‘What is the point of you?’: Zali Steggall forced to justify her role after Labor landslide

Teal independent Zali Steggall has been forced to justify her role as a crossbencher after Labor’s landslide election victory on Saturday.

With Labor on track to secure a large majority in the lower house, high profile independent MP Zali Steggall has been forced to justify her existence in parliament.

The Teal managed to keep her Sydney electorate of Warringah safe from the red wave that swept the country on Saturday, decimating the Coalition and shrinking the crossbench.

Appearing on Sky News on Sunday morning, Ms Steggall was asked point blank: “What is the point of you this term?”

She acknowledged the election results showed a clear win for Anthony Albanese and the government, but said they also reaffirmed support for “community independents”.

Independent Zali Steggall managed to keep her seat of Warringah safe from the red wave. Picture: Martin Ollman / The Australian

“Yes, I’m sure there will be a level of confidence from the Albanese government and the Prime Minister around what they can do,” Ms Steggall said.

“But I think last night’s result also endorsed community independents, around positive politics, around policy.

“And you look at the comparison of the independents versus the Greens – the independents have done much better.”

The Greens were hit hard by Labor’s gains, with one-termers Stephen Bates and Max Chandler-Mather losing their Brisbane seats.

At the time of reporting, Greens leader Adam Bandt was also fighting for his electorate of Melbourne.

“We have navigated … more solutions based on a collaborative approach to policies,” Ms Steggall said.

“I think we will absolutely continue to play an incredibly important role.

“We would not have net zero by 2050 legislated without the push, we wouldn’t have a national anti-corruption commission without a push from the crossbench.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has led Labor to a emphatic victory at the federal election. Picture: Jason Edwards / NewsWire

Ms Steggall and fellow Sydney teals Allegra Spender (Wentworth) and Sophie Scamps (Mackellar) retained their seats with further swings toward them.

On Sunday morning, independent candidate Nicolette Boele was also ahead of the Liberals’ Gisele Kapterian in the race for Bradfield, which was held by retiring senior Coalition MP Paul Fletcher.

Key Teals in other states, including Victoria, Zoe Daniel (Goldstein) and Monique Ryan (Kooyong) faced serious challenges from Liberal candidates.

In Western Australia, Kate Chaney was also just ahead of her Liberal challenger Tom White in the battle for Curtin.

However, all three independents were ahead at reporting.

Littleproud not consulted on key Coalition policy

Nationals leader David Littleproud has admitted he was not consulted on the Coalition’s controversial work from home policy.

The policy – which would have scrapped work from home arrangements for public servants – was championed by Mr Dutton and opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume.

The Coalition abandoned it mid-campaign after data revealed it was not playing well.

Mr Littleproud said the issue “wasn’t handled well”.

Nationals leader David Littleproud says he was not consulted on the Coalition’s controversial work-from-home policy. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“But … Peter had the courage to say we got it wrong,” he told Sky News.

“And I think that that, to me, says more about the character of somebody – that when they get it wrong, they’re prepared to admit it, to move on.”

Pressed on how deeply he was involved in the policy, Mr Littleproud initially dodged the question, saying the proposal was “weaponised to the extent that that wasn’t our position”.

Pressed further, he admitted he was not consulted before Senator Hume announced it as part of the election platform.

“No,” he eventually replied.

“It was talked about broadly, but the extent and how far it went was another matter.”

Opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume championed the scrapped work-from-home policy. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Mr Littleproud went on to defend Senator Hume, insisting “there was a lot of support for what Jane was doing”.

“We wanted to make sure – as Chris Minns had done in NSW, as he’d asked his public service to go back to the office after Covid-19 – we wanted to get some balance back in it,” he said.

“And that’s where Jane was going with it. And I don’t think Jane has anything to answer for here.

“It was schmick politics by Labor. They did it very well. They tapped a vein and they tapped it and opened it up widely.”

Originally published as ‘What is the point of you?’: Zali Steggall forced to justify her role after Labor landslide