We launched our campaign in April as the community-backed job-sharing candidate for Higgins. We wanted to show that politics could be done differently. That we could enable and support the people of Higgins to see their needs better represented in Federal Parliament.
We spent over a year talking to people in Higgins about their concerns and what they want to see in their federal politicians. We learned that while people had diverse views on the key issues facing the nation, the same words came up over and over again about what they wanted to see in their elected representatives - professionalism, authenticity, honesty, resilience, non-career politicians, integrity, decency, respect.
“I’m tired of the way politics is done. There is a lack of bold ideas. Politicians are not brave enough to tell us what their vision is.”
Unfortunately, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) had different ideas. In May, the AEC announced that as a part of its proposed redistribution for Victoria, it was planning to abolish the historic seat of Higgins in the next federal election. Despite our, and hundreds of other, objections, in September, the AEC announced that it would proceed with the abolition of Higgins.
Listening to what we heard from our constituents, we knew we needed to continue our plan to shake up Australia’s political system. We decided the best way to do this was to run for a seat in the Senate. To be a strong voice for all Victorians.
Our vision is the same - a stronger nation where everyone has a voice in shaping our future.
Our model is that we are Better Together.