Teal independents Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender will form a new political party, Community Strong Australia, in a much-anticipated move to further destabilize the two-party system, and attempt to win over disaffected Nation One voters.
A Strong Community will seek to exploit Australia’s political turmoil, as well as avoid it new contribution rules that independent loss, establish a new fortress in the Senate.
But a leaderless party, which currently does not receive funding from Climate 200, is a very risky strategy, as all other MPs refused to join.
“This is a middle-of-the-road party, not a middle-of-the-road alternative,” Steggall told this newspaper. “It’s not a lifeline for the Liberal Party. They’ve done their own damage with their movement.”
Spender said he had consulted with his community and donors before joining the party.
“A lot of people feel politically homeless right now and are very frustrated with the ability of the major parties to listen and deliver,” he said.
“People have come up to me on the street and said, ‘We hope you guys build something together.’ I’ve had emails from all over the country.”
Documents to register the Australian Strong Community as a party were submitted on Wednesday by the Australian Electoral Commission, along with the party’s constitution, which allows its MPs to vote as they choose on all issues except giving distribution and confidence in the government.
However, there is a need to defend the party’s “pillars of policy” – prudent economic management, climate action, equality and justice.
The party will not have a leader; instead, “the parliamentary leaders will lead together”.
If the application is accepted by the AEC, the registration of the association usually takes about three months.
“I really believe that it’s out there, the desire for a different style,” Steggall said. “I don’t deny that it’s dangerous. That’s why I have only one companion standing with me.”
Pollster Kos Samaras, who has consulted independents in the community about the desire to have a new party, said that “the number of people who currently vote for One Nation – not a small number – will switch to an alternative if they are sincere.
“They are sitting on One Nation instead of something else. At the moment, there is only one product on the market,” Samaras said.
“If there is a second one, it will vote for One Nation like it will vote for any other political party, including the Greens.”
How much support Australia’s Strong Community can get is untested.
Steggall was largely successful as the first “black” candidate. winning the Liberal seat of Warringah on Sydney’s northern shores from former prime minister Tony Abbott at the 2019 election.
Spender took the Sydney seat of Wentworth from Liberal Dave Sharma in 2022 and increased his numbers in the 2025 election.
But Community Strong has no candidates incorporated yet and has not settled on its policies. It would need five MPs to qualify for “minor party” status.
Steggall and Spender hope other independent MPs can join the Power Society after discussing the proposal with their communities.
Bradfield independent Nicolette Boele and Mackellar independent Sophie Scamps have been consulting supporters and voters in their electorates on the idea.
Two of the remaining cabinet members – Victorian MP for Kooyong, Monique Ryan, and WA MP for Curtin, Kate Chaney – have refused to join the party.
Climate 200, a controversial funder of many economic sabotage campaigns, is not involved in the Strong Community, although Steggall did not rule out taking future donations from the political funding vehicle, led by Simon Holmes à Court.
“Weather 200 is not part of this. They are informed about Allegra and my decision. There is no agreement on future funding,” Steggall said. “Partly because many in the media will jump to take control or influence from them.”
Steggall said the measure of the success of the new party will be on election night 2028.
“It will be seen as an increased presence in the parliament,” he said. “It might cost me politically. It might mean that (to me). But I think this moment in Australian politics is worth the risk.”
As a political party, Community Strong will benefit from the new electoral contribution laws that will come into force on January 1 next year which will leave many independent candidates worse off than the party.
Individual candidates can now spend no more than 800,000 dollars for their campaigns, but parties can also use their national campaign budget, which amounts to 90 million dollars.
The change in donations was a “big party provocation”, Spender said.
“I remember being reassured by one employee … that ‘Don’t worry, the management will be fine.’ But I believe in competition. If they create something that means innovation and competition is tough, I have a problem with it.
Legislation was a factor in the decision to launch the Commonwealth, Spender said, “but to be honest, I would be doing this anyway because it’s about providing structure, which you need for things like the Senate”.
Senator David Pocock has insisted that he will remain independent.
Community Strong wants to have candidates elected to the upper house, where its members can be more powerful if they hold the balance of power.
Steggall said he first considered the idea of an independent party in 2020, when he introduced his own member’s bill, the Climate Change Bill 2020, when Scott Morrison was prime minister.
“I saw the obstacles of being one vote out of 150 … the obstacle to our current movement is our lack of influence in the upper house,” he said.
Spender notes that the independent candidate in the Farrer by-election, Michelle Milthorpe, received 42 per cent of the two-candidate vote, losing to One Nation candidate David Farley.
“The structure of the party would support those communities, where they want to have that representation, and the Senate gives them that opportunity,” he said.
Steggall and Spender believe that the structure of the Commonwealth – an “umbrella” party with no branch members and no obligation to vote along party lines – will fill a void in Australian politics, which is currently leading to a surge in support for One Nation.
Steggall admitted that Strong Community would be unlikely to attract the “traditional One Nation voter” but believes it could take on voters who are disengaged and fed up with Labor and the Coalition.
“There are views held by One Nation voters that I don’t have, and my community doesn’t share,” Steggall said.
“But if they are looking for major parties, instead of ‘disrupting the union’, let’s meet to build a different system. That’s my statement. Be part of something different and new.”
Under the proposed union structure, Community Strong will not have regular branch members.
Steggall said the party’s constitution was “community-focused and (avoided) the pitfalls of the party style, which is the party whip, central control and branch clustering”.
“We don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the Liberal Party – the powerbrokers of groups who control MPs over the community,” he said.
Only MPs and pre-selected candidates will have member status, with voter input coming through the community engagement committee.
In the case of a dispute over distribution and trust, a majority vote will be required to decide the matter. However, given that the members only include Steggall and Spender, the issue is currently open.
Steggall, a former Olympian, said her sporting background taught her that “sitting still and doing the same thing is not an option.
“You have to constantly reassess your approach and if the playing field has changed. What is your strategy going into the next competition?” He said. “I have definitely come to the conclusion that it would be better to go to the next election under a different proposal.”
Spender said the plan was to “start small, humble, and grow from there”.
