’ve seen it with the sort of major parties. I think if any evolution [it] wants to be something quite different.”
Many independents currently elected to parliament are backed by fundraising vehicle Climate 200, with many also holding similar values on political issues across the economy, the environment and other social issues like gambling.
Former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has previously spoken about the need for a new centrist party in Australian politics. Speaking to Radio National on Monday, he said there was a “vacuum” in Australian politics as the Liberal Party shifts further right and diminishes.
“It’s done itself enormous damage,” Turnbull said.
“I think there is a vacuum for an alternative centre party. The Teals would be obvious people to be part of that or to do that. And I’ve talked to them about that publicly. I mean, going back some years. But whether they actually decide to do so is up to them. So I’m not involved with any plans to set something up.”
Now there are questions about whether moderate Liberal MPs would defect to join the new party, and whether Turnbull is actively involved in this push. So far, none have been confirmed.
On Monday, independents Helen Haines and Dr Monique Ryan both publicly rejected the idea of joining a new party, both saying they would stay true to their community independent roots.
Haines quoted her colleague Bob Katter, telling reporters in parliament: “Let a thousand blossoms bloom, if people want to talk about forming more formal allegiances, go your hardest … it’s not for me.”
Chaney has said she is interested in working more collaboratively with the crossbench but will remain an independent.
Rebekah Sharkie has also said she won’t join, as did former Nationals MP, now independent Andrew Gee.
The discussions around a teal party come just weeks after former Liberal Party member Charlotte Mortlock announced a new political movement aimed at creating Australia’s next political party.