And this is what was happening in Kooyong at a Climate 200 Sponsored event:
On Tuesday, 30 November, Voices for Kooyong hosted a truly inspiring conversation between erstwhile Member for Indi and luminary of the independent movement, Cathy McGowan, and six-time Walkley Award-winning journalist and broadcaster, Kerry O’Brien. (If you missed it, you can see the recording here. Event photos below by Simon Birch.)
What happens when you take one extraordinary former independent MP, one legendary former ABC broadcaster, and give them a platform to talk about turning around our democracy? In a word: magic.
When Cathy met Kerry
The Voices of Kooyong event was moderated by Climate 200 founder, Simon Holmes à Court, and saw 300 locals pack out the Kew High School Renaissance Theatre in the heart of Josh Frydenberg’s electorate. According to the tech team, about 2,500 watched online and on Twitter #VoicesOfKooyong was trending higher than Omicron! The event even got a plug in The Age under the headline “Voices of Kooyong out to save democracy”.
But the stunning numbers and engagement are only part of the story. Listening to Cathy share the moment she knew she had to run (thanks to some passionate prompting from her niece), revealed just how active we need to be in defending, nurturing and sustaining our democratic institutions.
“If you’re going to do what you want to do to make democracy better,” says Cathy, “you have to tap other people on the shoulder. People don’t just put their hands up, they need to be asked.”
Cathy also told the crowd how her political fire was lit when the then member she went on to depose, Sophie Mirabella, failed to show up to her first meet-and-greet with the rural women’s group that Cathy organised. Not only did Sophie snub the warm welcoming committee but she didn’t even call to apologise. Hardly the community spirit one would expect from an incoming local member.
Kerry O’Brien also went to the heart of things, explaining why we need strong, community-minded independents to inject rigour, nuance and freshness into policy and decision-making.
“I think the major parties have become kind of a corporate entity,” he said. “People are basically told as they arrive how they’re supposed to conform. It might sound silly but they’re too professional, they’re too slick, they’re too studied, they’re pre-set. And so often they’re directed from the top.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Greg’s gone…but not forgotten
Greg Hunt is retiring. Will I miss him? No. He may have been the face of the Federal Government’s COVID-19 vaccine “strollout”, but, for me, he’ll always be known as the wrecker of Australia’s best chance in a generation to have a proper price on carbon. As our so-called environment minister under Tony Abbott, Greg was responsible for killing the emissions trading scheme, whooping it up with the Coalition front bench when the repeal went through.The moment after Greg Hunt killed off generational efforts on climate change. Photo credit: SMH, Alex Ellinghausen
This searingly dispiriting moment was more than seven years ago. Along with Scott, Barnaby and Josh’s cringeworthy coal-caressing moment, it’s a scene that is emblematic of this government’s non-approach to addressing climate change.
Imagine how different our national conversation about a net zero economy, indeed a better world for our kids and grandkids, could have been if there were some adults in the room. Even though the government has squandered precious time and countless opportunities for a better economy and environment, this Federal Election is an opportunity for change. Not just for the people of Flinders, but across the country where strong, smart independent candidates are rising.
In a way, I guess I should thank Greg for steeling my resolve to fight for a better planet, better government and better treatment of women. And perhaps, most especially, for giving voters in Flinders the chance to elect an independent candidate who truly represents the optimism and aspirations of their electorate.
Come the end of tallying on election day, we hope that an independent in Flinders will be standing proudly alongside other community-backed, community-minded and globally-responsible independent members of Federal Parliament, rekindling the thriving democracy that we all want to see flourish once again.
