'Flawed models': Teal party wouldn't look like Labor, Liberals, MP says

Leading Teal MP's Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender have pushed the idea of a potential new political party, saying they had seen great support for voter alternatives.

Speculation has been rife that the Teal movement is looking to become a unified political force in the face of voter abandonment of the Coalition.

While much of that vote appears to have swung to One Nation, most MPs identified as Teals have taken former Liberal urban seats.

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Speaking to ABC radio this morning, Warringah MP Zali Steggall said she was "always open" to the idea of forming a party.

"I'm in my third term, obviously there's a lot of speculation out there, some of it correct, some of it incorrect," she told reporters later in the morning in parliament.

"As an athlete, you always have to meet the field of play. Staying still is not how you keep winning."

She said last year's bipartisan election funding reform had made her look at how she and other independents could continue to have an impact.

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And she said Australians were looking for alternatives to both the major parties and needed more than One Nation.

"There is no doubt that One Nation are singing from the Trump playbook," Steggall said.

"It's divisive and dangerous for our country."

Wentworth MP Allegra Spender, alongside Steggall in parliament, said she was making no commitments, but that Australians wanted locally connected MPs who nonetheless had a voice in the national debate.

"The thing for me right now, is to say Australia has some really challenging issues to face, and what is the best way to meet those," she said.

On the subject of a new party or new alliance in politics, she said they would have to "build a case" to see what Australians thought.

And Steggall said the talk of a "Teal party" fundamentally misunderstood the nature of the ongoing discussions.

"This is not about saving the Liberal Party, rebranding the Liberal Party, or making a new Labor Party," she said.

"I think those are flawed models."

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Not all the so-called Teals are on board with the idea.

Kooyong MP Monique Ryan confirmed this morning she would continue to stand as a community independent.

"In both 2022 and 2025, I stood as a community independent. That was my commitment to the people of Kooyong," she said in a statement.

"For the past four years, I have worked closely and collaboratively with crossbench colleagues from both the House and the Senate.

"Representing the people from Kooyong in Canberra has been one of the biggest honours of my life. I will continue to do that in the capacity in which I was elected: as a community independent, voted for and answerable to the people of Kooyong."

Other independents, not necessarily aligned with the Teal movement, including Bob Katter, Helen Haines, Andrew Gee, and Rebekha Sharkie, also ruled themselves out while speaking to reporters in parliament today.

ACT Senator David Pocock told ABC's Insiders program he was open to the idea of a party of his fellow independents.

"It's a big question. There's plenty of conversations happening all the time," he said.

"As to what that looks like in the future, who knows? Currently in the Senate, there is plenty to do, and that is my focus."

Curtin MP Kate Chaney said she continued to represent her electorate as a community independent.

"Our political poles are shifting. The Liberal Party is moving further to the right," she said.

"The big issues impacting the lives of everyday Australians no longer fit on the convenient left-right political spectrum."

She said she was interested in working "more collaboratively" with fellow crossbenchers, "but right now I do not think that requires me to be a member of a political party".