The Independents in the 2025 election, their electorate, and what they stand for

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Two parties traditionally dominate Australian politics, but that does not mean they hold all the power. Support for Labor and the Liberals dropped to a record low at the last election, with almost 1 in 3 voters opting for minor parties or independents. These minor parties have plenty of influence from the cross bench over who lands in government and what they do there.

Transcript

00:00Two big parties dominate Australian politics, but then there's these ones, and then there's

00:06these guys.

00:07Independents.

00:08Support for the major parties dropped to a record low at the last election.

00:11Almost one in three voters didn't support them.

00:13Like their name suggests, an independent MP is separate from any party, with their own

00:16individual policies and views.

00:18But they can be broken down into a few different groups, so here's a quick guide to who's

00:21who.

00:22Andrew Wilkie, Helen Haynes and Bob Catter have been some of the longest serving independents

00:25in parliament who are on the current crossbench.

00:27The crossbench is where independents and minor parties sit by the way, so they're in between

00:30the two major parties.

00:31Andrew Wilkie is a former spy, and he advocates pretty heavily for privacy protections and

00:35against pokies in the gambling industry.

00:37Helen Haynes is a former nurse, she was also a midwife, and she's got a regional and rural

00:40focus.

00:41Bob Catter is one of the best known independents in the parliament because he's a bit of a

00:45character.

00:46Let there be a thousand blossoms bloom as far as I'm concerned, but I ain't spending

00:51any time on it.

00:53Technically he leads the Catter's Australia party, but he's actually the only one elected

00:56to federal parliament.

00:57His focus is on limiting monopolies like the supermarkets, nationalisation of essential

01:01services like gas and airports, and also giving everyone the right to own a gun.

01:04So he's not really a party man.

01:07There's actually a few other people in this camp, including Jackie Lambie, Rebecca Sharkey

01:11and Fatima Payment.

01:12And this is where things sort of start to get a bit complicated, because some independents

01:16do sometimes behave very similarly to a party.

01:19Which brings us to the Teals.

01:21This group of independents are informally labelled the Teals.

01:24Economically this group tend to lean a bit more conservative, socially they tend to lean

01:27a bit more to the left.

01:28Hence this Teal label, it's a mix of green and blue, the Liberals.

01:32But again, each one of them is slightly different.

01:35But they do almost always vote together, and they're all backed by a major fundraising

01:38group called Climate 200.

01:40It's run by the director of the Smart Energy Council, millionaire Simon Holmesacourt.

01:44The group also provides financial support to a number of MPs who aren't in the Teal

01:47grouping, but support strong action to counter global warming.

01:50One of them is Senator David Pocock.

01:52The former Wallabies captain won the ACT's second Senate seat off a Liberal in 2022,

01:56advocating for strong action on climate change and transparency in politics.

02:00Another independent who made it into federal parliament at the last election was in Western

02:03Sydney.

02:04Former ABC journalist and local Liberal candidate Dai Lee wasn't backed by Climate 200.

02:08She's the first Vietnamese-Australian refugee to win a seat in the parliament, and is particularly

02:13focused on cost of living relief and better services for her electorate.

02:16At the other end of the political spectrum from the Teals are One Nation and the United

02:19Australia Party.

02:21One Nation has two senators and the UAP has one.

02:23Both parties fall far to the right.

02:25One Nation wants to reduce Australia's refugee intake, reduce availability of unemployment

02:29payments and impose heavy restrictions on abortion.

02:32Members of the party have also been associated with spreading conspiracy theories, as have

02:35the UAP.

02:36Mining magnate Clive Palmer pumped $123 million dollars into his campaign at the last election,

02:42and won one Victorian Senate seat that's held by Ralph Babbitt.

02:46So you might know who you want to vote for, but what about how to actually vote?

02:50Check out the rest of Politics Explained for more info on how, when and where to do it.

Category

Transcript

Recommended