Teal MPs reflect on their achievements six months since they changed the political landscape
A wave of independent women rolled into parliament six months ago with promises of a different kind of politics. Margaret Rice finds out if the Sydney contingent is delivering.
Wentworth Courier
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It’s six months since the election moment, on May 21, when the teal wave of seven female independents swept into federal parliament, all taking the seats of Liberal moderates.
Zali Steggall of Warringah was already there, so for her it was a second wave. She ousted previous prime minister Tony Abbott back in 2019. From then on, the political force she represents – teals, a conservative blue mixed with environmental green, has grown.
At this year’s election Steggall was joined by other teal Sydneysiders, including Kylea Tink of North Sydney and Allegra Spender of Wentworth. (“Kylea” is pronounced “Kylie”. She says her father thought it was spelt as in MeadowLea the margarine, and he, like so many dads, was the one who registered her birth.)
The teals have had an exciting honeymoon. As Tink says, it’s been one of the most challenging phases of her career: “The learning curve’s been vertical. It’s straight up and at a 90-degree angle.”
But it’s also been one of the best experiences of her life.
“It’s hard to answer which part is the best, because I’ve been enjoying so much of it,” she says.
In September, the teals had a major political success, bringing their own amendments to Labor’s Climate Change Act. They locked in an amendment making a 43 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030 a “floor”, not a “ceiling” and committed the government to reporting annually to parliament on progress towards the target.
But the politics is getting tougher – with some suggesting Labor is now bypassing them. The teals had no impact on the Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation introduced by the government this month because Labor had the numbers on the floor. And Labor is reported to be negotiating with Senate independent David Pocock more than it ever did with the teals because Pocock holds the balance of power there – where it matters more.
And early this month the teals faced intense scrutiny over their electoral donations, a war chest of $10.2m, more than half from Climate 200, with each woman receiving more than $700,000.
We wanted each of their Liberal predecessors, Abbott of Warringah, Trent Zimmerman of North Sydney and Dave Sharma of Wentworth, to reflect on their replacements’ tenure. None would respond.
But Sharma criticised Spender in earlier comments he made on that issue, calling for urgent expenditure and donation caps.
“It’s American-style spending, and we don’t want that in Australia,” he told News Corp.
The issue gave the Liberals their first major successful political attack on the teals, who argued back that even at this level, their funding doesn’t compare to the substantial, entrenched financial support enjoyed by the major parties.
Last February’s Australian Electoral Commission figures showed the Liberal Party recorded funding of $73.8m and Labor $67.3m, with only 9 per cent of both parties’ incomes declared as donations. The Liberals argue the large donation from a single source, Climate 200, to the teals proves it’s a political party.
But Spender, Tink and Steggall insist it is not. Steggall has not received funding from Climate 200.
They point out they have taken different political positions on issues such as Labor’s stage three tax cuts – as they did on the Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation, proving their allegiance is to their electorates, not a party.
All three women came to the parliament promising to improve it – addressing climate change, gender equity and parliamentary integrity but also vowing to change the way politics is done.
Spender says she keeps her how-to-vote card on the fridge.
“I look at it at least once a week and ask: ‘Am I doing what I said I was going to do, what the people asked me to do?’”
Before being elected, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said if he gained power he would “change the tone of politics” – with less shouting and more delivery, a neat fit with the teal independents’ goals around improving processes.
And at the six-month mark they all say success with this is one of their major achievements.
Steggall, Tink and Spender say negotiations with Labor are working, despite a shaky start when Labor narrowed their paid parliamentary staff from three each to just one.
The teals have successfully negotiated to receive draft legislation in the same way that the Opposition does, so they can review it beforehand.
“I’m able to review potential legislation, make notes on it in its draft form, express my concerns and address amendments,” Tink explains. “Previously, the major parties set the agenda. It was their agenda – nothing more, nothing less. But in terms of legislation, we can say, ‘hang on a minute, that’s not enough’.”
Despite wanting higher reduction targets in the climate bill – Spender 50 per cent by 2030, Tink and Steggall 60 per cent – the three are pleased with the achievement.
“It doesn’t get us to our goal. But I’m taking the ‘glass half full’ approach,” says Steggall. “That commitment was an important first step to send a message to investors, especially overseas ones, that we have a policy commitment that can give them more assurance about investing in Australia. So at last we’re now on the starting line to the race to net zero.”
And the government’s obligation to report to parliament every year on its climate action is an example of how processes have changed, not just policy, Spender adds.
Other process changes brought by the teals are an increased number of questions from crossbenchers during question time, which Spender says reduces the theatrics of parliament.
“So there is ample hard evidence that the crossbench is effecting change, and it’s really exciting to be part of this,” says Tink.
The teals’ next target is to ensure the nation’s take-up of electric vehicles improves dramatically. And all three want greater taxes for fossil fuel producers aligned with caps on domestic prices.
Much has changed in the six months since the election. The war in Ukraine has become more desperate. We have had three La Nina-driven floods this year. Inflation is set to reach 8 per cent and power bills are expected to rise 56 per cent over the next year.
But the three don’t believe voters want to abandon action on climate change as they worry about the cost of living.
“It makes the move to renewables even more imperative because the cheapest energy is sustainable and renewable. We need to get there as soon as we can,” says Tink.
When we spoke, Spender was busy organising Wentworth’s first ever Climate Summit, which she convened, involving three levels of government at Bondi Pavilion on November 27. She says all levels of government will need to be involved if electric cars become the norm, and the Climate Summit is a great opportunity to get them talking with each other.
“One of the mayors said to me, ‘I’ve never been to anything like this’,” Spender says.
Tink is fighting to keep SBS, which provides 900 local jobs, in Artarmon, despite Prime Minister Albanese’s early support for a plan to move it to the western suburbs. She also says the North Sydney community has a right to be better informed by the state government about new plans for boring machines for the harbour tunnel, which will potentially have major impacts on its urban and natural environments.
Steggall also has local projects she continues to work on: “This term I’m turning my focus to securing funding for the restoration and conservation of the historically significant Sydney Harbour Federation Trust properties, ensuring the government keeps its $5m commitment to part-fund Manly Life Saving Club’s redevelopment and realising opportunities for Warringah as we transition to renewables.”
Yes, the politics are now tougher. But Tink, Steggall and Spender have shaped a new narrative in their first six months.
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