Community democracy takes the stage
Community members across the electorate of Moore, in the northern coastal suburbs of Perth, came together on Saturday afternoon at Sorrento Tennis Club to hear independent Federal MP for Curtin, Kate Chaney talk about community democracy. The event was hosted by community group Voices of Moore.
Nearly sixty people, mostly residents of Moore, came to hear Kate’s inspiring story as she spoke of the community movement that formed in Curtin in late 2021, and led to her being elected as their community independent MP. She spoke of how she was approached by several acquaintances who asked her to consider nominating to represent her community and the impact independent candidates can make in parliament. Kate also discussed ways of engaging collaboratively with her local community to inform her representation, giving examples of a community-developed “Curtin Pathway to Net Zero”, regular Canberra debriefs with constituents and a youth advisory group with student representatives from every school in her electorate.
Kate’s speech was followed by a Q&A session with Voices of Moore member Kevin O’Keefe OAM where audience members asked questions on both Kate’s journey, and how Voices of Moore plans to engage with the community within Moore. Question topics included the role of independents, engaging with young people, the process of selecting a community candidate and what goes into running a community independent campaign.
Voices of Moore member Shannon Ziegelaar, the MC for the session, invited Moore residents inspired by the community democracy process to attend a Kitchen Table Conversation to have their views heard as part of Voices of Moore’s community listening process.
Kate’s concluding remarks included a Margaret J. Wheatley quote, “There is no greater power than a community discovering what it cares about” and commented that this is what the Moore community is doing now. Kevin concluded by commenting that “Australians are increasingly drifting away from the major parties and looking for something different” and noted that he has been inspired by communities activating across the country and reclaiming the democratic process for themselves to fill this gap.
Many people stayed to chat after the formal session about how they could get involved.
