Join Simon Holmes à Court in conversation with the Guardian’s political editor Katharine Murphy and the Independent Member for Curtin, Kate Chaney, to celebrate the launch of his book, The Big Teal, the latest installment in Monash University Publishing’s In the National Interest series

When: Tuesday 4 October, 7–8pm

Where: via this Zoom link

Cost: Free

About the book

Order your discounted copy of The Big Teal on Booktopia today or at your local independent book shop.

In May 2022, Australia awoke to a very different country. The federal election had delivered a new dawn for the many voters who, for too long, had been ignored on climate change, integrity and gender equity in politics.

The dramatic result was driven by grassroots community groups and the dedicated, predominantly female independent candidates they chose to represent them, who collectively came to be labelled ‘the teals’. However, the triumph of the teals was no surprise to those who assisted their rise, certainly not Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes à Court.

During Australia’s lost decade on climate change action, Holmes à Court had observed that conventional means of activism and advocacy had become a case of diminishing returns. Looking to Cathy McGowan’s election as a community independent and the ‘Voices of’ movement it seeded as a template for direct political engagement, he created Climate 200, a crowdfunded organisation designed to provide funding and expertise to turbocharge the growing community independents movement.

Despite a relentless campaign of vilification and confusion aimed at Holmes à Court and the teal candidates by the Coalition and some in the media, the 2022 election resulted in six new community independents in the House of Representatives, one in the Senate, and a victory of facts over fear and priorities over prejudice.

This is the story of how it happened. It’s the story of how a group of inspired individuals—young data nerds, citizen volunteers, older sages and others—helped a cluster of communities achieve the representation they wanted and ultimately change Australian politics forever.

About Simon Holmes à Court

Simon is an energy analyst, clean-tech investor, climate philanthropist, director of the Smart Energy Council and the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network, and the founder and convenor of Climate 200. He was co-founder of the Australian Wind Alliance and inaugural chair of the Melbourne Energy Institute’s Advisory Board.

About Katharine Murphy

Katharine Murphy is Guardian Australia's political editor. She has worked in Canberra's parliamentary gallery for 15 years. In 2008, she won the Paul Lyneham award for excellence in press gallery journalism, while in 2012 she was a Walkley award finalist in the best digital journalism category.

About Kate Chaney

Kate Chaney is the Independent Federal Member for Curtin in Western Australia. She is WA’s first female Independent Federal Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives.