Kylea Tink exploded into the national consciousness after taking the seat of North Sydney from the Liberals at the 2022 Federal Election. Her seat has now been abolished. As she winds up her time as a member of the House of Representatives, Kylea reflects on her time as an MP with Editor in Chief Michelle Giglio.
Kylea Tink never set out in life to be a politician. Before politics, the single mother of three had a successful corporate career, achieving long-lasting impact with her breast care nurse campaign as chief executive officer of the McGrath Foundation – with a stint as CEO of global advertising behemoth Edelman Australia, and managing director of children’s cancer charity Camp Quality, rounding off her CV.
But when North Sydney’s Independent contacted her about running for the seat, as someone who had ‘worked around the edges of public policy almost all my life,’ Kylea said ‘Yes.’ “I believed our democracy had stalled. The two major parties had reached a gridlock. I ran to bring a different voice to the conversation. I didn’t run with an expectation that I was going to win.”
Win she did, and Kylea says the last three years have been ‘extraordinary.’ “And I do feel like I’ve been able to make a significant difference at that national level. And I would’ve liked at least one other term.”
The Australian Electoral Commission changed all her plans when it decided to abolish the seat of North Sydney in a redistribution of House of Representative seats in NSW. North Sydney has now been carved out to Bennelong, Bradfield and Warringah, leaving Kylea with few lower house choices. Nicolette Boele already ran as a community independent in Bradfield, and has not stopped campaigning since 2022 – now with an even greater chance of success given incumbent Paul Fletcher is retiring.
“When my community was abolished, it really was a case of ‘What do I do now?’” Kylea reflects. “People in the major parties just assumed I’d run for another seat. But when your attachment is to your community, you have to go where your community goes. And mine has been abolished.”
Yes she considered running for Bradfield, she tells me. But ‘it was never about me.’ “As a community independent, I have a very deep respect for the grassroots movement. Now I’m part of another community (Bradfield), that had already put someone forward to serve. And I’m happy to back Nicolette.”
Kylea announced her decision to not run for any House of Representatives seats on a very rainy day at Northbridge Golf Course on 7 December, standing next to Nicolette Boele. “Being part of the 47th Parliament and being able to represent my community as an independent voice has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life,” Kylea told the assembled media. “To go out as an independent seat, with the first ever woman elected to that seat, is definitely going out on a high note.”
Throughout her three years as the member for North Sydney, Kylea has strived to ‘do politics differently.’ She has been part of the biggest crossbench in history, with 16 independents and Greens often working ‘collaboratively’ to change the legislative agenda of the Labor Government. “What we have done is actually changed the way the cross bench works,” Kylea says proudly.
“Every week when Parliament sits, we meet as a crossbench, which is unprecedented. We meet with our Senate colleagues as well. We are transparent with each other about what we are pursuing and the challenges that we are experiencing. So even just a simple change like that has been incredibly impactful in terms of how legislation has moved through this Parliament.”
Kylea went into Parliament with all guns blazing
In terms of Kylea’s personal achievements in Parliament, there are many. In her first three months, she pushed the climate minister to be more ambitious with carbon emissions targets. In the first six months she worked tirelessly to clean up the at times scruffy, at times downright bullying behaviour of some in Parliament. “I’m really, really proud that I was part of a group that drafted the code of conduct for Parliament. It’s extraordinary to think that it didn’t exist.”
More recently she worked with the government on build to rent legislation, which will see 80,000 new rentals over 10 years, standing next to Federal Housing Minister Clare O’Neil for the announcement – an unlikely visual in the previous Parliament.
And let’s not forget when she wore a ‘Stop Killing Women’ t-shirt at a press conference at Parliament House in May, 2024, calling on the government to recognise that the murder of women by intimate partners was a crisis which needed to be urgently addressed. Not long after the call by Kylea and other independents to make women’s safety in their home a priority, the Prime Minister declared it a national emergency and reconvened the national cabinet. Funding poured into community centres. “This space is one I really love to reflect on, because I’ve always felt that I’ve been most effective in Parliament when other people take the credit. (But) I know what I’ve done to drive that agenda and get those outcomes.”
Colleague and Warringah MP Zali Steggall says Kylea is ‘larger than life with a lot of energy and a lot of love.’ “I have not reconciled myself to the idea that I won’t be in the Parliament next to her (if I’m re-elected).”
Zali says Kylea has been ‘an absolute voice for human rights in particular and for sensible solutions and outcomes. “She’s got real world experience. She’s grown up in regional Australia. She’s been CEO of companies. She actually knows and understands what challenges so many of our constituents and what are the priorities of our country.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with her over the last three years on issues (like climate change, cost of living, insurance premium rises), and how we bring a sensible voice to concerns that are not left or right issues. They’re actually just sensible issues.”
So what are the options for Kylea post her term at North Sydney? The Senate is one option – but she would need half a million votes – or 300,000 on half a quota – to get elected, which has never been achieved by an Independent in NSW. ABC chief election analyst Antony Greene rates her chances of election to the Senate as ‘not very good.’ “There isn’t someone handing out how to vote cards for (her) all across the state,” Antony tells NL.
Zali Steggall (second right) has been one of Kylea TInk’s close colleagues in Parliament, seen here with Zoe Daniel (left)
Regardless, Kylea has not ruled out running for the Senate. “If there’s one thing I can tell you about anybody who gets involved in the community independent movement, is that we are always up for a challenge, because fundamentally we are doing things that people have spent most of our lives telling us can’t be done.”
However, she is clear that the needs of her children are important, and she will spend the Summer recess considering her options. “if it was just all about me, probably the best opportunity for me is to leave politics and go back into the commercial sector,” she admits. “Because I am a single mum. I do keep myself and my kids going, and financially it’s not been easy. I think that the bigger question for me at the moment really is how can I have the biggest impact overall for the (community independent) movement? And one option is to see if we can extend the movement into the Senate.”
The other conundrum is how the Independents can be an effective group without forming a party – a challenge she would love to work on. “(Can you) have the benefits of a party without being a party, without actually forsaking your fundamental principles of ‘community first’? Because I think that could be completely revolutionary in terms of how politics is done in this country.”
As for what Kylea will miss most about Parliament, she lists her crossbench colleagues and ‘fighting for my community.’ “I will miss standing up for what I believe is the voice of North Sydney, because I think as exhausting as that has been, it’s been incredibly stimulating.
“I’ve been one of 151 people that has had the opportunity to scrutinise and debate the laws of our land, and that is such an extraordinary opportunity. And I haven’t taken it lightly.”
We await the next chapter.