#zoe daniel

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Antony Green -elections on X:

With no votes left to count, Liberal Tim Wilson has defeated Independent Zoe Daniel to win Goldstein by 128 votes.

[axvoter]

Blatantly Partisan Party Review XL (federal 2022): The “Teal” Independents

Running where: 6 out of 8 states and territories—not NT or QLD. Most are in specific lower house seats; see full list below.

Prior reviews: None, this is not a party

(This entry is a bit long. The first section covers the rise of the indies this past decade and what they stand for. If you are primarily interested in whether a teal is standing in your seat and a recommendation if so, scroll down to the candidate list and recommendation sections.)

Australia has seen a resurgence in independent politics the past decade. In 2010, the only indies in the House of Representatives were men who had been first elected to public office as Nationals MPs and since left the party. At that year’s election, Andrew Wilkie ran a successful independent campaign for the Division of Denison (now Clark): in a remarkable four-cornered contest, he came third on first preferences and won after the distribution of preferences. Next, in 2013, Cathy McGowan ran an impressive local campaign to unseat Sophie Mirabella, a terminally unpopular Liberal who had steadily turned one of the safest seats in the country into a loss. As a friend with relatives in Indi quipped to me, “every time Mirabella met a voter, she lost a vote”. McGowan in 2019 then successfully handed over to another local indie, Helen Haines, the current Member for Indi, while Zali Steggall defeated Tony Abbott in Warringah. Kerryn Phelps also briefly held Wentworth after winning as an independent at a 2018 by-election but she narrowly lost to Dave Sharma in 2019.

This election, independent campaigns have been especially well organised, receiving significant funds from clean energy activist Simon Holmes à Court’s organisation Climate 200. There are plenty of indies not funded by Climate 200, including a couple of competitive ones (e.g. Dai Le in Fowler, Rob Priestly in Nicholls), but by and large the indies getting attention are those with Climate 200 backing. These indies have become known as the “teal indies” for the colour many use in their branding or as the “climate indies” for their policy focus. Holmes à Court had formerly participated in Liberal Party fundraising activities for Josh Frydenberg, but was expelled after writing an opinion piece in support of closing the Liddell coal-fired power station. He promptly began supporting independent and minor-party candidates with more progressive climate agendas than Liberal MPs.

Because this is not a party as such, the teal indies are a diverse bunch. Some are running on distinctively local issues, and if you are in one of their electorates you probably know them and the issues much better than I do. I would largely define the teals as centre to centre-right. A few clearly lean left (e.g. David Pocock, Kim Rubenstein) while some belong to a lost generation of Liberals: professional women who two decades ago would have been moderate Liberal candidates, but who have been put off by the party’s notorious sexism problems and its inability or refusal to act on climate ()e.g. Allegra Spender, Sophie Scamps, Kate Chaney).

Three issues unite the teals. They want much stronger action on climate change, guided by scientific advice. They want integrity in politics—you can read this as a federal ICAC. And, as implied by the end of the last paragraph, they want gender equity. The specifics of exactly what sort of policies they support on climate, integrity, and gender vary between candidates and each campaign has been resolutely focused on their electorate’s expectations—and on tying incumbent Liberals to Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce, no matter how nice and moderate the local incumbent might be.

Climate 200 has contributed to twenty campaigns this election. Four are candidates from parties I have reviewed: Leanne Minshull of The Local Party (TAS Senate), David Pocock of his eponymous party (ACT Senate), Rebekah Sharkie of the Centre Alliance (Mayo), and Kim Rubenstein of Kim for Canberra (ACT Senate). Of those four, only Sharkie is the incumbent; the other three are challenging for Senate seats. Three more people in receipt of Climate 200 support are incumbent independents who are likely to be re-elected: Helen Haines (Indi), Zali Steggall (Warringah), and Andrew Wilkie (Clark).

The remaining thirteen are independents challenging sitting members for a seat in the House of Representatives. They are varying degrees of competitive. I think Zoe Daniel should win Goldstein over toxic cesspit of a person Tim Wilson, and Monique Ryan (Kooyong), Allegra Spender (Wentworth), and Kylea Tink (North Sydney) are all in strong positions too. I would suggest 2–3 of those four will unseat the incumbent. I am also tipping one other indie, not necessarily a teal, to unseat an incumbent somewhere in the country. There is buzz around Kate Chaney here in the west for Curtin, although I’m not yet persuaded it’s enough to get her over the line. I suspect David Pocock is going to fall just a few percent short of defeating Zed Seselja for the second ACT Senate seat.

The following are the candidates to whom Climate 200 has contributed funds. They are alphabetised by seat contested, which is named in brackets. In square brackets is party affiliation, if they have one. Italicised candidates are sitting incumbents.

