Teal or no teal

Who are the teals?

You might’ve heard that several independent politicians in Australia known as ‘teals’ are looking to formalise the movement by creating a new political party. It’s early days, but experts say it’s a move to lure voters who’re looking for alternatives to the major parties, as well as a way to get around new rules on political donations that could threaten their funding. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll get you across:

• Who the teals are

• What they stand for

• And what might come next…

🙋🏻‍♀️ This newsletter was written by Larissa Huntington and Sophie Felice

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Squiz the Shortcut

Remind me about the teals…
They’re a movement of independent politicians backed by a climate lobby group called Climate 200 (we’ll get into that later…). They generally hold moderate, economically conservative views but strongly advocate for climate action, political integrity and gender equality.

I’ve heard them called a group…
They get that a lot, but they’re not a formal group or party. They don’t all agree on everything, so they don’t have a united policy front as such. They are independents after all, so they campaign for issues that are specific to their own electoral patch and they’re not loyal to a party line, which is a big part of their appeal to voters. One thing that’s certain about them is that in the past few federal elections, they’ve become a major disruptor to the traditional Labor vs the Liberal-National Coalition setup that’s been in place for decades.

Why do they get called teals?
The name itself is a clue to what they stand for - it’s a mix of the Liberals’ blue and the Greens’ green. To explain that a bit more, a lot of them stand for the more conservative economic policies of the Liberals (so that’s the blue part) but on climate change and social issues, they’re more progressive and closer to the Greens (which is the green part).

When did they first come to attention?
Independents in parliament aren’t anything new, but this particular movement started turning heads in 2019 when former Olympic skier Zali Steggall won the seat of Warringah on Sydney’s northern beaches from former Liberal PM Tony Abbott. 

Why was that notable?
It was a massive upset at the time because Abbott had held that seat for 25 years. He was big on traditional or conservative values, and Steggall campaigned on progressive policies like climate change action, the establishment of an independent federal integrity commission, and same-sex marriage. 

What other factors cut through to voters?
Steggall also promised a more community-minded style of representation down in Canberra. Her campaign against Abbott became the kind of blueprint for the Teals… And then came the 2022 election, which was the moment when the ‘teal wave’ as it was called, really hit. 

What happened in 2022?
That was when 6 independent candidates - all of them women with strong professional backgrounds - beat out high-profile sitting Liberal MPs in traditionally blue-ribbon seats. You might remember some of these names: Monique Ryan defeating Josh Frydenberg in Kooyong, Allegra Spender winning over Dave Sharma in Wentworth and Kylea Tink beating Trent Zimmerman in North Sydney. 

Anything else?
Yep… In the same election, another independent, David Pocock, was elected to the Senate for the ACT - although it’s worth noting he’s said his issues are different to the others and he explicitly rejects the teal label… But he also beat a sitting Liberal Senator Zed Seselja. That meant after the 2022 election, 7 new independents were in positions of real influence. 

What did it mean?
Political analysts said it was a very clear signal that many voters in the Liberals’ heartland were deeply unsatisfied - and a lot of them were women.

Just explain that a bit more…
After that election - and again after last year’s one - the Libs themselves acknowledged they had a “women problem”. It was something that former leader Sussan Ley had on her agenda to fix before she lost the leadership to Angus Taylor earlier this year. And if the polls are anything to go by, the Libs don’t look like they’re clawing back support just yet. 

What else was behind their rise in support?
Something else to note is that their campaigns were described as ‘grassroots’, meaning that a lot of their messaging was conveyed over ‘kitchen table conversations’ between families and friends, and sports/community groups. Analysts who’ve studied this reckon locals were frustrated that the major parties weren’t listening to them - especially on climate change. That’s where Climate 200 comes in.

Tell me about Climate 200…
It’s a funding group founded by businessman Simon Holmes à Court. It backed a heap of independent candidates financially, helping to fund campaigns that otherwise would’ve struggled to compete with the major parties. Some critics said that called their independence into question - and many have said that a teal independent is basically defined by the amount of support that they get from Climate 200. 

