Frequently asked questions

What is Kylea’s background?

Born in Coonabarabran (a town that sits on the divide between the Central West and North West Slopes regions of New South Wales) Kylea Tink has been a North Sydney local for over 15 years having originally moved to Naremburn in 2004. She currently lives in Northbridge with her three teenage children. Kylea has built and run her own businesses, is a former CEO, board member, an advocate and active participant in the wider North Sydney community.

Read more about Kylea.

What are Kylea’s key policy priorities?

• Urgent action on climate: more ambitious carbon emission reduction targets for 2030; North Sydney as one of the first Net Zero Urban Energy zones in Australia; legislating vehicle and fuel emissions standards.
• Forward-focused economy: including investment in green industries; supporting the return of light manufacturing on-shore; training and skills development for Australia; a fair and just transition plan to bring us to a decarbonised country as soon as possible.
• Integrity in federal politics: the establishment of an independent Federal Integrity Commision; curtailing the influence of money in politics; greater transparency and accountability for all parliamentarians.
• Equality and respect: for women (including the implementation of the Safety@Work recommendations); constitutional recognition of our First Nations People; better treatment for people seeking asylum or refuge in our country.
• Healthy families and communities: greater investment in our healthcare services including better pay for nursing and frontline care workers; both an immediate Interim Review and then a further Royal Commission into the Government’s handling of the COVID pandemic; universal access to Early Childhood Education and Care.

Read more about Kylea’s key policy priorities.

Why is Kylea running against a moderate Liberal who supports issues such as climate change?

Unfortunately for the people of North Sydney, as a moderate voice in his own party our current representative - Trent Zimmerman has been unable to bring about any significant positive change in the areas that are important to the people of North Sydney.

Worse, he’s talked one way but then voted like Barnaby Joyce.

According to his voting record, he has almost always voted against legislation that would ensure the federal government effectively addresses the real and present threat of climate change.

After two terms in Government, his presence as our Member has essentially been used as a shield for the Government to subsequently ignore us.

What is Kylea’s position on the rising cost of living?

Kylea is hearing regularly from residents of the North Sydney community that they are concerned about the rising cost of living, and lack of wage growth.

Kylea supports measures which will boost productivity, along with participation in our workforce. We need long term planning to boost opportunities and incomes for all Australians, including:

• Increasing fuel security and reducing our reliance on foreign fossil fuels through the promotion of cheaper, abundant, local renewable energy.
• Kylea will introduce a private members bill for the introduction of fuel and vehicle efficiency standards as soon as possible, which will result in a cost saving of more than $500 per vehicle per year.
• Improving workplace participation by providing universal Early Childhood Education and Care.
• A focus on modernising industry and local manufacturing capability, including incentives to produce green products (such as green steel, green aluminium and green hydrogen).
• Prioritising reskilling, and greater support for tertiary education skills development.
• Greater support for investment in innovation, research and development.

Where does Kylea stand on the tunnels?

Kylea's position is that work on the Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link Tunnel should be suspended until community concerns are properly addressed. Kylea has publicly called for an independent panel to review the issues that have been raised.

A business case review is needed consistent with evolving community transport needs, especially with many more people working from home. We should be investing in the clean transport options of the future, such as electrified public transport.

The electorate also deserves transparency around what funding the federal Government is committing to this project.

Importantly, Kylea is not against finding a solution to better transport access to the northern beaches. The four kilometer stretch starting from the north end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and running through to to Artamon along the M1 is recognised as the most congested road in the country. But she is unconvinced that a tunnel project first conceived in the 1970s can truly provide solutions to a 21st century challenge.

What is Kylea’s position on housing?

Housing affordability is a long-term problem and simply "throwing money at it", through subsidies, is unlikely to offer any real solutions.

Instead, the Federal Government urgently needs to bring together state and local planning experts, developers and community representatives to review policy settings, funding and incentives for building more affordable housing.

While we have a diverse mix of housing in the North Sydney electorate, and a high share of people renting, the reality is the region needs more affordable medium-density housing if we want our younger residents and important service workers to be able to afford to live here.

This should be done as part of a coordinated national vision and the Federal Government needs to lead. In this context Kylea will convene a Housing Summit involving key members of local councils, State Government, developers and residents to begin an active dialogue to address and discuss long term plans for our electorate early in her first year in office.

How is Kylea’s campaign being funded?

Kylea’s campaign for Canberra is funded by donations from people across our electorate who share a common vision: urgent action on climate, a forward focused economy, integrity in federal politics and equality and respect for all.

Since launching in September 2021, the campaign has received donations from over a thousand individuals, with the most common gift size being around $100.

