Election 2025: Teals accused of double standards over Nicolette Boele’s double entendre

The teals have refused to weigh in on a sexual joke that independent challenger for the Liberal-held seat of Bradfield, Nicolette Boele, made to a 19-year-old hairdresser.

Teal MPs Zoe Daniel, Allegra Spender, Monique Ryan, Kate Chaney, Sophie Scamps and Zali Steggall refused to defend or condemn the conduct of independent Bradfield candidate Nicolette Boele (pictured centre).

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The teals have refused to weigh in on a sexual joke independent challenger for the Liberal-held seat of Bradfield, Nicolette Boele, made to a 19-year-old hairdresser, prompting Coalition accusations of “hypocrisy”.

Teal MPs Zoe Daniel, Allegra Spender, Monique Ryan, Kate Chaney, Sophie Scamps and Zali Steggall refused to defend or condemn Ms Boele’s conduct when contacted by The Australian on Wednesday, despite previously calling for higher standards of behaviour in politics.

Ms Boele apologised on Tuesday after reports surfaced that she had been banned from her local hairdresser, Envy Room salon in Gordon on Sydney’s upper north shore, because she told the teenager who washed her hair “that was amazing, and I didn’t even have sex with you”.

Nationals frontbencher Bar­naby Joyce, who defeated now Climate 200 advisory council member Tony Windsor’s bid to win back the seat of New England in 2016, has criticised the teals for failing to hold a fellow community independent to the standards to which they hold others.

He said the incident showcased the teal’s “hypocrisy”, arguing that if he or Peter Dutton made a similar remark, they would be swiftly rebuked. “Independents try to be more virtuous than all, but the one question they will never answer is, the only question they know the answer to, and they are actually responsible for, is, if there was a hung parliament, who would you support?” he said.

“And when they give you an ambivalence, or a weasel answer … you want to be in politics, but you aren’t aware of the difference between the two sides of the two parties and which one you prefer?

“And if being independent is virtuous, why don’t we have 151 of them? We’d have a different prime minister every day, different defence policy every day.

“With the budget, that’d be hilarious, 151 opinions on it.”

Opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume accused the teals of going “to ground” after reports of Ms Boele’s remarks surfaced on Ben Fordham 2GB radio program. “The teals talk a big game when it comes to transparency, yet when it comes to a ­serious issue for one of their own, they have all gone to ground,” Senator Hume said.

“Surely, they could at least agree no one would want their teenager spoken to that way.”

Ms Steggall told the Opposition Leader to “stop being racist” in August after he called for migration from Gaza to be halted and accused him of being the first to engage in unacceptable behaviour and heckle MPs in the chamber.

Dr Scamps called out “toxic” and “disrespectful” behaviour which had become normalised in the House of Representatives.

Ms Boele, who narrowly lost to incumbent Liberal MP Paul Fletcher in 2022, told The Australian on Tuesday it “was a poor attempt at humour and I’ve apologised”.

“Everyone deserves to feel respected in their workplace and I’ll do better,” she said.

After Mr Fletcher announced his retirement from politics, tech executive Gisele Kapterian was preselected to defend the seat, which is held on a margin of 2.5 per cent and has never fallen out of Liberal hands in its history.

Ms Boele is considered Climate 200’s best hope of winning a ­Liberal-held seat.