Teal MPs in Talks to Form New Party to Counteract One Nation’s Rise

The Teal candidate collective is in talks to form a new political party, according to MP Zali Steggall.

The third-term MP said there were many things the Teals could do differently from the major parties, citing Labor’s refusal to introduce a 25 percent tax on gas exports while criticising the Liberals for leaning too far to the “right.”

“And you see the rise of One Nation, and many are very, very worried about what that means for Australia, where we’re heading as a country. So for me, I take that responsibility really seriously that we have to keep evolving and looking at how do we best serve our communities,” she told ABC Radio.

Steggall, a former Olympian, said the Teals were “the best of politics” because they could agree and disagree on issues affecting their communities while seeking to become more effective as an official group.

“There are conversations, that’s about all I can say at this point,” she said.

“There’s a lot of speculation in the media, not all of it correct, may I say.

“For me, it’s about actually listening to the community so I spent yesterday at the markets down in Manly listening to many young professionals really frustrated with the state of politics where they feel like the major parties just don’t listen to them.”

The “Teals” are a loose movement of predominantly female independents who emerged primarily around the 2022 federal election, and while they haven’t been an official party so far, members of the collective have generally been united by their strong opinion on climate change.

Teal independents are backed by Climate 200, a fundraising group supported by Simon Holmes à Court, a billionaire activist.

Since their emergence, the Teals have taken nine Liberal Party seats in predominantly wealthy, white collar, and higher educated electorates.

Steggall, sometimes viewed as the original Teal, has held her seat of Warringah in Sydney’s affluent Northern Beaches region since defeating former Prime Minister Tony Abbott in 2019.

Other independent politicians who have been associated with the movement include Allegra Spender, Monique Ryan, Kate Chaney, Sophie Scamps, Kylea Tink, Zoe Daniel, Nicolette Boele and David Pocock.

Forming an official collective could give the Teals minor party status, as well as solidifying their capabilities in the Senate.

There were also media reports that former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had been approaching moderate Liberals about joining or forming an alternative centrist party alongside the Teal movement.

Opposition’s Response

Deputy Liberal Leader Jane Hume said the Teals had fundamentally been a party from the start.

“They’ve had the same funding sources, they’ve had the same campaign teams, they’ve even worn the same colours,” she told Sky News Australia.

“But, worse than that, they had the same slogan, and the slogan was about integrity, and that integrity has now simply gone out the window.

“The idea that they have gone out there and said to their electorates that they are ‘community independents’ that ‘we’re going to do politics differently’ but have now demonstrated they’re going to do it exactly the same way, I think speaks volumes.”

Hume also noted that the formation of an official collective would benefit Labor and the Greens, saying the Teals have supported them “around 70 percent of the time.”

2 Teals Rule Out Forming Party

Meanwhile, Ryan has made it clear she will continue to serve as an independent MP, saying that is what the community expects of her.

“In both 2022 and 2025, I stood as a community independent. That is a commitment I made to the people of Kooyong,” she said in a statement.

“Representing the people of Kooyong in Canberra has been one of the biggest honours of my life. I will continue to do that in the capacity in which I was elected: as a community independent, voted for and answerable to the people of Kooyong.”

The Perth-based MP Chaney also towed a similar line.

“I am interested in working more collaboratively with other crossbenchers on policy, many of our communities have similar values, but right now I do not think that requires me to be a member of a political party,” she said.

Other independents who aren’t Teals also ruled out joining a new centrist offering.

“Let a thousand blossoms bloom. If people want to talk about forming more formal allegiances through a party, go your hardest,” said Victorian independent Helen Haines, in comments in Canberra on May 25.