In the media

Crikey

Their new role is a difficult one. Despite parliamentary training to get them across procedures, they’ve faced an uphill battle, from culture shock at the way fellow politicians speak and interact with one another, the lack of a code of conduct for parliamentarians, having their staffing levels slashed, and issues with getting questions asked and answered during question time.

“There’s no place anywhere else in this country that you would be in a meeting and have people yelling at each other across the front of you while you’re trying to talk,” North Sydney member Kylea Tink told Crikey. “It’s a really intense environment.”

The crossbench has also faced questions on transparency. Tink was questioned over her shareholdings in two fossil fuel companies, Viva Energy and Beach Petroleum; Mackellar’s Dr Sophie Scamps over assets in a family trust; and in February Warringa member Zali Steggall admitted $100,000 in donations from a coal investor was incorrectly recorded (which has since been corrected).

The level of scrutiny and attention that came with the controversy was a bit of a shock for Tink. “I wasn’t prepared for the complete loss of anonymity when I came into this role,” she told Crikey. Around $6000 of shares, she added, were purchased in April — before she entered the political race. Since the investments were revealed, Tink has claimed she was planning to use them to attend annual general meetings as a shareholder activist. The shares have since been divested, she said, with the small profits donated to climate advocacy group Market Forces. 

“I’m just a person and I am going to do things that will disappoint people,” she said. “One of the things I think is missing in our political environment generally in Australia is the capacity for us to grow … From my perspective, I’ve undertaken to be transparent.” 

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ABC Mornings Post-Budget Panel

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Kylea speaks with host Kathryn Robinson and Fowler's Dai Le MP about the 2025 Federal Budget, describing the government's headline-grabbing tax breaks as a "very tiny, very small green shoot" that indicates that Labor may be prepared to begin to consider larger scale tax reform. When asked about the upcoming election, Kylea reiterates her commitment to the community independent movement: "We need everyday Australians stepping up ... to bring their real-life, lived experience into Parliament House, because it's only when you have that experience that you understand the impact that some of these reforms will have."

Listen to the interview here

Fairy Bread: A Bread & Butter Budget Sprinkled with Sugar Hits

Media Statement, 26 March 2025

The 2025 Federal budget is a classic bread and butter budget that focuses on the bare basics but lacks ambition. This time however, it’s more like fairy bread in that it’s sprinkled with a few sugar hits that offer temporary relief for some but no long term, lasting benefits.

Read here

The Coalition’s attack on the climate authority is a cynical attempt to put ideology over facts – it must be called out

The Guardian, 27 February 2025

On the Coalition's attack on the Climate Change Authority, Kylea writes: "As my grandmother used to say: we are all entitled to our own opinions. But we are not entitled to our own facts."

Read her op-ed here.

When does bipartisanship happen? When mutual self-interest is served

The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 February 2025

Economics editor Ross Gittins has described a bipartisan deal on electoral reform as “collusion”, saying the major parties have passed reforms that “advance their interests at the expense of the voters.” He says a minority government would allow independents to push for “braver policies in return for keeping the minority government in power. Not such a bad arrangement.”

Read the article here.

‘Swimming in debt’: Sydney’s $14 billion student loan burden

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Read the article here.

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Australian Financial Review, 26 February 2025

After the wave of independents that swept the 2022 election, here are the 35 community-backed independents to watch out for as we head towards the polls.

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