AS CANDIDATES, THE SUCCESSFUL TEALS WERE FEMALE, ARTICULATE, EDUCATED, WITH ESTABLISHED CAREERS AND A GOOD DEAL OF SELF-CONFIDENCE
In a result that shook the Liberal party, New South Wales saw three teal victories (Allegra Spender, Sophie Scamps and Kylea Tink), Victoria two (Monique Ryan and Zoe Daniel) and Kate Chaney was elected in Western Australia.
The rise of the teals was part of a longer term trend, reflecting substantial shifts in the electoral landscape and in voters’ values, which created the space for populist movements to challenge the established two-party system.
The stranglehold that Labor and the Coalition have had on federal politics has been eroding for decades, together with public trust in government. Until recently, the single-member electorate system for the House of Representatives has largely masked the decline.
But the 2022 election marked a quantum leap in lower house representation. Six crossbenchers were elected in 2019; in 2022 their numbers jumped to 16 (and now 17, with the defection of Nationals MP Andrew Gee). It is the largest crossbench the Australian Parliament has ever seen, clearly reflecting a dissatisfaction with what the two major parties are offering.
The teals are a species of a wider phenomenon of ‘community candidates’, which has grown into a loose populist social movement, distinguishing it from earlier independents. On the ground, a community movement had been building for some time. Cathy McGowan, whose ‘Voice for Indi’ movement revolved around ‘kitchen table’ conversations, wrested the north-east Victorian seat of Indi from the Liberals in 2013.
McGowan retired at the 2019 election, but then became a key mentor to the growing number pushing for ‘community candidates’. And notably, Indi voters chose another independent, Helen Haines, to succeed her.
The teals were, in particular, a product of the reaction against the Morrison government, with its feet-dragging on climate change and an integrity body, and the then prime minister’s so-called ‘women problem’.
Simon Holmes à Court, who drew considered lessons from the ‘Indi Way’, provided vital finance through his Climate 200research and data-sharing for a number of community independents to help forge a winning campaign strategy.
