High-profile teals Allegra Spender and Zali Steggall announce new political party - and NOBODY is leading it

By NICHOLAS COMINO, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 02:34, 25 June 2026 | Updated: 02:47, 25 June 2026 Teal MPs Allegra Spender and Zali Steggall have announced they are launching a new political party, but it currently has no leader or candidates. Community Strong Australia, which was launched by the pair on Thursday, will transform a loose alliance of independents into a more coordinated political force. Spender, the member for Wentworth, said the model would not mirror traditional parties and insisted MPs would retain full autonomy over how they vote. 'This is not a traditional party. MPs [will] vote freely on each and every issue,' she said. Unlike major parties, there will be no formal membership requirement. It has not yet been registered and has no leaders or candidates. Spender said the structure preserves the independence central to the Teals' electoral success, while allowing greater coordination across electorates. 'Community will remain at the core of policy development, alongside advice from experts. This movement started with the community, and that is where it will stay,' she said. Several prominent independents, including Monique Ryan, Helen Haines and Andrew Wilkie, have declined to join the proposed party.  Zali Steggall (left) and Allegra Spender (right) announced their new political party on Thursday Steggall's 2025 opponent Katherine Deves (pictured) slammed the formation of the party  The announcement has sparked criticism from former Liberal candidate Ro Knox, who lost to Spender in the 2025 Federal election. 'The move to form a party contradicts Allegra Spender's and Zali Steggall's promise to their electorates that they would remain independent,' she told the Daily Mail. 'This move also directly contradicts their position, which demonised parties and stated their very power and value came from being independent.' Knox questioned Spender's ties to Climate 200 and its convenor Simon Holmes à Court, citing the financial backing her campaigns received. 'It is also unclear to me how Allegra Spender can step back from Climate 200 and Simon Holmes à Court given the vast amounts of capital poured into her campaign in 2022 and 2025,' she said. Former Liberal candidate Katherine Deves also accused Spender and Steggall of disguising their political alignment through the new party. 'We all know they are Teals and they have been a party all along, so why maintain the pretence by calling themselves a community party?' she told the Daily Mail. Ro Knox (pictured) said Spender 'demonised' political parties during the 2025 election 'Thankfully the good people of Warringah and Wentworth aren't silly and they will see straight through this.'  Spender said in a statement on social media that the new party aims to scale the 'community-first' model that drove climate-focused independents into parliament. 'Community Strong Australia is about extending that opportunity to more Australians, amplifying what we've built into a political force that can have real impact across the country,' she said. 'That means evidence-based policy developed with communities, not vested interests; MPs who vote for their community, not a party line.' When asked about the criticism, Spender rejected claims the change vindicated her opponents. 'What we're building now is the ability to do that in more communities, and also in the Senate,' she told the Daily Mail. 'In terms of policy, there are already many areas where Zali and I have worked together and agree, and we'll continue to build on that.' Electoral mechanics, particularly in the Senate, have also driven the decision as party registration can offer structural advantages in upper house campaigns. 'This party will give us the ability to support candidates in both houses, as you need a party structure to run in the Senate,' Spender said. 'It will also allow us to give support to more communities who want community-first candidates representing them.' Recent electoral funding reforms have also raised the stakes. Independents warn the changes favour established parties capable of heavy national spending, while limiting fundraising models like Climate 200. Spender told ABC Radio major donors, including Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, have not been asked to participate in the new entity. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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