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June 25, 2026 \u2014 12:04am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Teal independents Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender will form a new political party, Community Strong Australia, in a much-anticipated move set to further destabilise the two-party system, and an attempt to grab disaffected One Nation voters.<\/p>\n Community Strong will seek to exploit Australia\u2019s political upheaval, as well as circumvent new donations laws<\/a> that disadvantage independents, to establish a new stronghold in the Senate.<\/p>\n But the leaderless party, which is not currently taking funding from Climate 200, is a high-risk strategy, as all other teal MPs have declined to join.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a centrist party, not a centre-right replacement,\u201d Steggall told this masthead. \u201cIt is not a life raft for the Liberal Party. They have done their own damage to their own movement.\u201d<\/p>\n Spender said she had consulted her community and donor base before joining the party.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people feel politically homeless right now and very frustrated with the major parties\u2019 ability to listen and deliver,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have come up to me in the street and said, \u2018We hope you guys do build something together.\u2019 I\u2019ve had emails from all around the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Papers to register Community Strong Australia as a party were filed on Wednesday with the Australian Electoral Commission, along with the party\u2019s constitution, which allows its parliamentarians to vote as they choose on all matters except providing supply and confidence to a government.<\/p>\n However, there is a requirement to advocate for the party\u2019s \u201cpolicy pillars\u201d \u2013 sensible economic management, climate action, equality and integrity.<\/p>\n The party will have no leader; instead, \u201cparliamentary leaders will collectively lead\u201d.<\/p>\n If the application is accepted by the AEC, party registration usually takes about three months.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI strongly believe it is out there, an appetite for a different model,\u201d Steggall said. \u201cI don\u2019t disagree that it\u2019s a risk. That\u2019s why I only have one colleague standing with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Pollster Kos Samaras, who has consulted community independents about the appetite for a new party, said that \u201ca number of people who are currently voting for One Nation \u2013 not an insignificant number of them \u2013 will switch to an alternative if it\u2019s a serious one\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are sitting on One Nation in lieu of something else. At the moment, there is only one product on the market,\u201d Samaras said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there is a second one, it will hit the vote of One Nation just as much as it will hit any other established political party, including the Greens.\u201d<\/p>\n How much support Community Strong Australia can garner is untested.<\/p>\n Steggall was enormously successful as the first \u201cteal\u201d candidate, winning the prize Liberal seat of Warringah<\/a> on Sydney\u2019s north shore from former prime minister Tony Abbott at the 2019 election.<\/p>\n Spender took Sydney\u2019s blue-ribbon electorate of Wentworth from Liberal Dave Sharma in 2022 and increased her margin at the 2025 election.<\/p>\n But Community Strong has no candidates lined up yet and has not settled its policies. It would need five parliamentary members to qualify for \u201cminority party\u201d status.<\/p>\n Related Article Steggall and Spender hope other independent MPs may join Community Strong after discussing the proposal with their communities.<\/p>\n Bradfield independent Nicolette Boele and Mackellar independent Sophie Scamps have been consulting supporters and voters in their electorates on the idea.<\/p>\n The remaining two lower house teals \u2013 Victoria\u2019s Kooyong MP, Monique Ryan, and WA\u2019s Curtin MP, Kate Chaney \u2013 have ruled out joining the party.<\/p>\n Climate 200, the controversial big-money donor to many teal campaigns, is not involved in Community Strong, although Steggall did not rule out taking future donations from the political funding vehicle, headed by Simon Holmes \u00e0 Court.<\/p>\n \u201cClimate 200 is not part of this. They are informed of Allegra\u2019s and my decision. There is no agreement over future funding,\u201d Steggall said. \u201cIt\u2019s partly because too many in the media will jump to assume control or influence from them.\u201d<\/p>\n Steggall said the measure of the new party\u2019s success would be on election night 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will look like an increased presence in the parliament,\u201d she said. \u201cIt might cost me politically. It might mean that\u2019s it [for me]. But I think the moment in Australian politics is worth the risk.\u201d<\/p>\n As a political party, Community Strong will benefit from new electoral donation laws that come into force on January 1 next year that will leave many independent candidates worse off than those from a party.<\/p>\n Individual candidates can now spend no more than $800,000 on their campaigns, but parties are also able to tap into their national campaign budget, which is capped at $90 million.<\/p>\n The donations changes were \u201ca major-party stitch-up\u201d, Spender said.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember being reassured by one Labor person \u2026 that \u2018Don\u2019t worry, incumbents will be fine.\u2019 But I believe in competition. If they construct something that means innovation and competition is harder, I have a problem with it.\u201d<\/p>\n The laws were a factor in the decision to launch Community Strong, Spender said, \u201cbut to be honest, I would be doing this anyway because it\u2019s about providing structure, which you need for things like the Senate\u201d.<\/p>\n Senator David Pocock has insisted he will remain independent.<\/p>\n Community Strong wants to have candidates elected to the upper house, where its members could have greater clout if they held the balance of power.<\/p>\n Steggall said she first considered the idea of a party of independents in 2020, when she introduced her private member\u2019s bill, the Climate Change Bill 2020, while Scott Morrison was prime minister.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw the limitations of being one vote out of 150 \u2026 the limitation of our current movement, it\u2019s our lack of impact in the upper house,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Spender notes that the independent candidate in the Farrer byelection, Michelle Milthorpe, received 42 per cent of the two-candidate-preferred vote, losing against One Nation candidate David Farley.<\/p>\n \u201cThe party structure would give support for those communities, where they want to have that representation, and the Senate gives them that opportunity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Related Article Steggall and Spender believe the Community Strong structure \u2013 an \u201cumbrella\u201d party with no branch members and no obligation to vote along party lines \u2013 will fill a gap in Australian politics, one currently driving a surge in support for One Nation.<\/p>\n Steggall acknowledged that Community Strong would be unlikely to attract the \u201ccore traditional voter of One Nation\u201d but believes it could pick up disengaged voters fed up with Labor and the Coalition.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are views held by One Nation voters that I don\u2019t hold, and my community doesn\u2019t hold,\u201d Steggall said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if they\u2019re looking to major parties, rather than \u2018wreck the joint\u2019, let\u2019s come together to build a different system. That\u2019s my pitch. Be part of something different and new.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the proposed party structure, Community Strong will have no ordinary branch members.<\/p>\n Steggall said the party\u2019s constitution is \u201ccommunity-centric and [avoids] the pitfalls of the party model, which is the party whip, central control and branch stacking\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want to replicate the mistakes of the Liberal Party \u2013 factional power brokers who control the MPs above the communities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Only parliamentarians and pre-selected candidates will have member status, with voter input coming via a community engagement committee.<\/p>\n In the case of a dispute over supply and confidence, a super-majority of votes would be required to decide the issue. However, given that the membership only comprises Steggall and Spender, the issue is moot for now.<\/p>\n![\"Teal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2a9d9729145e868e7ffbcf68f2a250ae61d11a66.jpeg\")
Teal independents Allegra Spender (left) and Zali Steggall on Wednesday. Alex Ellinghausen<\/p>\n![\"Independent](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/110048cfaada77d7cbb396ca891fba83d2c2c1b3.jpeg\")
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Independents Monique Ryan (left) and Kate Chaney have ruled themselves out of joining the new party.Eddie Jim, Alex Ellinghausen<\/p>\n![\"Teal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ef0e24d50f9bd3dbdfd636bf16d3803ee95c5a37e5dbc99ea9e6786ffecfe9d8.jpeg\")
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