Since the last election, eight electorates have been represented by “Teal” independents, supported (including with donations) by the Climate 200 group, which the Australian Electoral Commissions defines as a “significant third party”.

The Teals’ record shows they:

• Vote most often with The Greens.
• Vote far more often with Labor than Liberals.
• Won’t say who they’d put into government if there’s a hung parliament.
• Are very unclear on economic policy.
• Advocate a range of higher taxes.
• Are weak on security.
• Only stand against Liberals and Nationals.
• Use campaign operatives with strong links to Labor and GetUp.
• Show a number of examples of hypocrisy.
• Are bankrolled by wealthy donors in Sydney and Melbourne.

Voting with the Greens and Labor

Their parliamentary voting record shows the eight Teal independents in the House of Representatives have:

• Voted most often with the Greens (average 72%).
• Voted more often with Labor (average 61%) than Liberal (average 39%).

1. TheyVoteForYou.org.au, as at September 2024. Comparison with Party Leaders (Bandt, Albanese, Dutton)
2. Parliamentary Hansard, as at August 2024

Won’t reveal who’d they put into government in a hung parliament

Despite claiming to want “transparency”, the Teal Independents have consistently refused to state who they would support in the event of a hung parliament.

Their biggest fundraiser, Simon Holmes à Court, has pointed to the Gillard/Rudd minority government between 2010 and 2013 as what they want to achieve.¹  In that hung parliament, independents put Labor into minority government, leading to the world’s biggest Carbon Tax and three years of chaos.

Economic uncertainty and higher taxes

Prior to the election, the Teals had no detailed economic policies.

Since the election, it has been a very mixed bag. For example:

• Kate Chaney and Zoe Daniel have argued for an increase in the GST, Kylea Tink and Allegra Spender say it should be considered or “on the table”.²
• Others have said consideration should be given to other tax changes or increases – on multinationals (Scamps), capital gains (Spender), resources (Scamps, Spender, Chaney, Daniel), property and wealth (Tink), housing (Daniel, Ryan, Haines, Scamps, Steggall, Spender) and road users (Daniel).³
• When Labor abolished the building industry watchdog (the Australian Building and Construction Commission), which protected small business and workers from CFMMEU thuggery, Zoe Daniel and Monique Ryan voted in favour (Kylea Tink was not present).⁴

Weak on security

In February 2023, every Teal Independent voted with the Greens against legislation (supported by both Labor and the Coalition) which makes more people with criminal convictions unable to get Australian Visas.⁵

In November 2023, following the mass release of hardened criminals from immigration detention, four Teal Independents (Daniel, Haines, Tink and Ryan) voted against urgent legislation to introduce electronic monitoring and criminalise breaches of visa conditions.⁶

In November 2023 seven Teal Independents (Daniel, Ryan, Haines, Tink, Scamps, Steggall and Chaney) voted with the Greens against legislation enabling the minister to request a court to cease a dual citizen’s Australian citizenship, where they have been convicted of serious offences including terrorism, espionage and offences relating to explosives and lethal devices.⁷

“Indefensible” comments about Israel

In October 2023, nine days following the 7 October attacks by Hamas on Israel, two Teal MPs earned the ire of prominent Jewish leaders, as reported in the Australian:

Two Sydney teal MPs have joined forces with the Greens to accuse Israel of war crimes just nine days after Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1400 Israelis, in a move condemned as “reprehensible” by prominent Jewish leaders.

Sydney MPs Kylea Tink and Sophie Scamps, and Tasmania’s Andrew Wilkie, backed an attempt by Greens leader Adam Bandt to amend the bipartisan motion, seeking to erase a statement declaring Australia “stands with Israel and recognises its inherent right to defend itself”…

The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies condemned the MPs’ position as “completely indefensible and morally reprehensible”, while the Executive Council of Australian Jewry accused them of a “moral fog” that insulted the Jewish people.⁸

Only run against Liberals and Nationals

Despite claiming they are independent and driven by community movements, it is telling that in federal elections, Teals have only seriously run against Liberal and Nationals MPs.

They use a campaign operation – Populares – with deep links to the Labor Party and GetUp.⁹

Hypocrisy

Despite campaigning heavily on climate change and ending fossil fuels:

• In August 2022, it was revealed Kylea Tink was a shareholder of two energy companies (one that refines oil and another that explores for oil and gas).
• In December 2022, all Teal Independents voted for the Labor Government’s “Energy Price Relief Plan”, which included up to $2 billion in subsidies for coal and gas generators, as compensation for their losses in applying a price cap on them. After doing this, Zoe Daniel changed a pledge on her website from “cease subsidising fossil fuels” to “cuts in fossil fuel subsidies”.¹⁰

Despite campaigning heavily on integrity:

• In 2022, an Australian Electoral Commission audit revealed Zali Steggall failed to disclose a $100,000 donation from the family trust of a coal investor, who is accused of tax fraud.¹¹
• In January 2023, Monique Ryan’s Chief of Staff filed a court application alleging a breach of Fair Work Australia’s general workplace protections, claiming Ryan had caused her to be sacked for refusing to work unreasonable additional hours. The matter settled out of court.
• In November 2023, Zoe Daniel and Monique Ryan voted to scrap the Australian Building and Construction Commission, which had protected small business and workers from CFMEU thuggery.¹²
• In September 2024, it was reported that Allegra Spender and a Zoe Daniel staff member lobbied a journalist on behalf of Simon Holmes à Court seeking his removal from the Australian Financial Review’s ‘covert power list’.¹³

Despite campaigning on transparency, the Teals consistently refuse to say who they would put into government if there is a hung parliament after the election.

Backed by big donors – mostly from Sydney and Melbourne

Far from being a grassroots, organic movement, the Teal movement is backed by wealthy donors, led by Simon Holmes à Court.

Of the $12.8 million in donations declared by Mr Holmes à Court’s “Climate 200” group (up to 2022-23), 97% of the donations have come from just NSW and Victoria.¹⁴