Independent members of parliament used to be seen as dinosaurs, utterly unsuited to modern parliaments dominated by disciplined big party politics. As political parties expanded during the 20th century so did the apparent limitations of representation by Independents.
But times have changed. Political parties are on the nose. Independents are increasingly in tune with the times at both federal and state levels. They are still the exception rather than the rule, but they have won a new-found respect.
The recent federal by-election for the NSW central coast seat of Lyne, vacated by the former Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader Mark Vaile, was won by an Independent state MP, Rob Oakeshott. The Nationals had never before failed to win this seat. Oakeshott now joins Bob Katter and Tony Windsor to make three rural Independents in the House of Representatives.
The Western Australian state election, lost by Labor's Alan Carpenter, also elected one or more Independents who may ultimately determine the outcome in concert with the Nationals. This fact has been overlooked in all the attention focused on the possibility of the Nationals holding the balance of power in that state.
The view that it is folly to elect an Independent is widely shared because our way of thinking about politics is so political party-centred. In this view Independents don't achieve anything for their constituents because they are not at the table inside the party room of a major party.
Not being part of a party, in this jaundiced view, means that they cannot influence party policy nor can they win advantages for their own electorate. In other words Independents are presumed to be frozen out of the parliamentary power structures.
There are major problems with this interpretation despite its apparent insights into how politics works.
Some Independents, like former Senator Brian Harradine and potentially Senator Nick Xenophon in the Senate, do achieve results for their constituents and for the nation if they are lucky enough to hold the balance of power.
Most backbench MPs don't achieve anything out of the ordinary for their electorate even if their party holds office. If they hold a safe seat their constituents may even be neglected as the parties chase marginal seat voters. Furthermore, few backbenchers are able to exert an influence on overall party policy greater than the influence exerted by an Independent.
But more importantly this critique of Independents is based upon a very narrow, instrumental view