Two of Australia's most passionate defenders of democracy are coming to Orange. They have both good and bad news about our current political system which you desperately need to hear before the federal election.
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In an event hosted by Calare Independent candidate Kate Hook, veteran ABC journalist Kerry O'Brien and Independent trailblazer Cathy McGowan AO will discuss what's happening with our 'state of democracy and what lies ahead if we don't do something to safeguard its authenticity.
The event, to be held at the Hotel Canobolas at 6:30pm on April 6, will be a ticketed event where guests will be able to pose questions through a moderator for the three speakers.
Ms Hook said surveys consistently show voters are fuming that politicians are rarely held to account for breaking promises; that barely one in three trust the federal government, and the majority of Australians dislike the conflict- driven politics of federal parliament and want a different system.
She said she shares their concerns about the erosion of democracy and the replacement of sound, evidence-based policy making with short-sighted policies and blatant pork-barrelling focused on the three-year election cycle.
"I have admired the way Cathy truly listened to the concerns of voters when she decided to run as independent in the seat of Indi in 2013," Ms Hook said.
"That Cathy managed to beat the sitting Liberal member and see Indi now entrenched as an independent seat with Helen Haines following her in 2019, tells me voters are hungry for an independent member who speaks for them not a party in Canberra."
Under the independents' umbrella movement "Voices4" Ms Hook has been listening to the concerns of voters in Calare in the same way Ms McGowan asked her constituents in regional Victoria what mattered to them.
Ms Hook's top 10 issues developed after that process include securing well paying, high-skilled jobs for our children, taking urgent and serious action on climate change and establishing a federal anti-corruption body with real teeth.
You can hear from Ms Hook about what she stands for and from Kerry O'Brien and Cathy McGowan on how independents can help repair a broken system at Orange's Hotel Canobolas on April 6.
More information: https://voteforkate.com.au/events
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