ACT: David Pocock (Senate) [eponymous party]; Kim Rubenstein (Senate) [Kim for Canberra]

NSW: Nicolette Boele (Bradfield), Kate Hook (Calare), Caz Heise (Cowper), Georgia Steele (Hughes), Kylea Tink (North Sydney), Hanabeth Luke (Page), Zali Steggall (Warringah), Allegra Spender (Wentworth)

SA: Jo Dyer (Boothby), Rebekah Sharkie (Mayo) [Centre Alliance]

TAS: Andrew Wilkie (Clark), Leanne Minshull (Senate) [Local Party]

VIC: Claire Ferres Miles (Casey), Despi O’Connor (Flinders), Zoe Daniel (Goldstein), Helen Haines (Indi), Monique Ryan (Kooyong), Alex Dyson (Wannon)

WA: Kate Chaney (Curtin)

My recommendation: In all instances I recommend you preference a teal above a Liberal or National candidate and the various far-right crackpots (this favourable recommendation applies to Rob Priestly and Dai Le too). Just how strong a preference you give them will vary based on individual, but it will be generally a decent or good one—especially given how many dire candidates are on some ballots.

I want to go into more detail than I usually do in giving a recommendation, as there are strategic considerations to make in some cases. If your priority is unseating the sitting Liberal, you should ponder who is likely to end up second and third as preferences are distributed. If there are three candidates left in the count and none has 50% (or, in the Senate, none has reached a quota), the third one will be eliminated. and their preferences will decide which of the remaining two wins the seat. Where will their preferences go? If the third candidate is Labor or Green, the easy majority of their preferences will flow to the teal and might get them over the line if the margin is close enough. If the third candidate is a teal, however, some of their voters will likely break back to the Liberals to give the Lib the win ahead of Labor or the Greens.

This means that if your main goal is defeating a Liberal and the count is likely to end up a three-way contest between the Liberal, a teal, and a party candidate you might otherwise vote for, consider your vote very carefully. In such a situation, if you decide that Labor or Green (or another desirable candidate) is likely to finish in the top three but cannot defeat the incumbent Liberal on preferences, while the teal is also likely to finish in the top three and could defeat the incumbent Liberal on preferences, then you might wish to give the teal a better preference than Labor/Green/other-desirable-party. I do not normally recommend tactical voting, and our system is designed to avoid it, but in this case it’s relevant.

Website: https://www.climate200.com.au/candidates

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LIFE OF A FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT IN THE DIGITAL AGE - ZOE DANIEL ON COVERING THE US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

(Zoe Daniel at one of the Presidential Debates - Photo: Stephanie March)

Washington Bureau Chief Zoe Daniel has had a frantic first year as North America Correspondent, covering the US Presidential Election as well as other major stories, such as the Orlando massacre. This is Zoe’s third foreign posting and Back Story asked her about how the role has changed and what life is like for the modern correspondent, producing content for television, radio and a range of digital platforms.   

(Zoe Daniel preparing for a live cross - Photo: Zoe Daniel) 

What has it been like covering the US Presidential Election? 

“The US Presidential Election process is very different to any election process anywhere else that I've worked. It's obviously very long winded and in many ways it's quite indirect, in that voters elect delegates and electors rather than voting directly for the candidates. This provides a buffer between the voters and the outcome, but this year it's also caused frustration among voters who think the system is being manipulated against them, through Super Delegates on the Democratic side for example. This has added to the fireworks during a campaign that's so far been unprecedented in its unpredictability and divisiveness and has provided us with plenty of angles for coverage, especially at the respective national conventions.”

(Donald Trump addressing the Republican National Convention - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

“Covering the process has been fascinating and it's been great to have been able to follow it step by step from the one on one intimate politics of the Iowa caucuses to the chaos of the Conventions and into the election campaign proper. One thing that's difficult is getting close up access to the candidates as the campaign machines grow and the security and management of the events gets tighter.”

(Mood chocolate on offer at the third debate! - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

(On the road in winter covering the election - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

“Back in January, we were able to get a lot closer. Now we tend to have our movement restricted inside campaign rallies and have been finding it increasingly difficult to get credentials for Trump events where international media access is a low priority. Highlights so far include meeting Hillary Clinton briefly early in the campaign, and generally having a front row seat as history unfolds. Personally I've had quite a few goose bump moments when I've thought, wow. I'm so lucky to have this job!”

(The crowd cheering for Hillary Clinton at the National Democratic Convention - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

(Correspondent Stephanie March, Coordinating Producer Roscoe Whalan and cameraman Brad Fulton in the media room at the National Democratic Convention - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

What has been involved for you and the Washington team in covering the election across platforms? 

