Russell Crowe has argued that the rise of independent politicians are <br>
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better representing the views of everyday Australians, unlike the two-party-dominated system in the United States. <br>
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The Oscar-winning actor made the claim in response to podcast host Joe <br>
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Rogan complaining that Americans were 'completely trapped in the two-party <br>
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system'.<br>
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'We have the same sort of situation, but we have <br>
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a very interesting thing that's happening <br>
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in Australia at the moment, which is the rise of <br>
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independents,' Crowe countered.<br>
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'The main parties have to deal with the fact those independents have to bring a <br>
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non-party-line series of points to the argument.<br>
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'And it's working well. It's working for us. In that it's making both of the main parties re-examine who they are <br>
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and what they stand for.<br>
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Rogan mused 'we could use that here, for sure', highlighting how US politics is completely dominated by the <br>
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Democrat and Republican parties.<br>
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There are other parties, including the Green, Libertarian, and <br>
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Reform parties, but these receive vanishingly few votes in comparison.<br>
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<u><b>Independent candidates can also stand and have been known to perform well on occasion. </b></u><br>
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The Oscar-winning actor (pictured ) made the observation in response to podcast host Joe Rogan who complained that Americans were 'completely trapped in the two-party system'<br>
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<u>Joe Rogan (pictured) is one of the most powerful media figures in the world </u><br>
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Civil rights opponent George Wallace ran a third-party campaign in the 1968 US election which saw him garner 10 million votes and take five southern states, while another disaffected Democrat,<br>
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Strom Thurmond, in 1948 carried four southern states on a similarly racist platform but with <br>
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only a million votes.<br>
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The nephew of a president, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was poised to get on the ballot <br>
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in dozens of states as an independent candidate before he pulled out and backed Republican Donald Trump. <br>
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<u><b>He has now been appointed Health secretary in Trump's incoming cabinet. </b></u><br>
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<u><b>Trump himself had previously belonged to the Reform Party.</b></u><br>
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The former New York property developer had even considered running for president in the 2000 election under <br>
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the banner of that movement - formed by former third-party <br>
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presidential candidate Ross Perot, who won 19 per cent <br>
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of the popular vote in 1992 but gained no electoral college votes.<br>
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Perot was the most popular minority party candidate since former Republican president Teddy Roosevelt in 1912 ran as the Bull <br>
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Moose Party candidate - carrying six states including California and coming <br>
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second ahead of Republican William Taft.<br>
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Australia has seen a rise in recent years of nominally independent <br>
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politicians who have taken votes away from the two traditional parties of Labor and the Liberal-National coalition<br>
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This situation is helped by a strong Green party who now have 12 senators and four members in the House of Representatives. <br>
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Zali Steggall (pictured) became the first 'teal' independent to achieve <br>
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huge success when she ousted former prime minister Tony Abbott in his seat in Sydney's northern beaches at <br>
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the 2019 election<br>
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Meanwhile, independent candidates who run on strong climate platforms but <br>
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are fiscally conservative have been labelled 'teal' candidates.<br>
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This is because they have combined their 'green' views on climate with the traditional <br>
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'blue' approach of the centre-right Liberal Party on economics.<br>
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Zali Steggall became the first teal independent to achieve <br>
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huge success when she ousted former prime minister Tony <br>
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Abbott in his seat in Sydney's northern beaches at the 2019 election.<br>
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In similar fashion, Monique Ryan won the traditionally Liberal seat from former treasurer Josh Frydenberg at the 2022 election. <br>
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She was one of seven teals elected, swelling the lower house crossbench to 16, with this tally <br>
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including the four Greens, three conservative independents and <br>
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progressives Andrew Wilkie and Helen Haines.<br>
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Crowe's three-hour conversation with Rogan, which was first <br>
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aired in August, has recently resurfaced in teal social media adverts.<br>
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They are being pushed by Melbourne philanthropist Simon Holmes à Court, who founded Climate 200, <br>
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which has given campaign funding to some teal candidates.<br>
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<b>Not all the 12 independents elected in 2022 were teals, however. </b><br>
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Maverick independent Bob Katter has just celebrated 50 years <br>
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in parliament (pictured: being congratulated by prime minister Anthony <br>
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Albanese)<br>
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Dai Lee, a former state Liberal candidate, defeated former Labor frontbencher and former NSW Labor premier Kristina Keneally in the south-west <br>
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Sydney seat of Fowler.<br>
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And, of course, maverick Bob Katter who has just celebrated <br>
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50 years in parliament, spending 20 years as a Queensland <br>
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state MP before serving the past three decades in federal parliament <br>
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as the MP for the regional far north Queensland electorate of Kennedy. <br>
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Among his many mad-hat policies over the years include a bid to teach school kids how <br>
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to fire rifles and a desire to build a missile shield across northern Australia.<br>
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The House of Representatives crossbench grew to 17 in late 2022 when Andrew Gee quit <br>
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the Nationals in protest at its opposition to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. <br>
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The Greens and independents make up 11 per cent of the 151-member lower house - the highest proportion of non major party MPs since Federation in 1901. <br>
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Joe Rogan<br>
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Russell Crowe has argued that