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Surprisingly, in Warringah, the nation’s most hotly-contested seat at this weekend’s federal election, there’s an awful lot candidates agree on.
For example, all five of the 10 candidates who responded to the survey, conducted by community group Voices Of Warringah, support the formation of a federal ICAC (a corruption fighting body).
Dean Harris (Labor), Kristyn Glanville (Greens), Brian Clare (Fraser Anning’s party), Susan Moylan-Coombs (independent), and Zali Steggalll (independent) also all agree that public funding for polluting fossil fuels should end.
They’re in lock step on health and education policies, like more nurses and greater education funding, and they’ve even agreed to push for an increase in humanitarian support within the Asia Pacific Region, if elected. That’s right, Even Fraser Anning’s candidate was supportive of that one.
But there’s one gaping hole in the Voices Of Warringah survey, and it’s name is Anthony John Abbott, aka Tony Abbott, the man locked in a self-described ‘fight for his political life’.
The most high-profile candidate in the battle for Warringah and the former Prime Minister has boycotted the survey and refused to supply any answers.
Voices of Warringah – the brainchild of a former teacher, a lawyer, a neuroscientist and a sustainability expert – formed eight months ago, to focus local attention on what the 2019 federal election candidates would bring to the table in terms of national vision and local promises. Or in the words of the Voices Of Warringah website:
“We are a group of passionate locals who want to improve our democracy. We feel that our voices are not being heard and as a result we, as a society, are not reaching our potential.
“We are a non-partisan community group. We are not a political party. We want to engage people in the issues that affect us all and create a voice that results in representation that truly expresses who we are in Warringah.”
So, once the candidates were officially registered last month, Voices Of Warringah sent each of them a detailed survey with 33 “Yes” or “No” questions across 10 topics that Warringah residents are “passionate about”.
“We drew our questions from Warringah residents and the work of peak bodies across Australia. You can see their responses represented in the graphic below…”
Indeed you can, but if you want to know what the sitting member thinks, you might have to search a little harder.
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