Hi All, Happy New Year! This month, we’re excited to launch our fresh communication platform  - which includes our website, newsletter and socials – and we’d love for you to jump onboard! Like and follow via Facebook and Instagram; subscribe to our monthly bulletin and check out our fabulous Voices for Forrest website.

What’s On the Radar

We’re actively listening to our community and have had a number of kitchen table conversations (KTCs) over the past weeks. From these discussions, we’re building a clear picture of what’s important to the people of Forrest; what we value about our region; what our areas of concern are; and what we’re looking for in a Forrest representative. We’d love to keep these KTCs going. If you’re keen to either be involved or to host a KTC, please touch base with us either via our Socials or by emailing [email protected].

We’re also hosting regular coffee catchups at Gathered Organics, 401 Wallcliffe Rd Margaret River, with the next one scheduled for Friday 19/1 from 10-11am. Come along for a chat about what Voices for Forrest is all about – what we do; what we’re planning; what we’re learning from our community and of course, how to be a part of V4F. 

What’s Cooking? KTC Stats …

Our kitchen table conversations (KTCs) to date have provided a good insight into community thinking. We’ve been a part of 13 conversations with 70 people.

So far, participants have overwhelming indicated that the local environment, natural beauty, biodiversity and maritime climate were strong factors in choosing to live in the region. Other considerations were a less stressful lifestyle; the locality not being perceived as being overpopulated at this stage; traffic being manageable; good variety of commercial resources/businesses/services across the electorate; and the variety of natural and man-made attractions that drive tourism across the area as a whole. There were several references to clean air, the ocean, other water features, and our beautiful bush surroundings. People also value the diversity and availability of cultural events plus the enormous choice of restaurants/cafes/wineries/other food vendor facilities.

Asked about their thoughts on what makes a strong community, participants feel the very robust and active level of local volunteerism clearly unites people in the region. It was noted in particular that the AMR Shire has 318 separate volunteering organisations genuinely engaged in the community. Shared goals definitely unify and allow newer residents/FIFO families to assimilate, be involved and feel connected. It also enables the community to be confident about raising their concerns and issues.

Other comments included:

- Strong level of sporting participation

- Shared vision allows the community to voice concerns and to address issues as they arise, particularly in relation to local development that will impact on the environment.

-  Sense of place – people choose to live in the area and therefore are more willing to “fight”, whether to stay within the community or to sway outcomes.

So far, the main issues and concerns at Local Government and State levels are around development with the following comments made:

- Rapid increase of population and the need to address infrastructure and community needs. There is a strong belief that not enough is being done to address the very real issue of insecure housing across the region and that at both local and state government levels, immediate action needs to be taken. This includes better management of short stay accommodation in line with planning guidelines and provision of social housing across the region.

- Overturning of projects rejected, either at local government level or by the community.

- Future proofing the region by clearly identifying areas that need to be sacrosanct/protected from development as well as earmarking areas suitable for housing and commercial growth. Local councils need to be strong advocates for their communities.

- “Useless” environmental laws/lack of recognition of climate change issues.

- Saturation by a single party majority State Government is not good for our democracy

- Youth Mental Health

- Food insecurity

- Increase in hospital presentations, driven in part by the inability to book emergency GP appointments with local surgeries.

- Lack of public transport and insufficient cycleways

At the Federal level, the following was shared:

Provision of appropriate Australian Government services was a big issue and participants feel the following need to be addressed as priorities:

- Health System, including upgrading of Medicare facilities (ie dental) and more bulk billing availability.

- Aged Care. With the country’s overall increase of an aging population, planning and development of more services is essential.

- The overall economy and the widening gap between the rich and the poor in our society.

- Immigration policy.

Other key issues related to political donations; lobbyists; and misinformation/dishonesty in politics, both from individuals, party spokespersons and the media. The lack of real commitment to climate action and weak and watered down environmental protection is also very concerning.

Overall, people want a stronger voice in Canberra; someone who actively understands and is willing to promote our vision and values. Consensus at present is MP performance is driven by party politics as opposed to engaging with and supporting our electorates expectations. 

To address the concerns raised, participants shared a range of diverse views including:

- Stopping subsidies/tax advantages for mining companies. There is a strong consensus that there are no valid reasons to allow multinationals tax-free profiteering of Australia’s natural resources.

- Strengthening environmental laws ensuring protection of our natural resources/facilities/overall environment (including First Nations sacred sites)

-  Science based decision making on climate action; proactive support for renewables projects and Federal Government actively calling out greenwashing.

- Defunding of private schools to ensure the public education system is better supported.

- The reinstatement of TAFE as an important tertiary learning system to ensure that Australia is able to build skill capabilities across industries and reduce the dependence of importing skilled labour. Reintroduce a strong trades apprenticeship system.

- Stopping political donations and “political access events”

If you would like to be a part of a KTC and or host one, send us an email: [email protected]. 

Resources  

Interested in learning more about grassroots democracy and the “Voices Movement”? Here’s a list of recommended reading:

Cathy McGowan, former Independent MP for Indi, is called the Godmother of the Voices movement. For Cathy, change doesn't come about by waiting for government. Nor for that matter, perfecting theories… it's simply doing. And sticking it out when the work isn't sexy, incremental, and the outcome seems unlikely.

Cathy McGowan: Putting Communities at the Centre of Politics was first recorded at the National Museum of Australia on June 13, 2023.

The Indi Way is the behind-the-scenes account of how a rural community found its own voice, elected its own independent representatives, and inspired a national movement that is transforming Australian politics. Written by the Voices for Indi team and others closely involved, it is a revealing account of a community using values-based, respectful processes to rewrite the political playbook.

The Community Independents Project has a lot of information and resources about the Voices movement and other democratic organizations. It includes the bible of kitchen table conversations, from the Victorian Women’s Trust. A guide for sustaining our democratic culture