Last Thursday evening saw over 100 residents of Bass Coast Shire and surrounds gather at the Wonthaggi Workmen's Club for our Voice to Parliament Community Information Evening! |
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This event proved very successful, with Rueben Berg and Professor Sarah Maddison providing valuable insight into the Voice to Parliament proposal, the referendum, and how it would benefit both First Nations and non-First Nations people. Rueben and Sarah gave clear and easy to understand explanations of the Uluru Statement, the Referendum question, the change in the constitution, some of the differing views about the Voice within the indigenous community, and addressed many of the common myths and reservations. |
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It was fantastic to see so many people for such an important discussion - this shows how engaged our community is, and how open many people are to having respectful, meaningful conversations. MC Deb Leonard noted that by listening and hearing opinions of others, and how their life experience has lead them to that opinion, we can move forward as a more respectful, inclusive, healthy and productive society. These conversations and citizen engagement is exactly what Voices for Monash aims to support. |
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Click here to watch the live stream of the event. (Unfortunately the sound is not great) |
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We have a number of books for sale! Email us with your name, address and phone number to purchase. Funds raised from the sale of these books will help V4M do its work to increase community participation in our democracy. |
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The story of Voices for Indi - the grassroots community group on which Voices for Monash is based. Twelve people met for the first time at their local library in the rural and regional electorate of lndi in north-east Victoria one winter's day in 2012, driven by a growing sense of despair about how their community was being represented. With the selection of Cathy McGowan as their independent candidate for the 2013 federal election, they ran a highly innovative grassroots campaign, and delivered the Coalition its only loss. In 2016, McGowan repeated her feat, and in 2019 lndi made history when Helen Haines became the first independent in the Australian parliament to succeed a retiring independent MP. Haines was returned at the 2022 election with an even higher vote, joining the largest-ever cross bench in the House of Representatives. This is the revealing account of a community using values-based, respectful processes to rewrite the political playbook. It shows why others -including over 40 'Voices for' groups, and the Teal independents -have been inspired to do the same. $35 + postage |
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Facts and Other Lies puts fake news in its historical context and explains how disinformation has fractured society, even threatening democracy itself. It explains why disinformation is so potent and so hard to stop, and what we can do to help prevent its proliferation in Australia -where politicians and shock jocks are already operating from the same dark playbook. It outlines how anyone can defuse disinformation in the home, office or pub. $35 + postage |
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We sold out of The Voice to Parliament Handbook on the night but if you didn’t get one and would like a copy, or are keen to get one for someone else, it is also available at the Bunurong Environment Centre (1 Ramsay Blvd, Inverloch), BigW in Wonthaggi or via online bookseller Booktopia. Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo and acclaimed journalist Kerry O’Brien have written this handbook to answer the most commonly asked questions about why the Voice should be enshrined in the Constitution, and how it might function to improve policies affecting Indigenous communities, and genuinely close the gap on inequalities at the most basic level of human dignity.
A handy tool for people inclined to support a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum, The Voice to Parliament Handbook reflects on this historic opportunity for genuine reconciliation, to right the wrongs and heal the ruptured soul of a nation. This guide offers simple explanations, useful anecdotes, historic analogies and visual representations, so you can share it among friends, family and community networks in the build-up to the referendum. Retail price approx $15 |
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Survey still open! With the publicity around our Voice to Parliament event, we have had an influx of new subscribers. Therefore, we are keeping our survey open for a little longer to ensure we capture as much feedback as possible! Climate action, Environment, Cost of living, Aged Care, Centrelink Payments, Health and Housing continue to lead as issues that are most important to the people of Monash. If you have not already done so, please take a few minutes to complete our survey to let us know the issues most important to you. We hope to report on the results in next month's newsletter, and will then seek further input on how you would like our Federal representative to advocate on these issues. |
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Recent Issues in Politics - |
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING is one of the number one issues among our community. Independent MP for Indi, Helen Haines, has been advocating for housing solutions that ensure regional Australia is not left behind. The electorate of Indi neighbours Monash to the North, and we share much of the same challenges when it comes to housing. As an Independent Member of Parliament, Helen is well placed to work with the government to negotiate amendments that benefit regional Australia, including regional funding for roads, streetlights and other infrastructure. Read Helen's address to the National Press Club on this issue. INTEGRITY in government is high on our community's priority list! While the recently introduced National Anti Corruption Commission addresses many issues, there are still major barriers to delivering the level of integrity and transparency that we would expect. Last month, Independent for Wentworth, Allegra Spender MP, proposed a motion requiring Infrastructure Australia to perform a cost-benefit analysis of all proposed projects costing $100 million or more. This would hinder pork-barrelling by the major parties to "buy" votes. Unfortunately, the motion was opposed by Labor, Liberal and the Nationals, and thus defeated. Until such amendments are allowed to pass, we cannot be confident that our taxpayer dollars are being spent where they are needed most. Read more about this issue here. |
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Liberal Member for Monash, Russell Broadbent, has publicly stated his support of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. He recently set out his reasons for voting yes in the Voice referendum in an interview with ABC Radio Gippsland. Listen to the Interview here |
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The Community Independents Projects recently held their annual online convention. The day included some inspiring sessions from the Teal Independents as well as others who are working towards ‘doing politics differently’ in federal electorates around Australia. Click here to watch. |
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Sessions included: Community Independent MPs – Exploring the political ecosystem (Facilitator: Cathy McGowan AO) Think global, act local – Craig Foster AM in conversation with Dr Sophie Scamps MP The Voice, Dean Parkin of YES23 interviewed by Professor Kate Auty Communities Taking Political Action – Supporting the YES Vote Communities Taking Political Action – Three Case Studies Keeping Alive the independent flame –community participation between elections NextGen – ideas to engage younger people in politics Evolution of ‘Voices of’ groups – hear from six voices groups from around Australia
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If someone has forwarded you this email, you can sign-up to receive one directly to your inbox here. If you'd like to get more involved, email us at voices4monash@gmail.com and let us know how you’d like to be part of this growing movement for citizen democracy. |
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Voices for Monash acknowledges the traditional owners of the lands on which we meet and work, including the lands of the Boonwurrung, Bunurong and Gunai Kurnai people, and other Aboriginal lands and nations within this country. We pay our respects to the elders of these lands, past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded. |
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