‘The surprise element is gone’: how Victoria’s Nationals won voters back from independents

Suzanna Sheed, a two-term Victorian MP defeated by the Nationals in the state election, says independents need to improve people’s understanding of the value they provide. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

When Cathy McGowan and her “orange army” of volunteers claimed victory in the regional Victorian seat of Indi at the 2013 federal election, she was unwittingly creating a template for a new wave of independent candidates to follow.

Some of these followed the grass-roots “Voices for” campaign model, which saw six “teal” candidates sweep aside six government MPs at the federal election in May. Others did things their own way.