In brief
Two independent Australian MPs, Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender, have founded the Community Strong Australia party, pledging a centrist platform centred on "unity over division, reason over rage". The party will have no single leader and will allow members to vote independently, offering an alternative to the long‑dominated Labor and Liberal‑National coalition. Chief issues include housing affordability, cost of living, climate action, childcare and health services, while distancing itself from the Climate 200 network. Registration with the Australian Electoral Commission is slated for October.
Independent MPs launch new Australian centrist party
Two independent Australian MPs have banded together to launch a new centrist political party named Community Strong Australia, promising "unity over division and reason over rage". The party will have no single leader, and members will be free to vote according to their own judgment rather than along party lines.
The founders, Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender, are part of the so‑called "teals", socially liberal independents who advocate for stronger climate action and progressive policies. They argue that the party offers an alternate political force to the traditional Labour–Coalition duopoly.
Australia's politics has long been dominated by the centre‑left Labour Party and the conservative Liberal‑National coalition. With Labour’s recent landslide victory and the Coalition’s record low defeat, the country is facing growing political fragmentation, amplified by the rise of One Nation led by Pauline Hanson.
Steggall and Spender say the move was spurred by voters’ frustrations with the status quo, and they welcome voices beyond their own communities to shape the new party’s agenda.
Key priorities include housing affordability, cost of living pressures, climate policy, childcare, education and healthcare. The duo distancing themselves from the Climate 200 network, clarifying that it is not involved in the new party’s operations.
The party has lodged an application with the Australian Electoral Commission and expects full registration by October, allowing it to contest future elections on a level playing field with larger parties under new funding laws.
