I pay my respects to Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation, their elders past, present and future. I wish to acknowledge the generosity of the Uluru Statement of the Heart and my support for an Indigenous voice to parliament that will enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to provide advice to the Parliament on policies and projects that impact their lives.
According to Professor Ian Anderson: What we are currently witnessing in Alice Springs is a direct result of government decisions taken without consultation with local Indigenous leaders. I also wish to acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was, and always will be Aboriginal land.
Since the last federal election, I have been reflecting on how the Flinders electorate can get the best political representation. Since 1945, Liberals have represented Flinders for 75 years and Labor for 3. It is fair to say we live in a blue ribbon federal electorate.
If we are going to change that, the progressives – those who support community Independents, Labor, Greens and Animal Justice Party – need to collaborate. We will be much stronger if we build on what unites us – strong climate action, social justice, gender and race equality and kindness.
Today’s get together is for us to start a conversation with each other about how we can work strategically to beat the blue team in Flinders.
In my view, we must stop talking about 2 horse races. Instead we must start thinking about team work. Take for example the recent Victorian election for District of Mornington. Kate Lardner nearly got over the line thanks to preferences from Labor and the Greens. Kate wanted to be here today – but she had to do a shift at the hospital. We also have apologies from Despi O’Connor and Pamela Engelander.
To kick this conversation off, I welcome your ideas. Do you think progressives should work collaboratively? And if so, how?
People at get-together shared their ideas.
I propose we call ourselves PoP (Progressives of the Peninsula). I also propose we establish a working group of progressives
I also propose that we have more get togethers like this – though with better weather. If everyone here today brought along 1 extra person, the next gathering will have 140 people – and our progressive movement will begin to grow.
Thank you.
