State Election 2023: North Sydney’s Independents target Lane Cove, North Shore, Willoughby

The architects behind a successful federal teal campaign will target the upcoming state election with their sights set on contesting three blue ribbon electorates.

The architects behind a successful Federal teal campaign will target the upcoming State Election with their sights set on contesting three blue ribbon electorates on the north shore.

Buoyed on by Kylea Tink’s electorate win at the May federal election, a group volunteers from North Sydney’s Independents have launched a campaign to find candidates to run in the state seats of North Shore, Lane Cove and Willoughby at the March 2023 election.

North Sydney’s Independents played a key role in flipping the Federal North Sydney electorate from blue to teal after launching the effort to find an independent to stand in the electorate.

North Sydney’s Independents helped to launch Kylea Tink’s campaign.

The group ultimately selected Ms Tink who went on to unseat Liberal Trent Zimmerman at the Federal election with 52.9 per cent of the vote after preferences.

Denise Shrivell, the co-founder of North Sydney’s Independents, said the group would run a similar grassroots movement in the lead-up to the state election and has already begun surveying local residents as part of a process designed to find candidates.

The independent state campaign will also lean on many of the same army of volunteers who turned out in force for Ms Tink’s campaign.

MP Anthony Roberts holds the seat of Lane Cove.

North Shore MP Felicity Wilson.

“The day after the Federal Election we had people contacting us saying ‘what’s next’ and I think people in North Sydney have caught the democracy bug,” Ms Shrivell said.

“We’ve got a really motivated electorate who have seen what can happen when they lean into democracy and we’re hoping to replicate that at the state level if there’s an appetite.

“At the moment we’re building our campaign team, looking at the voting history (of the current state members), analysing polling booth history of the seats and actively listening to the community and the issues important to them.” 

Ms Tink’s campaign was hard to miss on the north shore.

Ms Shrivell is expecting the state campaign to reflect some of the issues that dominated the federal campaign including health, cost of living and the environment, along with state-specific issues including the Western Harbour Tunnel, the Beaches Link project, development and privatisation.

Ms Shrivell said the success of the independent movement in recent elections has provided a new option for voters in a region typically seen as safe Liberal party heartland.

In February, the Willoughby State bi-election went down to the wire with Liberal Tim James narrowing winning the seat 53% to 47% against independent Larissa Penn – who has not ruled out a second tilt in the seat once held by Gladys Berejiklian.

Larissa Penn is considering recontesting the Willoughby electorate.

Last year’s council elections also shook up the political makeup of local councils including Lane Cove where Labor, the Greens and independents secured six out of nine councillor positions.

“There are many factors that could be contributing to that – climate isn’t being addressed, corruption not being addressed, issues around gender equality and the environment,” Ms Shrivell said.

“I think perhaps it’s not so much about right and left anymore, but people recognising and looking for another way and independents and providing that.”

Denise Shrivell, the co-founder of North Sydney’s Independents.

Kylea Tink was elected in May.

Ms Penn, who is still considering contesting the Willoughby electorate, believes the Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link Project would play a defining role in the lead-up to the election.

“People have gone from being stressed and concerned to having deep-set anger about this project – not because of Nimbyism but because the project does not add up,” she said.

“It’s not just the 1000 trees being cut down in Cammeray, it’s contamination, its loss of crown land and the environmental impacts for the wider community.

“It feeds into transparency, accountability, cost of living, the environment and climate – it’s the presentation of all those things in a single project.”

Willoughby State MP Tim James.

North Sydney’s Independents said there were challenges with running a state campaign as opposed to a federal campaign including optional preferential voting at the state level.

State independents would also be unable to amass the same level of funding generated by the federal Teal independents due to state electoral spending caps.

Mr James is hopeful the Liberal party can retain Willoughby, previously telling the North Shore Times he will campaign harder on State Government projects already underway in the electorate.

“There is a lot this government is doing in the electorate – the Sydney Metro for example is a massive multibillion-dollar development that will transform Crows Nest and also Chatswood. That’s a big deal and brings enormous opportunities and benefits to the people in this community and I don’t think it was raised at all during the by-election,” he said.

“At a State level, this government in my view has also done a lot more to be ambitious, to fulfil its promises, to be focused on the future and to deliver on the commitments we’ve made.”

The State Election is due to take place on March 25 next year.