Liberal Party Launches Campaign Against ‘Teal’ Independents Ahead of Next Election

Voters wait in line outside Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club in the electorate of Wentworth in Sydney, Australia, on May 21, 2022. James D. Morgan/Getty Images

The federal Liberal Party has launched a new campaign against the “teal” movement ahead of the upcoming federal election, expected to be called early next year.

The campaign, dubbed “Teals Revealed,” aims to inform voters of the risks of a possible future Labor-Greens-teal minority government saying the independents have voted in line with the centre-left.

Since the last election, eight former Liberal Party electorates were won by teal independents in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, promising greater action on climate change.

An advertisement released on YouTube as part of the campaign warns that the independents have “voted most often with the Greens (72 percent of the time), followed by Labor (61 percent),” compared to just 39 percent with the Liberal Party.

“Teal MPs voted with the Greens against tougher laws to stop criminals from getting visas,” the video asserts.

A dedicated website for the anti-teal campaign also outlines individual voting records and accusations of collusion with Labor and the Greens.

“Despite claiming to be independent and driven by community movements, it is telling that teals have only seriously run against Liberal and Nationals MPs,” the website states.

Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley expressed confidence that the campaign would help the party regain the trust of voters.

“We will campaign relentlessly to win back the trust of the voters in their electorates, because these communities deserve better,” Ley said.

The teals have supported the Labor government in key votes, including the Future Made in Australia Bill, as well as a recent motion condemning Hamas’s attack on Israel while mourning the lives lost in the Palestinian counterattacks.

Teal MP Calls for Coalition to Support Housing Bill

The Liberal Party’s criticisms follow a recent call from Teal MP Allegra Spender for the Coalition and the Greens to collaborate with the Labor government on housing policies.

“The Coalition and the Greens need to back the bills for rent and shared equity schemes that are before the parliament because they actually solve real problems for real people,” Spender stated at the National Press Club on Oct. 23.

Labor has been attempting to pass its signature housing bills—Help to Buy, and Build to Rent—but has struggled to secure support from either the Greens or the Coalition in the Senate.

Spender called on the Coalition to stop obstructing housing targets, arguing that “targets create accountability” and highlighted the necessity of delivering over 1.2 million homes to address the housing crisis effectively.