A teal-linked organisation has hit back at a fresh Liberal Party campaign attacking the independent movement, as the opposition tries to regain seats integral to its chances of forming government.

A new website, called Teals Revealed, which has been authorised by the Liberal Party, claims that a communications company employed by several independent candidates has “deep links to the Labor Party and GetUp”.

But in a statement to The New Daily, Populares CEO Ed Coper said his organisation “is a professional campaign and communications agency, and we’re proud of our staff who have a range of political backgrounds and experience”.

“The majority of our clients are commercial and the work we do is non-political.

“This story was fully explored and explained years ago without incident.”

The attack website also attempts to tie independent crossbenchers to the Greens based on shared voting patterns in Parliament.

The Liberal Party is attempting to conflate independent MPs with the Greens and Labor in a new campaign before the federal election. Photo: Teals Revealed

It mirrors the attack line trotted out by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and conservative lobbyist group Advance in recent months.

“Australians certainly can’t afford three years of a Labor minority government, one in which the green Teals or the extreme Greens hold the balance of power,” Dutton said at a Liberal Party state conference earlier in the month.

“Consider Monique Ryan, Kate Chaney, Adam Bandt and Max Chandler-Mather. They all advocate for policies which will have disastrous implications.”

The Australian reported that the website will be backed up by advertising on social media, traditional media and letter drops.

Curtin MP Kate Chaney defended her voting record and independence earlier in the month, citing figures from the Parliamentary Library. Source: Kate Chaney

Minority chaos?

The Liberal Party – among other dubious accusations levelled at independents – claimed that their success would unleash chaos upon the Australian Parliament.

“Their biggest fundraiser, Simon Holmes à Court, has pointed to the Gillard/Rudd minority government between 2010 and 2013 as what they want to achieve,” the Liberal Party said.

“In that hung parliament, independents put Labor into minority government, leading to the world’s biggest carbon tax and three years of chaos.”

Although the Gillard and Rudd years under Labor were defined by political knifing and leadership spills, it was more successful in passing legislation than the Morrison government.

Dr Zareh Ghazarian, a political scientist at Monash University, said legislation continued to pass at a record rate during the Gillard government.

“There isn’t a deep concern in the community about a minority government. There are examples at a state level, so it’s certainly not alien,” he said.

“If you don’t have a clear majority, then it is going to be about negotiation and scrutinising every piece of legislation and that – at the moment – is something the community is looking for.”

Dirty tricks

“Teals Revealed” also highlights a referral to Australia’s National Anti-Corruption Commission by a former Liberal MP against independent Zoe Daniel.

Jason Falinski, who lost the seat of Mackellar to Sophie Scamps in 2022, made the referral after a consultant employed by Daniel allegedly requested that the Australian Financial Review (AFR) remove Holmes à Court from its ‘covert power list’.

After the AFR published the story, Daniel said the referral was “as cynical as politics gets”.

“I would encourage the Liberal Party to approach the forthcoming election by putting some substantive policy on the table, rather than seeking to destroy opponents purely for political gain,” she said.

“I would also encourage the media, particularly the male reporters at the AFR, to update their attitudes to women in leadership.”

Bizarrely, the site also claims that because 97 per cent of the donations that the eight teal independents received are from NSW and Victoria, they are not part of a grassroots movement and are instead funded by “big donors”.

Seven of the eight seats are in Sydney or Melbourne.

During the 2022 federal election, teal candidates experienced targeting of their signage and corflutes with Greens Party stickers.

Other independent candidates, who faced Nationals in regional seats, were the victims of ‘dirty tricks’ text messaging campaigns attempting to discredit them by falsely claiming they were backed by the Labor Party.