Teals colour clash in Queensland

Political mavericks, federal and state, are nothing new in Queensland. Think Bob Katter, Pauline Hanson and Clive Palmer. Despite businessman Simon Holmes a Court’s ­Climate 200 fund seeking community-backed candidates to support at next year’s federal election, teal might be one colour too many on the already garish Queensland electoral map.

Climate 200 claims “good momentum” is building in the Liberal-held seats of Fairfax, on the Sunshine Coast, and ­McPherson on the Gold Coast, where former Morrison government minister Karen Andrews is retiring. Teal candidates are likely to steer clear of the three Greens-held federal seats, Lydia Lynch reported last week. Judging by the teals’ electoral record in Sydney and Melbourne, those three prosperous, leafy capital city seats – Brisbane, Ryan in the city’s western suburbs taking in the University of Queensland, and Griffith, formerly held by Kevin Rudd, on Brisbane’s southside – could have been fertile ground. But the Greens beat them to the punch.

Queensland voters are unpredictable, often backing the Coalition in seats where they strongly support Labor at state levels. If state Labor sinks in November, any knock-on effect at the federal election a few months later will be interesting.

Like other Australians, Queensland voters look to federal politicians for economic leadership, encouraging growth and jobs, keeping the tax burden in check, containing living costs, pragmatic energy policy, national security and strategic policy. To date, the teals in federal parliament have made little impression on those and other issues.