The 2022 federal election success of the teals and other community independents has been captured in three new books. How and why did they become a political force – and what might the future hold?
Politics with Michelle Grattan: The push to run independents on issues of climate and integrity
Michelle Grattan discusses the rise of independent candidates in the 2022 federal election and how their campaigns will be helped by a big war chest and plenty of strategic advice
Independent MP Helen Haines on using ‘soft power’
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Helen Haines, who does not have the real legislative power her predecessor, Cathy McGowan shared after the Coalition fell into minority government, says "building relationships is key to getting things done".
Just as with Kevin07, formerly Coalition-friendly independents gave life-long centre-right voters a way to break ranks without feeling like they were being disloyal. Zali Steggall is doing the same.
Scott Morrison and David Coleman said: “There are now only four asylum seeker children on Nauru and they have all been approved for departure to the United States of America with their families”.
Two more crossbenchers, Cathy McGowan and Andrew Wilkie, have given Malcolm Turnbull assurances they will back his government on supply and confidence.
Malcolm Turnbull is overwhelmingly more trusted than Bill Shorten to lead the country in the final round of Indi focus group research among ‘soft’ voters in the seat.
Indi has a potentially large number of floating voters at the local scale, mirroring the situation nationally. What do the people of Indi think about issues of trust?
Soft voters in the Victorian seat of Indi are strengthening their support for independent member Cathy McGowan, but many are inclined to balance that out by opting for the Coalition in the Senate.
Phil Cleary, left-leaning one-time independent member for Wills, and Sophie Mirabella, the former Liberal MP for Indi who is trying to regain the seat, are far from political soulmates.
Sophie Mirabella has delivered an early blow to her campaign to regain Indi with an unsubstantiated claim that the seat missed out on $10 million in hospital money because it elected Cathy McGowan.
Barnaby Joyce should be afraid. The Nationals profess they’ll hold New England, and Joyce is the favourite. But Tony Windsor is likely to drive Joyce mad.