New Australian party seeks to recruit former independents for Senate run

Community Strong Australia, a newly formed political party, has invited two former independent members of parliament to join and is seeking backing from other independents to contest Senate seats in 2028. The party was announced on Thursday by two sitting independent members.

It is based on the community independent movement that has elected several lower-house members in recent federal elections.

Recruitment and structure One of the founding members said she hoped the two former members would run again under the new party banner. She noted that one former member lost her seat after an electoral boundary change and that the other had been a strong advocate on social media regulation and gambling advertising.

The former member whose electorate was affected said she was unlikely to join or run again in the near term. She added that voters had responded positively to the new party but that joining would not alter their views. The party will remain without a designated leader for now.

Membership is limited to sitting members and candidates, and members retain the right to vote freely on most issues.

Senate prospects Analysis of 2025 election results indicates the party would need additional support to win Senate seats. In New South Wales and Western Australia, independent lower-house candidates received between 70 and 80 per cent of the votes required for a Senate seat.

In Victoria, independent candidates received between 30 and 40 per cent of the required votes. Two sitting independents from that state have said they will not join the party. The founding member said she would seek support from other crossbench members for the party’s upper-house ticket while respecting their decisions to remain independent.