Zoe Daniel says she was reluctant to enter the political fray. But, motivated by a desire to break the two-party stalemate on climate change and restore integrity in politics, the ABC journalist has emerged as a front-runner to lead a ‘teal’ wave of independents into federal parliament.
As part of a series on the climate-friendly independents who could have a strong influence on the next parliament, Daniel, the independent candidate for the Melbourne electorate of Goldstein held by the Liberals’ Tim Wilson, spoke with RenewEconomy about her background, her motivations to run, and what she sees as the key issues for voters.
Motivation to run
Daniel says that angst over Australia’s lack of national leadership on climate change, as well as sharing the Goldstein community’s vocal concerns about a perceived loss of integrity in Australian politics, were key to her decision to run.
“The context really is that I was asked to run for the seat of Goldstein, I wouldn’t have put my hand up necessarily,” Daniel says.
“It was a community organisation, Voices for Goldstein, that approached me to run, and initially I said no.
“But I’ve been around politics for a long time, as a journalist, and I am familiar with the space. I had the same policy concerns that the Voices for Goldstein wanted to change, on climate, integrity, gender equality.”
Echoing the comments of several similar ‘teal’ independents, Daniel says that it was her children who were the main source of motivation to run for election.
“I agreed to go through the candidate process, and it was my kids that got me over the line in the end. My teenage son is very concerned about climate change, and I thought that here was an opportunity to do something, to step up to the table,” Daniel says.
Daniel says she will wait until the final election result is known before deciding which major party she may back, and will assess individual policies on their merits.
“As a life-long swinging voter, I am prepared to have conversations with either side of politics. Asking them what they are going to do on key issues of climate, integrity and acting on gender discrimination,” Daniel says.
“Because I’m not ideological, I don’t have a position going into it, about the major parties. I won’t know, until I see what’s on the table.”
On challenging junior energy minister Tim Wilson
Daniel is contesting the Goldstein seat currently held by incumbent Liberal MP Tim Wilson, the assistant minister for energy and emissions reduction, supporting Angus Taylor in the key energy and climate portfolio.
Daniel says the contest isn’t about launching a personal challenge against Wilson, but is motivated by concerns with the established ‘two-party’ system shared by herself and the wider Goldstein community.
“I have a problem with what I see is the stalled nature of two-party politics,” Daniel says.
“I don’t see the local member as a ‘moderate’ Liberal. He is a ‘modern’ Liberal that has never crossed the floor. He’s voted against legislation for stronger climate action, and against the creation of a federal integrity commission.”
“The views of Goldstein’s voters should be reflected in the views of the local member, and I don’t think they are reflected, and this is the source of a lot of frustration.”
On electric vehicles
Daniel conceded that she has yet to make the switch to electric vehicles but said that this was at least in part attributable to the lack of meaningful policies supporting EVs at a federal level.
“When I came back from the US, I was suddenly struck by the lack of options in Australia,” Daniel told RenewEconomy. “The take up of EV in the US has been quite rapid.
There are electric models and hybrids everywhere, so it was a very frustrating process to come back to Australia and realise options were so limited.”
“You either had to pay a fortune for a Tesla or buy a hybrid, which might not be a long-term option. I realised I was trapped into a lack of options.”
“We need to implement national vehicle standards and consider measures like preferential tax treatment. This could include registration fee reductions. Government has a role in shifting government fleets onto electric models, and supporting the roll-out of more charging infrastructure.”
Positive Polling
Recent polling in Goldstein suggests that Daniel could be the favourite to win the seat. Polling commissioned by the Australia Institute shows Daniel ahead of Wilson with a massive 62 to 32 two candidate preferred lead. Analysis commissioned by The Australian suggests a tighter contest, with Daniel ahead 52 to 48.
Daniel told RenewEconomy that the polling is encouraging, and will motivate her, and her campaign volunteers, to ramp up their efforts into the final weeks of the campaign.
“We’ve got great momentum, and it is very positive. But given it is a disruptive campaign – one that has started from scratch to unseat an incumbent member – it makes it very difficult to compare the results with anything else,” Daniel says.
“We’ve had three very positive polls in a row, which has made us re-double our efforts.”
“You see those positive polls, and that’s great, but then we want to accelerate our campaign efforts to ensure we leave everything on the field.”
Life as a journalist
Before putting her hand up for the political run, Daniel had a multi-decade career as a journalist. This included multiple stints as a foreign correspondent for the ABC, with postings in the United States, southeast Asia, and Africa.
She cites her professional background as an ideal foundation to enter politics, having reported on key issues like economics, politics, and agriculture, as well as covering conflicts and international crises.
“I’ve spent my life listening to people, covering natural disasters and negotiating high-risk environments,” Daniel told RenewEconomy.
Daniel recalls covering US politics for the ABC at the time of the election of Donal Trump as president, and cites Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement as a pivotal moment in her desire to push for stronger climate action.
