Swept into parliament on a wave of voter enthusiasm, the teals have had to reckon with Labor’s majority. What have they achieved so far? | LisaVisentin
They were swept in on a fairy tale. Triumphant, cashed-up community campaigns sent six impressive women to Canberra on platforms of action on climate, integrity and gender equity, stripping the Liberals’ ranks of some of their best talent and plunging the party into an identity crisis.
But ultimately Australian voters delivered a majority Labor government, meaning the independents backed by Climate 200, a crowdfunding initiative set up by Simon Holmes a Court, were immediately under sustained pressure to prove to their communities that they hadn’t been dealt out of the action. “I genuinely feel I’ve had much more impact as an independent than any member of the opposition. On so many major issues, they’re just not in the debate, and they’re not making the legislation better,” she says.
“When the National Anti-Corruption Commission legislation was debated in the House, we debated that for about 4½ hours. The government largely didn’t accept the amendments, but it forced the attorney-general to really justify the legislation in the form that it was,” she says.
“There’s a real strength to the House of Representatives’ crossbench at the moment. As a government, we’ve been wanting to make sure that even though we’ve got a majority in our own right, that both debate and the consideration of amendments is constructive,” he says. The IR bill was furiously opposed by big business and the Coalition, which said the changes would leave the economy exposed to industry-wide strikes, an argument rejected by the government, which instead claimed the changes were fundamental to getting stagnant wages moving.
But there is a live debate over whether the teals are a flash in the pan - a response to a deeply unpopular prime minister who failed to connect with moderate Liberals and women in particular - or whether they represent a nascent movement tracing its origins to Cathy McGowan’s 2013 victory over Liberal Sophie Mirabella and posing a long-term threat to the major parties.
As the study’s co-author Sarah Cameron concluded this week: “The medium-term success of the teals will depend on how much they can create a distinct political identity to carry to the 2025 federal election.” Spender, who has a masters in economics from Cambridge University and was managing director of her late mother Carla Zampatti’s fashion empire before entering politics, has been non-committal about whether they should be kept or ditched, instead calling for a wide-ranging review into the tax system.
Ryan dismissed Dutton’s remarks as “incessant negativity”, “completely off the mark” and part of a “concerted move” by Liberals to attack independents.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Unacceptable on every level': Elite Sydney school expels six students over bullyingAs many as 16 Year 7 students were reportedly beaten with belts, locked in fire hydrant cupboards, made to bark like dogs and lick the shoes of other students in a shocking bullying incident at the elite private school.
Read more »
Holiday real estate: Six caravan parks around Australia you could buy right nowCaravanning and camping has become a multibillion-dollar business, so tapping into it could be a way to turn a sea or tree-change dream into a profitable reality.\n
Read more »
Australia in six-month sprint for an EU trade dealPolitics could start to get in the way of an FTA by mid-2023, Trade Minister Don Farrell warned, as he crisscrossed Europe trying to push for a result.
Read more »
EPA finds six stockpiles and 3000 tonnes of hidden Coles, Woolworths plastic bagsThree thousand tonnes of plastic bags have been discovered in six Melbourne warehouses after the collapse of Australia’s largest soft plastics recycling program.
Read more »
EPA finds six stockpiles and 3000 tonnes of hidden Coles, Woolworths plastic bagsThree thousand tonnes of plastic bags have been discovered in six Melbourne warehouses after the collapse of Australia’s largest soft plastics recycling program.
Read more »
EPA Victoria finds at least six warehouses with 3,000 tonnes of soft plastics after REDcycle suspended‘It is believed additional sites could exist across Victoria and the country,’ state environment protection authority says
Read more »