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Who are the independents? (Read 908 times)
freediver
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Who are the independents?
May 6th, 2025 at 11:02am
 
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)
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« Last Edit: Jun 11th, 2025 at 4:00pm by freediver »  

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freediver
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Re: Who are the independents?
Reply #1 - May 6th, 2025 at 2:27pm
 
Sophie Scamps in Mackellar, NSW (Sydney north shore), 55.7% vs Liberals
Retaining with a 2.4% gain
Left wing, focussing on climate change and small business
https://www.sophiescamps.com.au/policies (teal background on website)

Rebekha Sharkie in Mayo, SA (Kangaroo Island and south of Adelaide), 64.9% vs Liberal
Retaining, with a 2.6% gain
Centre Alliance (party), formerly Nick Xenophon team, focussing on cost of living, health, infrastructure funding and aged care
https://www.rebekhasharkie.com.au/ (supported by climate 200, but not using teal colours)

Elizabeth Watson-Brown in Ryan, QLD (Brisbane western suburbs), 53.3% vs Liberals
Retaining with a 0.6% gain
Greens

Zali Steggall in Warringah NSW (Sydney north shore and northern beaches), 61.2% vs Liberal
Retaining, but with a 1.8% gain
Left wing, focussing on climate change and cost of living
https://www.zalisteggall.com.au/ (teal background on website)

Allegra Spender in Wentworth, NSW (Sydney eastern suburbs), 58.3% vs Liberal
Retaining, with a 1.6% gain
Left wing, focussing on climate change and cost of living
https://www.allegraspender.com.au/ (teal background on website)



Here is a list of candidates supported by Climate 200, the group founded by Simon Holmes à Court, which I have used to define who is a teal:

https://www.climate200.com.au/candidates
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« Last Edit: Jun 11th, 2025 at 4:01pm by freediver »  

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Re: Who are the independents?
Reply #2 - May 6th, 2025 at 11:34pm
 
Sorry, FD, did you just say left wing?

Oo-er, sounds a bit rude.

So how come you think everybody's left wing?

Do you think the wings have changed sides? Or maybe someone else?

You?
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Re: Who are the independents?
Reply #3 - May 7th, 2025 at 7:47am
 
Karnal wrote on May 6th, 2025 at 11:34pm:
Sorry, FD, did you just say left wing?

Oo-er, sounds a bit rude.

So how come you think everybody's left wing?

Do you think the wings have changed sides? Or maybe someone else?

You?

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freediver
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Re: Who are the independents?
Reply #4 - May 7th, 2025 at 9:24am
 
Updated with the latest results. 80% of the vote has been counted.

Three of the teals have fallen just behind. The rest look safe, though two are on only 50.5%. A lot of the late votes (postal votes?) seem to be going against the independents. There is another teal independent on 48.4% - Ben Smith in Flinders, VIC. Unlikely to win, but has a 4.6% swing away from Liberal, so in with a chance next time. The Greens also seem to have the lower house seat of Ryan in the bag, with 56.5%.

Karnal, if you are trying to say something, perhaps you should just say it?
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« Last Edit: May 7th, 2025 at 9:33am by freediver »  

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Re: Who are the independents?
Reply #5 - May 8th, 2025 at 7:52am
 
Updated with this morning's counts. Did the vote counters take the day off? They are only up to 81% of the vote counted.

The late swing against the independents continues. The two that were on 50.5% yesterday are now on 50.4% and 50.1%. I am a little suspicious of this because the biggest late swings seem to be happening in the closest races. Could it be people doing postal votes on Sunday?
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Re: Who are the independents?
Reply #6 - May 8th, 2025 at 2:54pm
 
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-08/bean-electorate-too-tight-postal-votes/103907506

Referring to one of the electorates:

Quote:
All election day and pre-poll booths have now reported a TCP count, and the final result will depend on outstanding postal, absentee, and declaration votes.

The AEC says there are 3,897 envelopes which have been received and are awaiting processing.

A further 3,928 envelopes were issued, but have not yet been received.

