This report provides important lessons for future community independent campaigns. It collates messages sent to me before, during and after the 2025 federal election. I received around 400 messages, all unsolicited. These messages included emails, texts and screenshots from social media/WhatsApp. These messages have been de-identified and analysed thematically.
The feedback was mostly from members of the Progressives of the Peninsula. I also had conversations with several community leaders who attended the inaugural Independent 4 Flinders meetings that I convened in May 2024. They expressed their concern that Smith’s campaign was inconsistent with the values of the community independent movement.
I undertook this qualitative research project after the 2025 federal election because I want community independent movements around Australia to consider the feedback from those who believed mistakes were made in Flinders.
A limitation of this document is that people who were dissatisfied with Smith’s campaign were more likely to contact me than those who were satisfied. Despite the bias in this report, this critical feedback is constructive and important for the future of the community independent movement.
A local journalist, Mike Hast, was employed to proof read the report. He later decided that he would like to write a commentary piece for Michael West Media. On 31 July, Hast published a commentary article about Smith’s campaign in Michael West Media.
Smith blamed a single person as Hast’s “source” (someone who had signed a NDA). However, my report contains many people’s views, none of whom signed a NDA.
I was shocked by Smith’s combative reaction to Hast’s article. Being open to all feedback is surely the minimum standard we should expect of someone who aspires to be a community leader/representative.
In contrast, many people in the community independent movement responded positively to Hast’s article. They said the concerns about how Climate 200 operate were not unique to Flinders.
If the Community independent movement is to thrive, and I hope it does, people need to be able to offer critical feedback without fear of retribution or the loss of friendships. Rather than slam the door against people with whom we disagree and ascribe pejorative labels, we need engagement.
If you would like to read the 110-page report, please contact me for a hard copy. For obvious reasons, the report is not available to be shared electronically. You can read the Table of Contents here.
