Teal Campaign’s Orange Branding Draws Criticism for Similarity to One Nation

The decision by a Climate 200 Teal candidate to use a promotional colour similar to One Nation’s signature orange hue has raised eyebrows.

Former Liberal Party MP Craig Kelly took issue with Michelle Milthorpe’s team for using the colour in the lead-up to the Farrer by-election, which will also be contested by the conservative-leaning One Nation.

A spokesperson for Milthorpe says the colour has been used by independents in the past.

Kelly claimed the move was “underhanded.”

“The Climate 200-backed candidate, Michelle Milthorpe, is straight-up deceiving voters in Farrer by shamelessly ripping off One Nation’s signature orange colours.”

Kelly acknowledged no party owned a colour, but said most people associate red with Labor, blue with the Liberal Party, green with the Greens, and orange with One Nation.

“It’s a deliberate con to confuse and mislead hardworking regional voters who associate orange with Pauline Hanson’s straight-talking fight against the establishment,” he said on X.

But a spokesperson for Millthorpe’s office said there was good reason for choosing orange.

“Cathy McGowan first used the orange colour for her independent campaign in Indi in 2013,” he told The Epoch Times.

“This theme was continued on with Helen Haines who is the current member for Indi.

“The colour orange was adopted in Michelle’s campaign as it had been used by the Voices of Farrer group prior to finding a candidate to endorse, and the Voices of Farrer group modelled their campaign on the success of the Indi campaigns, in getting an Independent into their seat.”

One Nation recently announced its candidate in Farrer would be former agribusiness CEO David Farley.

The vast New South Wales regional electorate will go to the polls on May 9 after former Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who has held the seat since 2001, quit parliament in February after losing the Liberal Party leadership to Angus Taylor.

Farley is a Narrandera-based agribusiness and irrigation professional with an understanding of the Murray-Darling Basin—a critical water issue that has challenged successive governments.

Meanwhile, Milthorpe has listed her election priorities as sustainability of agricultural communities, healthcare, regional representation, cost of living, housing, and environment.

The Climate 200 group is backed by billionaire Simon Holmes à Court. While it is not an official party, it supports a range of “independent” candidates across Australia who share similar branding and advocate for more climate action and greater government transparency.

Some early signs in Farrer suggest the Nationals, One Nation, and Milthorpe will vie for victory, with the Liberal Party unlikely to claw back the seat.

The Epoch Times contacted One Nation for comment.