Independent MPs launch new Australian centrist political party

Independent MPs launch new Australian centrist political party Image source, SuppliedImage caption, Allegra Spender (left) and Zali Steggall say their new party will offer 'reason over rage'ByLana LamSydneyPublished4 minutes agoTwo independent Australian MPs have banded together to launch a new centrist political party which they say is a response to an increasingly divisive landscape.The Community Strong Australia party - launched in Canberra on Thursday - will offer "unity over division and reason over rage", will have no leader and will allow members to vote freely, rather than along party lines.Its two members - Sydney MPs Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender - are from a group of independent MPs known as "teals" who share socially liberal values and want greater climate action.The party will offer an "alternate political force" to the current two-party system in Australia, the pair said.Australia's political landscape had traditionally been dominated by the two major parties - the centre-left Labor and the Liberal-Nationals Coalition, which leans conservative.Labor won a landslide victory at last year's federal election, securing a second term in power, while the Coalition suffered its worst defeat ever, followed by months of in-fighting.In recent months, right-wing party One Nation - led by Pauline Hanson - has seen a surge in support in recent months, including one poll that found she was the preferred prime minister. Asked if the recent rise in support for One Nation and its anti-immigration rhetoric had spurred their decision to form a new party, Steggall and Spender said they had been guided by what their voters were telling them."We absolutely hear those grievances," Spender said. "People are frustrated and tired of the status quo," she said, adding that "if I wasn't in politics, I wouldn't know who to vote for".Spender, who won her seat in 2022, said the party wants to...