How do teal independents' voting records affect their relationships with major partiesTeal independents' voting records influence their relationships with major parties in several ways:
- **Strained Relations with the LNP**: Teals often vote against the Liberal-National Coalition (LNP), particularly on climate change and integrity issues, which creates tension. Their success in traditionally Liberal seats has led to criticism from LNP figures, who accuse them of being "anti-Liberal groupies" or "fake independents" due to their alignment with Climate 200's platform[3].
- **Mixed Alignment with Labor**: While teals align more frequently with Labor than the LNP, their independence allows them to diverge on key issues like labor amendments, where voting patterns vary among teal MPs[1][2].
- **Strategic Positioning**: Teals occupy a centrist position in parliamentary dynamics. This enables them to negotiate policy changes while maintaining independence, fostering pragmatic relationships with both major parties depending on the issue at hand[2].
Citations: [1] The Parliamentary Voting Behaviour of 'Teal' Independent MPs https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4971265 [2] The parliamentary voting behaviour of 'teal' independent MPs https://patleslie.net/blogs/blog_teals/blog_post.html [3] Teal independents - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teal_independents [4] The steady decline of voters choosing the major parties is reshaping ... https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/the-steady-decline-of-voters-choosing-the-major-parties-is-reshaping-australia-politics/ [5] Do independents like to party? The rise in independent and minor ... https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10361146.2024.2421519?af=R [6] [PDF] THE 2022 AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL ELECTION https://australianelectionstudy.org/wp-content/uploads/The-2022-Australian-Federal-Election-Results-from-the-Australian-Election-Study.pdf
