Independent MP Allegra Spender ‘ready to work with anyone’ in hung parliament

Independent Allegra Spender said she was ready to “work with anyone” if there was a hung parliament after the next election.

The comments from Ms Spender – who won the once-safe Liberal seat of Wentworth in 2022 – effectively confirm she would be willing to work with Labor in a minority government.

Ms Spender said her decision would depend on how many seats Labor and the Coalition held, and then depend on what she could achieve in negotiations with both parties.

She also thinks a minority parliament could be a “path to fixing” a broken political system, she told the National Press Club in a wide-ranging speech Wednesday.

“Just look at the numbers. Let’s start with the numbers, then start with the negotiations,” Ms Spender said.

She wanted to know what each side could offer on three key issues: increasing economic growth, reducing “intergenerational equity” and climate policy.

“I am clear: I will work with anyone… in a minority parliament. We don’t know what Parliament might consider next time. It starts with what the numbers are, what the situations are and what you can negotiate,” Ms Spender said.

Wentworth’s previous independent MP was Kerryn Phelps, who was defeated by Liberal Dave Sharma in 2019 after just seven months.

Polls currently show that the next federal election – due to take place by mid-May – will be virtually deadlocked with a strong possibility of a minority government. This would place MPs, including the six independents elected in 2022, in the balance of power.

Labor currently has 78 seats, just two more than needed to form a majority.

Ms Spender, ahead of the 2022 election, would not rule out supporting a Labor minority proposal.

She also said the WA GST deal – which ensures the state receives 70 cents on the dollar for its GST share, rising to 75 cents from 2025 – should be “on the table” at an upcoming Productivity Commission review in 2026.

Asked if it was right for state governments to collect GST “without any strings attached”, the independent said the federal government was failing to hold states “accountable”.

“I suggest the (Productivity Commission) review is wide-ranging and looks at what the structures are. Do we have this division between states? Are we holding states accountable for this money? » said Ms. Spender.

“In many cases, I don’t think we do that.

“These issues should be on the table and there should be no guarantee that states will receive every dollar in this area equally. »

Following reports that some members of the moderate faction of the Liberal Party were seeking to recruit her into their party room, Ms Spender said she was not interested in joining the Coalition.

“I’m a very happy independent community, you may have noticed,” she said.

“I’m honest, we’ve had 20 years of slow-motion car crashes on some major economic issues and politics, as usual, has not solved the problems.

“That’s why I’m in politics, to solve this problem. I have much more freedom to do this as an independent than I would have as a safe Liberal MP.

When asked if the offer of a ministerial post would convince her, she replied: “It’s not a negotiation I’m entering into.”

Ms Spender was among the candidates in the last election to receive the support of Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court, whose organization spent millions on the campaign.

But she hit back at the “continued insinuation” that he was pulling her strings behind the scenes.

“I think it’s insulting to me and it’s insulting to women across Australia who say we make our own decisions,” she said.

Ms Spender also confirmed she had asked the Australian Financial Review to remove the millionaire philanthropist from the list of Australia’s 10 most “secretly powerful” people.

“I have a problem with the idea that women like me come here and there’s someone secretly behind us pulling all the strings,” she said.

Ms Spender highlighted that she voted for Coalition bills 56 per cent of the time, for Labor bills 50 per cent of the time and for Greens-backed laws 49 per cent of the time. cases.