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You only had to hear Kylea Tink to get a sense that conventional political thinking is the last thing on her mind.
After a journalist quoted the Greens saying the "fight" was just beginning to force the government to be more ambitious, she argued that was the wrong approach.
Tink said it should be the "planning" that starts now and that politicians across the political aisle needed to work together, rather than fight.
She also was quick to "reframe" a question being put to the crossbenchers.
"The comment you just made was that the government doesn't need my vote as a crossbencher to get this legislation through," Tink said.
"That may be the case but any government that seeks to lead the nation needs to take its people with it.
"What we've seen here is a government that recognises that just because you don't sit on a side on the government's side doesn't mean that your community's voice doesn't matter.
"If I wasn't an independent, it wouldn't have been heard."
Other relevant posts
Teal MPs slam ‘perversion of democracy’ on immigration laws
Sydney Morning Herald, 6 December 2023
Kylea has criticised a Government plan to rush new immigration laws through parliament on Wednesday, arguing that "this is what regimes do to communities when they are seeking to have complete control ... they pass laws in the dead of night without their citizenship knowing about it."
Opinion: The way Australia treats refugees shames the entire nation
The New Daily, 1 December 2023
Australia's immigration detention regime goes much further than border protection; effectively punishing those who flee to our country in the desperate hope of refuge, Kylea says.
Calls for royal commission into immigration detention
Canberra Times, 28 November 2023
Kylea has backed calls for a comprehensive investigation of Australia's long-standing bipartisan immigration detention policy.
Labor faces crossbench revolt over 'rushed' IR laws
The Australian, 27 November 2023
Kylea has asked for more time to consider Labor's "Closing Loopholes" industrial reforms, noting that the community is uneasy with the pace and scale of the proposed changes. Crossbench MPs are arguing that rushing the legislation through the chamber could have unintended consequences on small business and the economy.
Push to limit immigration detention, ban detaining kids
Canberra Times, 27 November 2023
Kylea has introduced a private member's bill to reduce the time the government can hold someone in immigration detention to 90 days, as well as banning authorities from detaining children.
Hard Solo changes name to Hard Rated after alcohol code breach
Sydney Morning Herald, 16 November 2023
Kylea says the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC) ruling sends a clear message to the industry that similar products would be unacceptable to the community.
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