Teal independents

In Australian politics, a teal independent (or teal for short) is an environmentalist but economically liberal independent politician. They are funded by the climate change advocacy group Climate 200, which was founded by Simon Holmes à Court. They are called "teals" because teal is a mix between blue (the colour of the conservative Liberal Party) and green (the colour of the environmental movement and the Greens).

While they existed throughout the 2010s in many parts of the country, they gained prominence in the 2020s. Before the 2022 federal election, only three teal independents held seats in Parliament, but after the election there were seven. The teal independents that were elected to the House of Representatives represent electorates in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Hobart and regional Victoria. Furthermore, one teal independent (former rugby league player David Pocock) was elected to the Senate for the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Teal independents have also contested state elections in New South Wales and Victoria, but are less successful.