It doesn't make sense. The mere suggestion you could have a party of independents is a contradiction in terms. How can you be a member of a party and independent at the same time?

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

Login or signup to continue reading

Floated by independent Senator David Pocock over the weekend, the notion of forming a new centrist party didn't go down well with some teal MPs.

Helen Haines ruled out joining such an outfit. So did Monique Ryan and Kate Chaney. Rebekha Sharkie went further, saying she didn't have much in common with the other teals, most of whom represent wealthy metropolitan electorates.

Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender thought the idea had merit. Sophie Scamps seemed to be having a bet each way.

Malcolm Turnbull thinks such a party could fill a vacuum in the centre of Australian politics vacated by the Liberal Party, which spooked by a surging One Nation has lurched to the right.

I'd argue that centre stage is already crowded - by Labor. In the 2025 election it not only monstered the Coalition; it gave the Greens a thorough belting as well. Any heroic notion harboured by Max Chandler Mather that the Greens could eventually replace Labor as Australia's main centre left party evaporated.

And it's not just federally where Labor is dominating the centre.

At state level, NSW Premier Labor Chris Minns might wear a red tie, but could easily be mistaken for what we once knew as Liberal. He's socially conservative, often in conflict with the union movement and happy to take pot shots at federal Labor, most recently over tax and bracket creep, a central plank of Angus Taylor's budget reply speech.

Peter Malinauskas in South Australia and Roger Cook in Western Australia have also occupied the centre ground, once dominated by the Liberal Party.

Would a new centrist party find room in this crowded environment? Unlikely, mainly because the appeal of voting independent is ... their independence.

We've tried it before. Remember the Australian Democrats? Formed in 1977 by former Liberal Don Chipp they persisted on the political scene until 2008 against all odds. The defection of Cheryl Kernot back to Labor in 1997 sounded its death knell.

Don't just take it from me. Former Australian Democrats leader Andrew Bartlett has urged the teals not to form a party, especially not at a time of growing disillusionment with party politics. Such a move would damage their credibility, he said.

With credibility in short supply in federal politics,........

© The Examiner