A NEW community group has been formed to back an independent candidate for the federal seat of Flinders, now held for the Liberal Party by Zoe McKenzie. The Independent 4 Flinders (I4F) group says it is aiming “to not only find a stellar community independent candidate but also grow a strong and unified grassroots movement to support this candidate being elected”.
Twenty-two people at the group’s inaugural meeting on 26 May at Mount Martha House heard an “outline” of its chances of “flipping Flinders”. The meeting was convened by Sarah Russell (who stood as an independent candidate for Flinders at the 2022 federal election), Erica Churchill, and Barbie Wilson.
Debbie de Laps, a member of I4F’s organising group, said community leaders had told the group they “shared the belief that community minded independents who genuinely represent their communities are the only hope for our increasingly fragile democracy”. “We began with 40 people. Three months later, we have 300 people who have signed up,” Pam Pitt, an another organiser, said. “We are growing quickly because many people have lost faith in the two party system. People we speak with are very concerned that our two major parties remain committed to fossil fuels that are destroying our planet. And Zoe McKenzie’s support for [Opposition Leader Peter] Dutton’s nuclear policy has further rallied people to our movement.”
The candidate chosen by I4F will be expected to prioritise such issues as climate action; sustainability; social justice; cost of living (including access to housing); and integrity in politics. Gerard Heijden said the issues had been identified by I4F “through community consultation”. He said the success of the teals at the last federal election had seen cross bench MPs holding both major parties to account. “Independents have focused on enhancing political transparency and integrity, and have been vocal about social justice issues, including gender equality. They have pushed for stronger climate policies too,” Heijden said. “A strength of the teal MPs is their combination of active local representation and clear leadership,” Pitt said. “They are not beholden to corporate interests.”
De Laps said I4F was “a people-powered movement”. “If we are going to flip Flinders, we need all hands on deck. We believe it is possible to harness our collective voices into a positive force to ensure genuine representation of our values, to ensure a better future for our families, our environment, and our communities. “People joining I4F are tired of our political representatives caring more about their party than their local community. “We want a representative who advocates for the issues that matter to people on the Mornington Peninsula”.
Anyone interested in becoming the community independent candidate for Flinders should email the convenor of the candidate selection panel at candidateI4F@gmail.com. Applications close 18 August.
Former managing director of David Syme & Co, then publishers of The Age and now a member of Flinders Community Association, Ranald McDonald, will speak about independent candidates at the next meeting of the Independent 4 Flinders group at 1.30pm on 11 August at Balnarring Bowls Club. The group has created “neighbourhood huddles”, with Rosie Batty, Dr Leanne Webb, Cr Despi O’Connor and Dr Kate Lardner listed to discuss I4F’s priority issues at a meeting on 8 September.
First published in the Mornington Peninsula News – 6 August 2024
