One electorate, two independent candidates.
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"We always knew other candidates could come forward. We live in a democracy, and we know we do not own this space. Having multiple candidates is a sign of a healthy democracy and we wish all other candidates well in their campaign." Our response to the Guardian article posted today, Monday 29th November.
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We Are Hughes is a community-led group based in the Hughes electorate that sits alongside other ‘Voices’ groups across Australia and we have endorsed Linda Seymour Hughes Independent as our independent candidate for the upcoming Federal Election. There is no other independent candidate running for the Hughes electorate that can claim association with the community-led ‘Voices’ movement.
We Are Hughes officially started 18 months ago from a group of Hughes residents who wanted to see change in our electorate. We have been guided along the way by founding members of the ‘Voices’ movement and former Federal independents. We now proudly sit alongside other ‘Voices’ groups across the country, including being a speaker at the Community Independents Project convention in February, speaking on "Establishing a values based community movement."
In keeping with our values of Informed, Integrity and Inclusive, We Are Hughes members have hosted Kitchen Table conversations, attended Markets, shopping centres and hosted online panels with experts in health, climate, economics, politics, ethics and community. We sought to inform ourselves of the issues that face our country, and the solutions that are currently being ignored by our Federal Government. Through these activities, we have reached thousands of people, and we developed a platform that we believe represents what many in our community want from politics and from their local member.
Linda is a founding member of We Are Hughes. Her tireless work for her community, her efforts to expose Craig Kelly’s disturbing views, her support of the Community-led Independence movement, her media and community profile, and her values, all contributed to her selection.
We always knew other candidates could come forward. We live in a democracy, and we know we do not own this space. Having multiple candidates is a sign of a healthy democracy and we wish all other candidates well in their campaign.
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You can read the guardian article here: Two independents in Hughes
