The ALP has won the lower house by a wide margin, so will not need the Greens or the independents to form government, though they will need Greens votes in the Senate.
The Greens have suffered a loss in the lower house, with only one seat won in QLD, down from 4 in the 2022 election, and 1 in the 2019 election. They have a firm grip as a third party in the Senate. As with other recent elections, they won one of the six seats allocated to each state (not the ACT or NT).
The other independents have been big winners, with 11 lower house seats so far claimed. While they will be on the back bench this term, the next time there is a close election it may be a group of independents who decide which party forms government. Expect to hear a lot from them in the press this term.
So who are the independents? It is hard to find a convenient summary online, so here is my own rundown. There are 9 teals (candidates supported by climate 200) in the lower house, plus 4 others:
Nicolette Boele (Teal)
Andrew Gee (ex-NAT)
Andrew Wilkie (Teal)
Kate Chaney (Teal)
Dai Le
Helen Haines (Teal)
Bob Katter (ex-NAT)
Monique Ryan (Teal)
Sophie Scamps (Teal)
Rebekha Sharkie (ex Xenophon, Centre Alliance, Teal)
Elizabeth Watson-Brown (Greens)
Zali Steggall (Teal)
Allegra Spender (Teal)
(more details on candidates below)
An additional three teals were leading that early count, but dropped behind on late votes. I have left them in the list below, but not above.
The vast majority of the independents are left wing or centrist, and want stronger action on climate change. The possible exceptions are the three non-Teal/Green candidates:
Dai Le is generally in favour of climate change mitigation, but opposes strict targets. She is in Labor's heartland and would be expected to align more closely with Labor.
Andrew Gee is generally in favour of climate change mitigation, but opposes strict targets. He is ex-Nationals.
Given that all the major parties support some kind of action on climate change, and pretty much every major and minor party is claiming the 'cost of living' ground, the left/right divide is a bit blurred at the moment. Check the details. A lot of the candidates up for re-election make their parliamentary voting history available. The divide on climate change can be fairly subtle and tends to fall into two camps - stronger/more action or with specific targets, versus a sceptical/conservative/evidence based approach, or one that is careful to protect our interests and reject specific targets. Basically, less vs more action, with a variety of proposed strategies. Nuclear tends to be a binary divider along the left/right divide.
Combined with the massive swing to Labor and the strength of the Greens in the Senate, this is not looking good for the coalition. If they continue to ignore public opinion on issues like climate change and nuclear they may well end up a minor party.
All of the teals listed above are women, except for Andrew Wilkie, as well as 2 of the other 4.
Details on each candidate:
Jessie Price in Bean, ACT (Canberra South), 49.7% vs ALP
Teal, lost on late votes, but with a 12.6% swing
Nicolette Boele in Bradfield NSW (Sydney north shore), 50.0% vs LNP
Won by only 26 votes on the recunt, 2.5% swing
Left wing, focussing on cost of living and climate change
https://www.nicoletteboele.com.au/my_priorities (teal background on website)
Andrew Gee in Calare, NSW (rural), 56.8% vs National
Winning from the Nationals with a 22.2% swing
Ex-Nationals MP focussing on rural medical services
https://www.andrewgeemp.com.au/
Andrew Wilkie in Clark, TAS (Hobart), 70.4% vs ALP
Retaining with an impressive 70.4% of the vote, but a 0.4% swing to Labor
Left wing, with a full set of policies
https://andrewwilkie.org/where-i-stand/ (supported by climate 200, but not using teal colours)
Kate Chaney in Curtin, WA (Perth beachside), 53.3% vs Liberal
Retaining with a 2.0% gain
Left wing, focussing on cost of living and climate change
https://www.katechaney.com.au/ (teal background on website)
Ben Smith in Flinders, Vic, 47.7% vis Lib
always behind, but with a 3.9% swing
Dai Le in Fowler, NSW (Sydney western suburbs), 52.7% vs Labor
Retaining with a 0.9% gain, in ALP's heartland
Focussing on government services
https://daile.com.au/
Kate Hulett in Freemantle, WA (Perth beachside), 49.3% vs Labor
Lost on late votes, but with a 16.2% swing
Zoe Daniel in Goldstein, VIC (Melbourne bayside), 49.9% vs Liberal
Liberal gain from the independent with a 3.3% swing
Helen Haines in Indi, VIC (rural), 58.6% vs Liberal
Retaining but with a 0.3% swing to Liberal
Left wing with a focus on regional issues
https://www.helenhaines.org/ (supported by climate 200, but not using teal colours)
Bob Katter in Kennedy, QLD (rural), 65.8% vs LNP
Retaining with a 2.7% gain
Katter's Australia Party
Conservative, pushing castle law (you are allowed to shoot intruders )
https://kattersaustralianparty.org.au/home/
Monique Ryan in Kooyong, VIC (Melbourne inner), 50.7% vs Liberal
Retaining, but with a 1.5% swing towards the Liberals
Left wing, focussing on climate change and cost of living
https://www.moniqueryan.com.au/ (teal background on website)