Climate 200, an organisation which is itself crowd-funded by individual Australians, has to date provided approximately 40% of the total campaign funding.

The money donated to Kylea’s campaign is being used to fund the huge range of items required to run a successful federal political campaign, from advertising to legal and accountancy services, to office and admin support. All other services and time are provided free of charge by the significant volunteer workforce supporting the campaign.

Due to current law, we are not in a position to disclose the details of donors at this time. Our team ensures that donations to Kylea’s campaign adhere to all requirements set by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

If elected, Kylea will advocate for reform of political donations including real-time reporting and a lower dollar value for disclosures.

You can support Kylea’s campaign through a donation.

Why is Kylea running as an independent in the federal electorate of North Sydney?

Kylea is running as an Independent because the two-party system is broken and gridlocked, unable to move forward in a number of essential areas: urgent action on climate; committing to a forward-focused economy; bringing integrity into federal politics; and driving greater equality for all, including women, First Nations people and people seeking refuge or asylum in Australia.

For 108 years North Sydney has been a safe LNP seat and as such the concerns and ambitions of our community are often overlooked or deliberately ignored. By running as an Independent, Kylea is giving the people of the federal electorate of North Sydney a choice to have their voice heard in Canberra and their electoral vote count towards the things they wish to see achieved.

Unlike members of the major parties, who are required to vote as a bloc in line with their Party’s interests, as an Independent, Kylea’s vote will always be a conscience vote: guided by what she has heard from our electorate. Kylea will be answerable to the people who live in North Sydney, not to a party.

What is Kylea’s position on the ABC?

A strong, independent source of news and entertainment is the cornerstone of any healthy democracy. The people of North Sydney strongly support the ABC and want Kylea to fight for restoration of predictable, long term funding and the continued independence of the channel.

Funding to the ABC should be provided on a five-year cycle rather than the current three years, and the board appointment process should be changed to protect its independence. The recent announcement by the Government to end the indexation freeze is a pre-election stunt and does little to restore the funding and jobs lost to the ABC since 2014.

What is Kylea’s position on defence and foreign affairs?

As an Independent member of Parliament, Kylea would be looking to the Government to communicate and clearly rationalise any military aid decisions and spending within an overall national security strategy. We spend a large share of our federal budget on defence, so this money needs to be spent efficiently and strategically. Given recent experiences, it is imperative that there is transparency around how deals are brokered and where priorities are. This is clearly an area where bipartisan decision-making and consensus based on facts is needed.

Australia has a long history of participation in key multilateral structures, both globally and regionally, and this will only become more important as we face continued international instability.

What is Kylea’s position on the treatment of asylum seekers?

Over six years ago Kylea worked with a broad group of people to draw attention to the way children were being treated in Australian Immigration Detention Centres. The campaign was called We’re Better Than This Australia. (Follow this link for further information on this campaign: 'We're Better Than This': Prominent Australians raise their voices to have children released from detention (smh.com.au).

Kylea remains committed to advocating for the compassionate and fair treatment of all people seeking refuge and asylum in Australia. She supports ending the expensive and cruel offshore detention program and ensuring anyone arriving in Australia seeking refuge has their case heard as quickly as possible.

The fact that the Government has now begun releasing people held in detention in the lead up to the election demonstrates the power of this issue being raised by Kylea and other candidates.

As a specific case in point, Kylea supports bringing the Biloela family home to QLD permanently as quickly as possible. There appears to be no logic, let alone any heart or compassion, in the current Government’s stance and the reality is that our current policy is the creation of both major parties.

See Kylea answer this question at a recent North Sydney Community Town Hall here.

What is Kylea’s position on aged care?

Aged care is a critical, long-term national issue for Australia that needs attention now. Kylea fully supports the recommendations of the Aged Care Royal Commission, which called for fundamental and systemic reforms including better wages and conditions for aged care workers. Like so many other reviews, these important recommendations have not been fully implemented, and Kylea will hold the government to account to get this done.

What is Kylea’s position on animal welfare?

The mistreatment of any animal is abhorrent and Kylea believes all animals deserve to be treated humanely.

Kylea supports the establishment of a national Animal Welfare Commission and federal animal welfare standards, as recommended by the Productivity Commission. Animal welfare policies should be based on science and expert analysis, taking into account community expectations. Kylea would support legislation to phase-out live exports based on a realistic timeline and recommendations from the proposed Animal Welfare Commission.

How will Kylea allocate preferences?

In the upcoming federal election Kylea is asking the people of North Sydney to give her their number 1 vote on the ballot for the House of Representatives (usually a green slip of paper about the size of a DL envelope).

