They have been the story of the 2022 federal election.
Key points:
- Andrew Wilkie has held the seat of Clark, formerly Denison, for 12 years
- A wave of independents and green men will soon join the parliamentary bench.
- However, he warns that cruise ships should not be ignored
A wave of independents and green greens that disrupt the status quo and put an end to Australia’s ideas of safe seats and a two-party system.
Others are not even a shade of green, and voters have also returned to the crossover benches, including Bob Katter.
Workers are approaching the majority, but no agreement has yet been reached, and it will be a slim majority if it is over.
So there are questions about how influential and effective these independent and minor parties could be, and whether they are destined to be one-time wonders, as some disgruntled liberals surely expect.
But there are certainly precedents for long-term independents.
Andrew Wilkie was isolated by COVID-19 on election night. (ABC News: Lucy Shannon)
‘I got burned’
Since taking office in 2010, Andrew Wilkie has been a member of Clark, formerly Denison, in Hobart.
He’s not about giving unsolicited advice to his new cross-peers, but he’s learned some lessons.
Former ABC journalist Zoe Daniel was one of the so-called Blues Green independents to win a seat. (AAP: Joel Carrett)
Andrew Wilkie’s first term began with a hanging parliament, which he used to negotiate an eight-page deal with Julia Gillard, promising labor supply and confidence in exchange for poker machine reform.
It seemed like a big move, until Mr Wilkie found himself breaking the deal 18 months later, after the government renounced its part of the deal.
“Well, I certainly burned myself in my first term,” Wilkie said.
“But I learned that it’s really better not to have a formal agreement and address every vote, every issue according to its merits.”
Independent Monique Ryan fired former treasurer Josh Frydenberg from her Kooyong headquarters. (AAP: James Ross)
Can independents be effective if they do not maintain the balance of power?
In Andrew Wilkie’s four terms, only one government, Tony Abbott’s, had a clear majority.
“During the other three terms, and now this new term, the government has been in the minority or dangerously close to losing its majority.”
It doesn’t take long for a government to be reduced to, or close to, the minority, as demonstrated by Craig Kelly’s departure from the Liberal Party in 2021.
According to the experience of Mr. Wilkie, this is one of the reasons why governments in general like to keep cross-bankers happy.
“My experience is that the government has always wanted to have a good relationship with the pro-independence movement, and that means that from time to time I have been able to attract some funding for some of my constituency’s projects.”
Follow all post-election actions while the counting continues
With the figures on the ground set to be adjusted, even if Labor has a majority, Wilkie said he hoped cross-banks would have the government’s ear.
“In fact, a well-respected independent has better access to government ministers than members of his own party, that’s my experience.
“And I hope this can lead to some political reform, as well as additional federal government funding to the electorate.”
Climate 200 independent candidate Kate Chaney hopes to win Curtin’s seat. (ABC News: James Carmody)
Wilkie said it was also helpful for governments to have the “imprimatur of a well-regarded independent,” especially with controversial reforms.
“So there are all sorts of ways we can exert a subtle or strong influence.
“It’s all about building relationships with the major parties.”
Wilkie said the role of an independent was more than securing money for his electorate.
“The community is interested in having a good person who works and represents and leads the fight in Canberra, and is in charge of the government with the big issues that the big parties are running.”
Can Indians Work Together?
Apart from the Greens, cruises to Canberra are not part of a block or affiliated with each other.
Most campaigned on climate action, integrity, and many received funding from the same donor, Climate 200.
Andrew Wilkie, who received a Climate 200 donation, said interest in some key issues was where the independent partnership ended.
“It’s been my experience working together where our interests overlap, then we separate when we pursue different interests. We don’t hunt like a pack.”
The investment activist behind Climate 200 has said that donations came without any commitment and that successful candidates were not required to vote in any particular way.
For his part, Mr. Wilkie has not spoken to any of the newly elected MPs, but predicted they could meet for a drink in the first week of the session.
Andrew Wilkie says Labor can’t afford to ignore the people who voted for the cruises. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
Watch out for the workers
Wilkie said there were a number of reasons why the Labor government should consider the cross-bank, even if the ALP ended in a majority.
“For starters, we represent millions of Australians, about a third of the public who have actually voted voted for an independent or minor party or a micro-party,” he said.
“A government that has been elected with about 33 per cent of the primary votes cannot ignore the people who voted for the cross seat, this would be a sure way for the Labor party to lose the next election.”
So far, everything is fine for Labor on this front: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Andrew Wilkie on Monday morning, along with a number of others who have returned.
Want more news from Tasmania?
Set up the ABC News website or application in “Tasmania Top Stories” from the homepage or in the application settings menu to continue receiving the same national news, but with some state stories most relevant.
Here’s a taste of Tasmania’s latest stories:
Posted 48 minutes, 48 minutes ago, Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 9:07 PM, updated 24 minutes ago, 24 minutes ago, Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 9:32 PM