Click here for our 3-minute intro: https://youtu.be/N4g2cpUD9oI?si=W5vP8-Pb_Ku7onWD

The electorate is named after John Forrest, hence the double rr. It spreads from Yarloop in the north, to Augusta in the south, and includes Harvey, Dardanup, Bunbury, Donnybrook-Balingup, Capel, Busselton and Augusta-Margaret River. Click here to find more info on the AEC website.

Voices for Forrest has a long history in the electorate. The group got together as early as 2021. In the winter of 2023, a committed group started to organize regular gatherings in the Bunbury library. It was there that the decision was made to follow the example of Voices for Indi: find out what the community wants, and then go and find a community independent representative.

We are an Incorporated Association, and as such we are all volunteers. Most of the work is done by a small core team, with the incredible support of a wonderful crew of committed volunteers. Our circle of contributors and supporters in the community has grown in the past months.

Our supporters are based across the electorate: in Augusta, Margaret River, Witchcliffe, Rosa Brook, Cowaramup, Vasse, Busselton, Dunsborough, Yallingup, Capel, Greater Bunbury, Stratham, Gelorup, Australind, Eaton, Donnybrook, Balingup and Harvey.

We are part of the Community Independents Project network circle. We follow the Indi Way and base our decisions on our Vision, Mission and Values.

We are independent from any other organization but have received a grant from the Community Accelerator Fund (CAF), for which Climate200 has fundraised. Our reasons:

1. The CAF fund consists of donations made by many people (at least 11.000) all across Australia, of which at least 40% live in rural & regional areas (like ours). The fact that this money has been donated by so many people is very important to us and reflects a community spirit.

2. Our values align with Climate 200's values (see here)

3. So far we have been working on a shoestring budget. Most of our costs we (our team) paid for ourselves. Our supporters are very enthusiastic, but donations are very few and would not cover the cost of even our Incorporation and insurance. We will aim to fundraise more actively now that we have more good core volunteers. But the reality is: if we want a Community Independent candidate to stand in the upcoming election, we simply need more funds - now. You're most welcome to donate! (click here)

We are non-partisan and base our focus on what the community finds important, through kitchen table conversations, our survey & events. We are using the reports and the survey results to compile a report which will be used as a guideline to get better representation: by asking candidates to base their decisions and voting on what the people find important.

We genuinely want to hear what the people in Forrest find important in their lives and what a good political representative is.

Voices for Forrest is not a political party, it is a local community group in the electorate of Forrest.

At the federal level, political parties usually operate throughout the whole nation. The party advertises for all candidates in all electorates, and controls the selection process for one candidate for each electorate. Candidates who win election become members of parliament for their party, and are required to vote and speak in parliament the way the party tells them to, under threat of losing pre-selection at the next election, as well as losing the confidence and support of their party for the rest of the current term. The party MP reports back to the community based on the party’s national policy, which is the same for every electorate in the whole nation.

In the Voices movement, local people select their candidate without any influence from anyone outside the electorate. The candidate commits to voting and speaking in parliament based on values and policies agreed by the electorate as being the wishes of the electorate, gained by rigorous consultations with the electorate. The Voices movement has no formal or influential links with any person or organisation outside the electorate; it is entirely governed within the electorate. The Voices MP reports back to the community based on the results of consultations held across the electorate, compiling the specific wishes of this electorate.

<thankyou John Sherwood>

Kitchen table conversations (KTCs) are get-togethers - usually in people's kitchens, with tea & cake - where everyone gets to share their opinion about the good things about living here, about the issues and the solutions, and about the way we're represented. You can find the questions here.

The conversations are hosted and facilitated by local volunteers.

They are designed as an information gathering process to find out what the people in the electorate of Forrest care about. The information given is absolutely anonymous and will be compiled and published into a report that will be shared publicly but strictly anonymously. You can have a look at our prelimary report here, and check our privacy policy here.

We owe a lot to the good people of the Victorian Women's Trust and their KTC handbook.

<the people in the photo have given their permission>

Yes absolutely! We are collecting the reports from each KTC and will collate them into a report which will represent all voices. Our first report is due to be launched on 21 September at this event.

Voices for Forrest is part of the Australia-wide Voices movement. We are inspired by groups like Voices for Indi.

Voices of Indi chose Cathy McGowan as its community candidate, and she became the first woman to be elected to the crossbench in 2013. McGowan, after retaining the seat in 2016, passed the baton to independent Dr Helen Haines, making it the seat longest held by an independent.

Denis Ginnivan, founder of Voices for Australia and co-author of the Indi Way: “Some people think that the Voices group means you’re getting rid of an unpopular incumbent, but it isn’t that at all,” he said.
“The reason we formed was that people weren’t happy with the way in which politics was playing out for us in Indi. We decided to build a community engagement process.”

“The community has to want it themselves. It’s a community up rather than a party down approach,” he said.
“It is inspiring to see an approach where people value democracy and the principles behind it.”

“Voices for …” groups are springing up all over our country to replace the old paradigm of the two-party-dominated politics of the past.

Nola Marino has been represening the electorate of Forrest (in the House of Representatives) since 2007. She is a member of the Liberal Party and the Shadow Minister for Education. She served as the Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories from 2019 until May 2022, following the appointment of the Albanese ministry. Marino previously served as Chief Government Whip from 2015 to 2019.

Click here for a summary on her parliamentary work: <political gadgets>

Ms Marino has announced her retirement. Ben Small, a former WA senator and owner of Bunbury’s Small Bar is Liberal candidate for the next election. Click here for his website and here for his voting record: <theyvoteforyou>

Forrest has been a Liberal seat since 1972. Read about the history here <Wikipedia>

Community Independents genuinely represent their community, reflect the values and views of their electorates, have a ‘compact’ with their community that guides their actions, empower their communities through collaborating and partnering with them, have processes for their communities to actively participate in politics, and are co-creating with their communities real political change in Australia (source: Community Independents project). They are not party members, single issue politicians or self appointed.

We don’t have one, we’re listening to what is important to the people of Forrest. We are producing a first report from this, which we expect will inform the eventual candidate’s policy platform.

Yes! Anyone who agrees with our purpose and our values is welcome to be involved.

Yes, we believe you can. Please see Section 6 of the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct for guidance, but we have roles that can involve different levels of exposure, and our work is principally to listen, rather than to express opinions or positions. Please discuss it with us if you are unsure.