This means that, should Kylea not receive enough number “1”s to make it to a second round of counting, your vote will be allocated to the next candidate on your list.

By providing you with strict How to Vote instructions, the major parties are essentially asking you to give them your vote via proxy - that is, they want your vote cast consistent with their ambitions alone, not what you may like to see happen if your first choice is not in the top three after the first count.

Kylea believes it is time that the people of North Sydney took their voice and their vote back and encourages you to place your vote in a way which is consistent with your ambitions based on who you would like to see represent you in Canberra.

NOTE WELL: You must put a number in every box on the ballot paper for the House of Representatives, otherwise your vote will be invalid.

So remember: put a 1 next to Kylea’s name and then place numbers against the other candidates in the order you would like to see your vote flow.

See Kylea answer this question at a recent North Sydney Community Town Hall here.

What will Kylea do in the case of a hung Parliament - wont this lead to chaos? Which party will she support to form government?

Australia has a long history of minority governments (where no one party has a majority) and most current state governments sit in a minority position. Minority and coalition governments can be effective in getting legislation passed and Independent Members of Parliament play an important role in ensuring this legislation is debated openly, with the resultant outcomes far stronger as they are built on consensus.

There are many scenarios that could play out in the current election, and Kylea won't necessarily be asked to support either major party. If, however, a new coalition is required to put a government in place, Kylea would engage with the parties seeking to lead, only offering her support to those who are prepared to push for progress on what matters most to the people of North Sydney.

Importantly, supporting a particular party to form a government does not mean that Kylea will vote with this party consistently going forward. Rather as an Independent she will never give your vote unconditionally to any one of the major parties instead working every day to ensure each piece of proposed legislation is weighed on its own merit with the North Sydney vote cast in a way that is consistent with our community’s ambitions.

See Kylea answer this question at a recent North Sydney Community Town Hall here.

What can an Independent MP actually achieve?

Independents play an important role in ensuring transparency and accountability from the Federal Government, and in driving open and public debate on important issues, as they are not beholden to any one party and can always advocate from a position aligned with their community's ambitions.

It’s clear Independents can achieve more than most and particularly more than a government backbencher, as the backbencher has no option other than to toe the party line when it comes to public statements.

Just look at Zali Steggall’s Climate Bills, Helen Haines' Integrity Commission Bill, Andrew Wilkie’s Gambling Business Accountability Bill and the recent amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act that were moved by Rebekha Sharkie in this last sitting of Parliament.

Without these proposed legislative reforms these issues would most likely still be sitting in a government policy file for discussion at some point in time.

In a scenario where no single party has a clear majority in Parliament, Independents will have a very strong voice. They can propose legislation and push for outcomes the community wants to see.

Read more about what independents can achieve here.

How will Kylea engage with the community if elected?

This will be a key priority – Kylea is committed to ensuring that it is the voice of North Sydney that is represented in Parliament, not her own, nor that of a party.

Kylea and her team will be constantly working to find solutions for you, and our wider community. Our office (once established) will always be a welcoming place where community members are invited to drop in to share their thoughts. You will also be able to keep up to date at our website, by contacting our office with any concerns, and through our regular newsletter.

Kylea will hold community meetings on specific policy areas. She is also open to conducting community surveys, and online referenda on significant matters is a possibility.

How are Kylea’s policies being developed?

As an Independent, Kylea’s policy agenda is driven by the priorities of her electorate, not some political ideology which has no reference to the people it seeks to represent.

The policies that have been developed through the campaign reflect the key areas of concern and actions that the electorate want to see prioritised. This is how the four key pillars of Kylea’s policy platform - faster action on climate, integrity in federal politics, a forward facing economy, and equality for all - were identified.

For this reason Kylea has actively sought the views of people right across our electorate – including the views of experts.

Anyone with expertise in any one of the key policy priority areas (or other) is encouraged to connect with the campaign via email to register their interest in becoming involved.

By who and how was Kylea selected to run as North Sydney’s independent for Canberra?

North Sydney’s Independent - a volunteer community group which set out to find and support an independent political candidate for the next Australian federal election - spent several months searching for a candidate, interviewing locals and advertising.

One of Kylea’s friends suggested her name to the group and they then contacted her.

How can I support Kylea’s campaign?

• Volunteer your time. There is lots to be done to get Kylea to Canberra!
• Make a donation.
• Sign Up to receive Kylea’s Friday newsletter.
• Join Kylea Tink Next Generation (for under 30s).

How can I contact Kylea?

Email Kylea and her team, use one of the contacts on our contact page or connect via Kylea's socials:

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

TWITTER