A disgruntled group of voters fed up with the status quo have started "kitchen table" meetings in homes across the Riverina in a bid to shake up politics as normal.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Voices 4 Riverina was founded out of lockdown by a grassroots group who say the will of the people has been "ignored" by major parties who take rural seats for granted.
One of them is Caitlin Langley, a worker in agriculture research who says formerly rusted on farmers are increasingly dissatisfied with the major parties but are yet to find a decent alternative.
"I travel a lot for my job and I talk to farmers every day, and most of them are very disillusioned with the elected parties but don't know what else they can do," Ms Langley said.
"Most people feel like they're not being represented, they're not being listened to, and they just think of politicians as a bunch of self-serving people who are not working for the people in their communities."
The group has so far held 40 meetings in homes from Cowra to Coolamon, compiling a list of community grievances into reports that they will be sending to councils and the federal government.
Founding member and greengrocer Peter Lonsdale said these meetings had been eye-opening, saying that many of these community concerns had never been given a proper platform.
Mr Lonsdale said there was a growing appetite for Independents among these communities, saying that there were many "Joe Blows" who would a better job of representing the will of the people.
However, Mr Lonsdale said Independents were handicapped in rural seats due to the sheer size of the electorates and the prohibitive campaigning costs for those not backed by wealthy donors or major parties.
"That's why it's so difficult for an Independent to create a profile in this seat - it has to be the richest person or the person with the most resources, and that person mightn't be the right person for the job," Mr Lonsdale said.
"Instead of money determining the opportunities it should be based on people power and by demonstrating that their values align with the community."
Mr Lonsdale said he hoped Voices 4 Riverina could be a sounding board for the major parties as well as would-be Independent candidates who wanted to have their shot at representing their communities.
Ms Langley said she also hoped it could spark an interest in politics among disaffected voters, saying many of them had simply given up the political process entirely.
She said their goal is a form of "participatory democracy" aimed at encouraging ordinary citizens to take political power into their own hands and re-engage in the democratic process.
"We need to record the voices of the people and tell the politicians that what they're doing isn't what their constituents want them to do," Ms Langley said.
"If we are just resigned to not engaging with politics at all, then the people who are engaged will make the decisions for everyone who isn't."
In other news:
Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
