On 25 June 2026, MP for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, announced that she was forming a new political party with fellow MP Zali Steggall. The new party is Community Strong Australia (CSA).
Allegra Spender joined politics following the death of her mother, iconic Australian designer Carla Zampatti.
“Mum empowered women by making them feel great,” said Allegra in our interview with her and her siblings on the 60th anniversary of her mother’s fashion label. “Because when she felt great, she took on the world, and she wanted all women to take on the world.”
During the interview, her brother Alex, who now runs Carla Zampatti the label, joked that Allegra is now “the embodiment of women’s empowerment” following her move into politics. She was elected in 2022 as the independent federal Member for Wentworth. Politics wasn’t something that Allegra Spender considered while her mother was alive, but she shared that the lessons she learned from her mother helped her in politics.
“Mum was very courageous,” she said. “And thinking about her courage actually helps me in my job. You couldn’t bully Mum — and it’s a good thing in life not to be able to be bullied. It would have been really interesting running [for office] with Mum. It would have been wonderful. She would have been really proud, as a mother and as a woman. But I think she would have had a lot of views!”
“She was a woman without money, without connections, without background, who was really successful,” Allegra continued. “And my lesson from her life is that we should continue to be a country in which you can be successful wherever you come from.”
This mindset is clearly part of the drive for Allegra and Zali to form their new political party.
“Australians are frustrated with the state of politics,” Allegra said in her statement about the new party. “The community independent movement has shown what is possible when people unite around shared values and evidence-based practical solutions.”
Both Allegra and Olympian Zali Steggall are part of the so-called “teal independents”. This is a loose group of centrist, community-backed independent politicians who have been elected in traditionally Liberal-held, affluent urban seats. The colour moniker comes from them being an ideological mix of blue (the Liberal Party) and green (the Greens).
There’s no word on whether their fellow teals (Monique Ryan, Kate Chaney, Sophie Scamps, Helen Haines, Nicolette Boele) will join this new party or remain independents.
But what does CSA actually stand for? According to her statement, “evidence-based policy developed with communities not vested interests; MPs who vote for their community, not a party line; and values that are written into our constitution.”
Allegra states that CSA is “not a traditional party”. Its members can vote freely on issues, as they don’t have to toe the party line. The main theme is community: “This movement started with the community, and that is where it will stay.” It’s almost like a formalised teal party.
In a press conference to announce the move, Allegra stated that she’s heard that people feel “politically homeless”, not represented by the major parties and concerned about extremism rising both on the left and right.
The latest national polling in Australia suggests that the political landscape remains highly fragmented, with Labor leading, the Coalition struggling, and One Nation continuing to poll unusually strongly. On the traditional two-party-preferred measure between Labor and the Coalition, Labor continues to hold a clear lead. Recent Roy Morgan polling puts Labor ahead 53–47.
