Why a party of Independents will likely be just another party

Managing editor Michelle Pini discusses the prospect of the Teal Independents forming a new political force and what it might mean for our democracy.

THIS WEEK saw the first rumblings of the Teal Independents forming a new party.

There is no doubt that the implosion of the Liberal Party – the one that once included Centre-Right views along with the RWNJ position it now occupies – has left a hole in terms of major party representation.

This has so far been gratefully taken up by the Labor Party, which has also shifted to the Right and, of course, by the success of the Teal Independents.

But will the formation of an organised party made of so-called “centrist” Independents represent the interests of said Independents’ electorates or offer anything other than business as usual?

IA sees the two-party system as unnecessarily restrictive, since elected politicians are supposed to represent their communities, but when they are tethered to a party almost always vote along party lines.

We have long supported independence in politics, believing that:

‘… true democracy is impossible in Australia under the current party system, which exercises strict party discipline to maintain power and subvert the will of the people.’

From a voter’s perspective, the political playing field has been dominated by back-room party politics in what is largely an impenetrable maze, designed to confuse outsiders while ensuring party control over elected representatives.

Towards a true democracy with the Australian Independents

How to cure the disease at the heart of Australia’s democracy? Managing editor David Donovan advocates the injection of an “anti-party” into the body politic.

As Dave Donovan explained back in 2011:

‘Because MPs owe their careers to the party and risk being expelled from the party by voting against the party line, it is clear that party MPs put the needs of their career and party before the needs of their constituents, fundamentally undermining the objective of a representative democracy — politicians representing their constituents.’

It seems a good third of Australian voters agree.

While minor parties and Independents only made up 4% of the primary vote in 1975, this increased to a whopping 33.6% in 2025. This means the proportion of votes for minor parties and Independent candidates has now surpassed the Liberal-National Coalition vote, which only managed 31.8% in 2025. It is also only one percentage point short of Labor's vote.

Younger voters and Independents could spell end of two-party system

A younger demographic seeking change, along with a shift in the popularity of Independents and minor parties, could see the demise of our traditional two-party system.

Political parties are essentially:

‘… a shortcut to power and influence for vested interests and lobby groups, since political parties also put the needs of major campaign donors … before the needs of the general public, so as to ensure the continuing flow of significant donations.’

We have always supported Independent MPs because they are not confined by party backroom power plays or “one size fits all” policies. Elected to represent their constituents, they are, of course, still able to form important alliances but are also able to vote according to their conscience and in accordance with the values on which they were elected. Not that they always do, of course, but importantly, they can.

In Australia, both major parties have colluded:

‘… to pass laws and regulations that ensure it is difficult, if not impossible, for minor parties or Independents to get elected — or at least in any significant numbers.’

As explained in The Conversation, the issues are largely organisational:

'The gap between an established minor party and a major party is one of scale. Conversely, the gap between an Independent Australia and a party of any size is one of structure.'

The disadvantages have always been there for Independent candidates, but the 'Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Reform) Act 2025 ... is set to amplify them':

'Under the new rules, a single donor can give up to $50,000 a year to an Independent Australia candidate. But the same donor could give $50,000 to each branch of a major party, meaning up to $450,000 to the major parties across their state and federal divisions.'

Which brings us to the Teals and the possibility of a new party.

This week, Independent MP for Warringah Zali Steggall said the changes to the federal donation laws are designed to advantage the major parties and amount to “major parties trying to rig the game for their benefit”.

There is no doubt that the political landscape has shifted significantly in recent times. The Liberal Party has, as we have often opined, been decimated by the back-room Far-Right power plays, such that only a shell of the old party now remains — and a tenuous shell at that.

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One Nation – the official FRNJ party – is enjoying a boom of sorts, buoyed along by the complicit Murdoch-led mainstream media, to happily take up residence in the collective brain space of the Coalition parties, ensuring they continue their, so far at least, disastrous attempts to move further Right.

This has also been put forward by Steggall as a primary motivation for the formation of a new centrist party.

Steggall, along with fellow Independents Allegra Spender and David Pocock, have confirmed they are in conversations about a potential party of Independents to fill the rather large void left by the Liberals’ lurch to the Right. While some Teals, such as Monique Ryan and Kate Chaney, have ruled out their involvement in the formation of such a party.

But David Pocock told Insiders on Sunday, "plenty of conversations" were taking place to this end.

As former PM Malcolm Turnbull put it:

"The more the Liberal Party tries to chase and emulate and copy One Nation, the more it builds up the vote for One Nation."

Turnbull also said the Teals have an opportunity to fill a "vacuum" left by the Liberals, but denied he was involved in "actually setting something up".

His involvement, whether academic or more hands-on, however, gives some indication of what this party made up of Independents might look like.

And it makes sense. The Independents pretty much took up the slack where the Liberal Party’s former heartland sat, leaving behind a handful of mainly Far-Right Liberal MPs, who have more in common with One Nation than the Liberal Party of old.

The traditional two-party system is now fractured and the Independents had a lot to do with that. Certainly, the power brokers in the Liberal party room helped, as has their decision to preference One Nation, which ensured the latter’s ability to cut the Libs’ lunch at the recent Farrer by-election.

If a group of Independent MPs can take advantage of recent changes to the Electoral Act while maintaining their individual independence, then that can only be a good thing.

But maintaining independence can only become more difficult with the creation of a party. It can only be made murkier with the assistance of the bigger donors it would now attract and the vested interests they would now represent.

Then there is the fact that using the word "independent" to register a political party is not permissible under AEC legislation, so any new party would not even be independent by name.

Since their very independence is their key point of difference from the major parties, this new party may well see the end of a short-lived era for the Teal Independents.

Murdoch takes aim at Independents

Even by the degraded standards of the once-sensible The Australian newspaper, this seems loopy.

This editorial was originally published as part of the Independent Australia weekly newsletter. Subscribe to IA to access all our work from as little as $1.15 per week and help power our journalism throughout 2026.

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