What does that support look like?
At the 2025 election, Climate 200 was the second-biggest donor to candidates - with over $10 million in donations. It was only beaten by Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy, which donated over $50 million to his Trumpet of Patriots candidates. But while Palmer’s dollars didn’t deliver any seats, the Climate 200-backed candidates have been very successful. But its influence could soon be limited…

Why is that?
Last year, Labor and the Coalition capped annual donations to any single candidate at $50,000. Those laws come in mid-way through 2026, so any minute now… Independents argue this heavily rigs the system in favour of major parties. So, while an independent candidate can only receive $50,000 in total from a single donor, a political party can bypass this because they’re allowed to collect separate $50,000 donations across various state and federal branches. This allows established parties to accept and spend a lot more money than independents.

Got it… What other advantages are there in becoming a party?
It could also mean a ticket to more influence in the Senate. This is because Australia’s voting system forces solo independents to the far corner of the giant ballot paper (that really big long one) where voters rarely look. To get a prominent, easy-to-vote-for box at the top of the page, candidates must be part of a registered party, which also helps them pool the millions of dollars needed to campaign across an entire state. 

So what would a potential new teal party look like?
Before we go there, it’s worth noting that the independents themselves have mixed opinions when it comes to the teal label. For example, Kate Chaney from Western Oz says she doesn’t mind it, while Melbourne’s Monique Ryan doesn’t love it - and those 2 MPs have ruled themselves out of any teal party. Overall, the teals are very keen to call themselves community independents rather than ‘teals’.

Where does Senator David Pocock sit?
As an independent who supports climate action, he sometimes gets lumped in with them. But he’s renounced Climate 200 funding, so he’s really gone away from that teal label - and yet, he’s left the door open to being part of this new party… So it’s all a bit confusing right now, and as we mentioned, it’s early days and nothing is locked in yet.

What are the teals saying about it?
The ones involved have been pretty careful with their language. MPs like Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender say there are “conversations” happening about how independents could collaborate more effectively. But there’s still lots to be cleared up around how it’d work and how tight the policy positions would be - let alone who’d lead it.

What’s prompted these conversations?
One of the biggest reasons analysts are pointing to is the changing political landscape. Recent election results and polling show growing support for far-right party One Nation. To stop the drift of conservative voters, Coalition leader Angus Taylor is leaning further right - announcing policies like cutting immigration. Add this to the Coalition dumping its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 last year (before Taylor became leader), and some say there’s now a gap in Oz politics for a moderate alternative that appeals to voters who feel disconnected from both Labor and the Coalition. And there’s speculation that some moderate Liberals could also jump ship…

How likely is that?
It’s not happening just yet… At this stage, even though some MPs might be considering it, Liberal moderates are publicly saying they’re staying put… But all that said, there’s one major risk for the teals in becoming a party.

What’s the risk?
Well, their independence is a big part of their appeal. A lot of voters backed teal candidates specifically because they weren’t tied to the big parties. They’re seen as community-first, and if they become too centralised or loyal to a party line, they could be seen as losing integrity themselves. To counter that, the MPs involved are talking about “doing things differently”...

What do they mean by that?
That’s how they’re framing it. They say the idea is less about creating another traditional party structure like Labor or the Libs, but instead finding ways to collaborate while still giving MPs the freedom to represent their local communities. Some are saying that could be tricky to pull off, but MPs like Steggall reckon her constituents are all for it. 

What’s really going on here?
Regardless of whether a formal party comes out of this, experts say the bigger story here is what it says about Australian politics more broadly, which is that more voters seem to be willing to move away from the major parties. 

And for the Libs?
It’s high-stakes. They’re seeing voters drifting away to One Nation on their right flank, and a formal teal party could mean they lose more centrist/moderate voters too, further depleting their ‘broad church’. But as for what form that teal party might take, we’ll have to wait and see…

Onto our Recommendations

Reading: This piece in the Guardian by Dan Jervis-Bardy goes into what’s at stake for the teals if they formalise into a party. 

Reading: This story from SBS dives into the electoral funding issues we mentioned.

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