“Demand for material kicks up during every presidential campaign, particularly those where there is no incumbent candidate seeking re-election. In this case, we are grappling with a one-in-eight year campaign, plus the first female candidate, plus the whirlwind that is Donald Trump. That means there's particularly high daily interest in US politics right now. We're busy every day turning around developments for radio, TV and digital, as well as planning for the major set piece moments like key Primaries, the Conventions, Debates and the election itself.”

(Preparing to cross from the Associated Press live point at the Republican National Convention - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

“It's important to also keep on top of other key events and issues that are happening in the US that are not election related and of course we also have frequent breaking news to cover. The Orlando massacre was something that affected all of us deeply and was very grueling to cover in a physical and emotional sense but when we had completed our coverage it was quickly back to politics. Suffice to say we're pretty busy around here! That said everyone in the bureau is also highly engaged in the political story obviously so we enjoy covering all of those twists and turns and we do our best to support each other as much as possible so everyone gets some time off occasionally. The main challenge editorially has been to try to explain to an Australian audience why Donald Trump has made it this far, what drives his supporters and why there is such distaste and lack of trust in Hillary Clinton. The other challenge is to explain Donald Trump's policies which are highly changeable.” 

(Cameraman Brad Fulton and a huge trolley load of gear - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

(Stephanie March filing from a ‘quiet spot’ under a table at one of the debates! - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

Can you outline what you have produced specifically for digital platforms? 

“We have introduced a Podcast, a weekly email/online blog and frequent Facebook lives as part of our campaign coverage. They augment our TV and radio and our online news coverage and analysis. Because they all provide a more casual format and more time they allow discussion of things that don't necessarily make it in to our other coverage.  They tend to be more relaxed in style compared to the other things that we do and from that perspective they're fun to do as well. The email blog specifically also allows us to curate some of the more unusual and sometimes hilarious coverage that's popping up all the time here, but is unlikely to be seen by an Australian audience.  We also have a big emphasis on social media, tweeting and Facebooking lots of campaign info, photos and videos especially when we're in the field.” 

(Zoe filing for TV and digital platforms - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

This is your third foreign posting, after Africa, 2005-2007, and South-East Asia, 2010-2013, how has the role changed over the years and how is this posting different compared to the other two? 

“Plenty has changed! My first two postings were in single correspondent bureaux and both beats came with plenty of developing world challenges both in terms of day to day existence and travel. Conflict, poverty and natural disasters were the three prevailing themes across both of those postings. I was also working in smaller teams. Here in DC we have a larger team with three correspondents, two camera crews and two producers as well as an office manager.”

(Part of the Washington team on the road - cameraman Brad Fulton, producers Roscoe Whalan, correspondents Stephanie March and Zoe Daniel - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

“It's great to be part of a cohesive office and to be able to work as a team on coverage. Our beat is obviously also a lot more similar to Australia compared to the other places I've worked, although America truly does have its quirks! The other main difference is the increasing emphasis on live coverage and online. During the conventions I was doing lots of TV live crosses as well as running around covering the story and then scripting, so it's quite a juggle compared to the old days of a whole day to do one TV package! That said, the technology has also vastly improved, so achieving that logistically has become a lot easier compared to when I was traveling around Africa on my own with a gigantic and unreliable satellite phone.”  

(Zoe and cameraman Brad Fulton at the Democratic Convention listening to President Obama - Photo: Zoe Daniel)

Follow Zoe Daniel on the road on Facebook here and get the latest on the US election on our dedicated news page here.

Click here to return to the Back Story home page or here to look back at stories from the past three years on our archive page.

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The Show of the Year, part one.

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ABC journalists Phil Williams and Zoe Daniel join a discussion about protecting correspondents on the front line and when they return home in this article in The Citizen, published by the Centre for Advancing Journalism.

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@seacorro signs off

After four years as the ABC’s South East Asia correspondent Zoe Daniel is back in Australia and on March 4th, 2014, launches her book "Storyteller", about the personal and professional challenges of being a foreign correspondent, wife and mother. This Back Story interview was recorded just before Zoe finished her posting in December, 2013.

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COVERING TYPHOON HAIYAN - "THE MOST DIFFICULT LOGISTICAL SITUATION I'VE EVER BEEN IN".

Southeast Asia Correspondent Zoe Daniel and Cameraman David Leland were among the first news teams to reach typhoon devastated Tacloban in the Central Philippines. They were joined a couple of days later by China Correspondent Stephen McDonell and Cameraman Wayne McAllister. In this compelling interview, Zoe talks about the enormous challenges they faced in getting the story out and the psychological stress of covering the disaster.