By Aaron Cordy
TWELVE people met for the first time in a rural Victorian library in 2012 and decided to change the political landscape in the region forever.
The Indi Way is a book that sounds like a great fictional romp about idealism and change we all dream about, but is a true account of how twelve people met and formed the Voices for Indi (VFI), which helped elect independent candidate Cathy McGowan in the historic victory for the “safe National seat” of Indi in 2013. Ms McGowan repeated her feat in 2016 and Indi made history when they elected another independent candidate Helen Haines to replace the retiring McGowan.
Founding member and former president of VFI and contributor to The Indi Way, Denis Ginnivan, visited Shepparton last week to talk about the book and share his experience with VFI and how they turned a ‘safe seat’ on its head to bring about change.
“People are interested to what can be done in the system. It’s not just about getting rid of someone we don’t like, but potentially building something better than whatever you think you’ve already got,” said Dennis.
“Part of what our story has been all about is building what we call a political capital in the electorate with people who want to honour the idea of democracy and citizen engagement, not just play the political game.”
The meeting in Shepparton comes at a time when many are tired of the bickering between the Coalition and the ALP and want to see a change to the two-party preferred system but are unsure about how to bring about better outcomes instead of voting for ‘the lesser of two evils.’
The electorate of Nicholls, formerly the Division of Murray, which has long been known as a ‘safe seat’ for the National Party, got a shock when independent candidate Rob Priestly challenged the Coalition and nearly came home with the win, missing out by under 600 votes.
It’s a trend seen around the country with more independents gaining in popularity in recent years, which suggests people are sick of the ALP and the Coalition bickering over policies that many don’t feel are the real issues, and weak candidates toeing party lines too afraid to speak up for the real needs of their electorates.
With the cost of living harder for all Australians, and the two parties more interested in taking care of big business and overseas interests, is it time to become more independently minded?
