WHAT ARE LAUNCESTON'S CHANCES FOR A INDEPENDENT TEAM TEAL

THE MERCURY Team teal: Independents join forces for election

The trend of teal has spread to Tasmania, as a group of independents joins forces to campaign for local government elections. WHO’S TURNED TEAL... Judy Augustine September 3, 2022 - 6:00AM ..................... The wave of teal has spread to Tasmania, with eight like-minded Hobart candidates joining forces in the lead up to council elections ..................... Sitting members Anna Reynolds, Zelinda Sherlock and Mike Dutta, along with newcomers Kate Kelly, Raj Chopra, Juniper Shaw, Brian Corr and Matt Etherington make up the group called Your Hobart Independents. .....................The group are campaigning on a number of shared views, including better transport, affordable housing, climate change action. ..................... They are also all anti cable car. ..................... “Elections are challenging processes to go through and there’s great benefits in sharing support, sharing resources, particularly for young candidates,” Ms Reynolds said. ..................... Ms Reynolds said the group were not a party and though they might have similar views, there was no guarantee they’d vote together if elected. ..................... “We don’t all agree on every single thing, there’s a diversity of priorities,” Mr Reynolds said. ..................... “We’re all running our campaigns but we’ve decided there’s value in co-operating, sharing resources, supporting each other. ..................... “We’re all keen to have a collaborative approach to politics rather than conflict. ..................... A group of "community independents" campaigning for Hobart City Council elections, (L-R) Matt Etherington, Brian Corr, Mike Dutta, Anna Reynolds, Juniper Shaw, Dr Zelinda Sherlock, Kate Kelly, Raj Chopra. Picture: Chris Kidd ..................... Ms Reynolds said the formation of the group wasn’t solely influenced by the wave of teal independents on the mainland. ..................... “Independents feel we’ve got more of a place in politics in a way that wasn’t as apparent before the federal election,” Ms Reynolds said. .....................“Teal definitely represents progressive politics and politics that cares about the environment and equality, that’s something we all share as well.”.....................On the candidate’s social media campaign pages, four out of eight featured the colour in some way. ..................... On Friday, Ms Reynolds sported a teal scarf and teal earrings and Ms Kelly donned a teal blazer. ..................... Ms Reynolds featured the colour in her council campaign back in 2018. ..................... I was one of the first teal users,” she said. ..................... Mr Etherington who was Tasmanian Young Achiever of the Year in 2019 said he’s been supported in his campaign by sitting councillors......................“Mike said ‘you should do it’,” Mr Etherington said. ..................... “It took a lot of trust in especially Mike and Anna...................... “They feel like an extended family, we just all are really supportive of each other and want to see each other succeed.”.....................Mr Etherington said independence and listening to the community were important to him. ..................... “When you’re with parties or you’re influenced by a vested interest, you compromise your positions and put those in front of the public interest,” he said. ..................... “The federal election and state election have made it pretty clear people are sick of that lack of conscious.”.....................Mr Etherington, who has lived with chronic fatigue syndrome, said he personally wanted to make Hobart more disability friendly and he wanted to see better regulations around council expenditure.