The deadline for the AEC to accept postal votes is Friday, May 16.
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« Last Edit: May 8th, 2025 at 6:29pm by freediver »  

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Re: Who are the independents?
Reply #7 - May 8th, 2025 at 5:58pm
 
freediver wrote on May 6th, 2025 at 2:27pm:
Rebekha Sharkie in Mayo, SA (Kangaroo Island and south of Adelaide), 63.8% vs Liberal
Retaining, with a 1.5% gain
Centre Alliance (party), formerly Nick Xenophon team, focussing on cost of living, health, infrastructure funding and aged care
https://www.rebekhasharkie.com.au/ (supported by climate 200, but not using teal colours)

Zali Steggall in Warringah NSW (Sydney eastern suburbs), 60.9% vs Liberal
Retaining, but with a 1.5% gain
Left wing, focussing on climate change and cost of living
https://www.zalisteggall.com.au/ (teal background on website)

Allegra Spender in Wentworth, NSW (Sydney eastern suburbs), 56.7% vs Liberal
Retaining, but with a 0.1% swing to Liberal
Left wing, focussing on climate change and cost of living
https://www.allegraspender.com.au/ (teal background on website)



Here is a list of candidates supported by Climate 200, the group founded by Simon Holmes à Court, which I have used to define who is a teal:

https://www.climate200.com.au/candidates


Warringah is Northern Beaches and North Shore.  Nowhere near the Eastern Suburbs which are across the harbour. 

The problem with the Teals are they are just Greens in disguise pretending to have conservative values.  Zali Steggall hasn't done anything for us over here yet retains majority support.   Roll Eyes

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Re: Who are the independents?
Reply #8 - May 8th, 2025 at 6:46pm
 
Fixed the Sydney thing.

The teals are usually described as socially liberal. Pretty much the opposite of conservative. The big disctinction between them and the greens is on economics. The greens are basically socialists on a lot of economic issues, whereas the teals are more centrist. So, vote teals to get environmentalism (focussed on climate change) without the communism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teal_independents

Quote:
Generally, teal independents have been described as having progressive social policies, with a focus on climate change, anti-corruption policies and gender equality, while still retaining conservative economics similar to those of the Liberals.
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Re: Who are the independents?
Reply #9 - May 8th, 2025 at 8:02pm
 
Historically, it should be no surprise that the ex-Liberal runaway, breakaway faction that is the Teals are mostly women.

Apparently, it was 'doctor's wives' who had a strong hand in founding the Liberal Party of Menzies.

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Re: Who are the independents?
Reply #10 - May 8th, 2025 at 8:37pm
 
“doctors’ wives” hmmm rings a bell.
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Re: Who are the independents?
Reply #11 - May 8th, 2025 at 8:43pm
 
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Re: Who are the independents?
Reply #12 - May 8th, 2025 at 8:50pm
 
Independent for Riverina declares political independence from Australia.
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AIMLESS EXTENTION OF KNOWLEDGE HOWEVER, WHICH IS WHAT I THINK YOU REALLY MEAN BY THE TERM 'CURIOSITY', IS MERELY INEFFICIENCY. I AM DESIGNED TO AVOID INEFFICIENCY.
 
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Re: Who are the independents?
Reply #13 - May 8th, 2025 at 10:27pm
 
Jasin wrote on May 8th, 2025 at 8:50pm:
Independent for Riverina declares political independence from Australia.



Begins building a wall, a beautiful wall.
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Re: Who are the independents?
Reply #14 - May 9th, 2025 at 11:20am
 
Daves2017 wrote on May 8th, 2025 at 10:27pm:
Jasin wrote on May 8th, 2025 at 8:50pm:
Independent for Riverina declares political independence from Australia.



Begins building a wall, a beautiful wall.


And a Dome. A beautiful iron dome against illegal immigrating missiles from the Wimmera in Victoria.
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AIMLESS EXTENTION OF KNOWLEDGE HOWEVER, WHICH IS WHAT I THINK YOU REALLY MEAN BY THE TERM 'CURIOSITY', IS MERELY INEFFICIENCY. I AM DESIGNED TO AVOID INEFFICIENCY.
 
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