The female face of the teal revolution was its most defining characteristic. Indeed,one of the most compelling images of the year was the sight of this sisterhood of independents being sworn in en masse on the floor of the House of Representatives. Yet one of the many insights in Margot Saville’s excellent new book,The Teal Revolution,is that women were not just front of house,but key back office figures.

Saville reminds us that the “Voices of” groups,which provided much of the impetus in constituencies such as Wentworth and Goldstein,“were created and run by women”. True,the teal revolution was “turbocharged”,as she puts it,by the alternative energy investor Simon Holmes a Court. But an inspiration for Climate 200,his advocacy organisation,wasCathy McGowan,the so-called “godmother of the teals”,who at the 2013 federal election won the aptly named seat of Indi as an independent. Australia has shown,then,how a female-led movement can upend the political status quo,a trend that will hopefully be replicated elsewhere.

The fact that the teals made action on the environment their top priority is another portent,as was the fact that Queensland became“Greensland”. This may be a consequence of Australia being on the global frontline of the climate emergency. “The mood for change in the teal electorates,” as Saville notes,“was ignited by the bushfires of 2019-2020.” Also,it was fuelled by a foot-dragging prime minister who had once gleefully brandished a lump a coal on the floor of parliament. Nonetheless,in emphasising environmentalism,the teals and the Greens are surely ahead of the game. Global warming could well become the paramount issue not just in coastal constituencies,like Goldstein,Wentworth and Warringah,but in every country in every election by the midpoint of the century.

The communitarianism and localism that emerged during the 2022 election,which was evident not only in the success of the teals but also the victory of the independent Dai Le over the Labor candidate Kristina Keneally in the Sydney seat of Fowler,might also be a sign of things to come. The Voices Of movement started with a series of kitchen table conversations bringing together voters yearning for a more responsive form of politics. The COVID lockdowns seem to have made voters more community-centric. At a time when democracy around the world has been in the doldrums,the success of candidates of the local community by the local community offers a model of how it might be revitalised from the bottom up.

The positive news out of Australia is that all of these trend-lines point towards a more inclusive and constructive democracy,with a focus on meaningful issues rather than phoney wars. Hopefully,a country that has exported more than its fair share of political toxicity may be leading the way towards a healthier style of politics.

Nick Bryant is the author ofThe Rise and Fall of Australia:How a Great Nation Lost Its Way. Peter Hartcher is on leave.

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