What would your ideal community look like?

Better public transport.
Better employment opportunities for young people to keep them here
If someone has a degree there is nothing here for them to do with it
Improve transportation options to help people living outside of towns to access services in town – utilise “on demand” services, volunteer service and pay for services that are affordable
Increase govt support for transport funding
Reintroduce a train service between Melbourne and Adelaide. Currently using the rail for freight but can’t be used for passengers
Can’t take bikes on buses
Increase the frequency and connectivity of the transport services including within the town boundaries and in getting to and from other major cities such as Ballarat
Roads improvements
Telecommunication improvements – improve the phone and wifi services
For Wannon the electorate – we need to have better services that go out in to the back blocks and do outreach: mental health for farmers, support for Aboriginal communities etc. Town centres are doing well, but they are surrounded by a sea of disadvantage. Would like to see this addressed. Equalise the level of opportunity across the region. 
Warrnambool is very close to my ideal place to live.
I worry that Warrnambool is not totally inclusive and could be more welcoming. We have more diversity in races, cultures, etc but there is not a lot of cross pollination. Would be good to be more connected across the groups. Could be more equitable.
On the surface we look OK, but I hear that under the surface there is domestic violence, homelessness, some children are being disadvantaged because their parents are not being supported. There is disparity even between different schools in Warrnambool.
Ideally I would like to live somewhere where there was not a meatworks, knackery or saleyards.
I would like to see the wastewater treatment at Levy’s beach improved.
I would like to see improved wildlife corridors eg: to Tower Hill and other things to make it easier for wildlife to get around. 
Around the Hopkins River at Proudfoots, there could be a lot of improvement – better control of rubbish, water run off, just looks undervalued and down at heel.
Lack of trees means that there is not much wildlife – birds, possums etc. I would love to be able to walk around and see more wildlife.
I would like to live in a community where people are well educated, tolerated and included, well connected, have a sense of ownership. 
The community is very mono-cultural. The local paper has lots of male football stories, but not much else. 
It can be a bit “clique”y – would be good for people to be able to connect more easily.
Would like to have more tree planting along rivers and creeks.
Back when we were young, we had focussed secondary schools, with tech colleges and academic schools.  Now schools all provide the same generic education.   I would like schools to be more targeted to a specific audience, eg trade schools.
Care for disadvantaged people.  Tolerant society.
Everyone feels part of the community, feels safe and able to express themselves. 
Education should cater to the community of Warrnambool – trade, sport, arts, musicals, every school has these.
Functioning, harmonious community and civic leadership, sustainable Warrnambool 2040 will not be met, too ambitious, most things fail and we don’t hear about it again.
A larger population would encourage more diversity of thinking and support of businesses and healthcare institutions. We are short of healthcare practitioners. If we had a larger population we’d have more opportunity to employ people.
With Developers, we should have a collaboration between councils and local developers. Our developers aren’t used to street scapes. Would be good to have a public /private mandated environment. Would be good to have better emphasis on design and sustainability in developments. There aren’t many trees around Warrnambool
I have never missed trees as I have always lived on paddocks without native vegetation. Lack of trees reduce the threat of fire.
I would prefer if there was universal access to healthcare without the need to wait or have private health insurance. There are significant health issues here that could be addressed by more equitable access for all.
There are significant obesity rates and lots of health measures that we measure very poorly for in the South west. It would be better if we had good health promotion, access to resources, good education and enhanced access to services.
 In 20 years after children have spent far too much times on their phones and ipads, obesity issues, eyesight, attention span and other consequences of spending too much time on devices will have a significant impact.
We need to have more people encouraging people to play team sports, More sporting facilities. Better swimming facilities.
Small communities think about certain problems in creative ways. Small town clinicians are often more creative in addressing problems. This is an advantage of living in a smaller community.
Access to Melbourne via a fast train would improve life here.
We need better access to information and resources via IT. There are areas in our region without telephone coverage. It doesn’t make sense.
An ideal community would be able to offer employment, good opportunities for young people and school leavers. There is a gap there in Wannon. My ideal community would be a bit larger than Warrnambool to create more opportunities for people - more people creates more jobs and supports more businesses and leads to more need for tertiary education and training. More shops would be great. The ideal size is about 50K people. Geelong is too big.
Good care for older people. Good opportunities for entertainment for older people. 
In my ideal community there would be no homelessness, no poverty, everyone would have a job and food in their tummy and everyone would have an opportunity to go the school and have the health care they need. COVID has created a big burden on mental health service and lots of other health issues that have not being addressed. Certainly, we are a lot better than lots of metropolitan areas.  Waiting lists for public health services are currently too long.
Aged care is very difficult to access. The care standard for in home care is very poor. Waiting lists are too long for aged care.
WE need more opportunities for neighbourhoods to come closer together. We live too much in our own houses. Not enough opportunity for sharing in neighbourhoods work together more in communities. Eg) sharing bins.
To me some of the things that are wrong about living here are related to the commonwealth government. There is an issue with access to health, education, housing and healthcare. We have an issue with homelessness.. Things like poverty and unemployment and employment insecurity add to mental health issues. I have heard people say that with Job Seeker they didn’t have to worry about weighing whether to spend their income on heathcare, food or accommodation. Things like domestic violence so disadvantage people. There is a lack of childcare. Sometimes there is a lot of small mindedness in organisations, Warrnambool is too small so if there is bullying in your workplace there is no where to go. 
My ideal community would be slightly larger, slightly more flow, faster trains, a university that functions so our children don’t have to leave and go to Melbourne.
More cultural diversity. We have a long way to go.
I’d like for the seat to be marginal, so that the locals have more say and more influence
We need to have our own power grid. Dean’s Marsh is not on reticulated water system and it would be good to also have power.
Need to have more focus on environmental issues. 
We need to have a local pub – for a small place like ours it provides an opportunity for people to get together and meet, chat. Small places can miss out on this.
For me, an ideal community would be one where we can come together (after COVID restrictions) and heal and rebuild our lives. 
My ideal community would be one in which every citizen got along with each other, but also took personal responsibility for their own environment – power use, water consumption, waste. In a nutshell, a community that looks after its neighbor and looks after its land.
It would be great to have a community that looks after newcomers – particularly given that we are likely to have more refugees in future. Colac has a good reputation of welcoming refugees and new migrants.
The community is growing and we need to open up land to facilitate that.
We need to do more in the environmental space – shire has done well with net zero emissions for their own operations but we need to do more. Some really good small groups doing good things in renewable energy field.
Much more environmental awareness. Very concerning about that our housing estates are built without making green spaces a priority. We need more trees, everything needs to be much greener, we need more paths and more reserves. There needs to be more encouragement to make the environment more attractive and accessible. More emphasis on the importance of green space. Environmentally our cities would be cooler if we had more trees. 
Warrnambool and Wannon have a pretty good healthcare system and health care facilities.
More tracks and paths along the coastal areas
Would be good if there more trees.
It’s an aging community we need people and organisations to support that. You can hang over the fence and people will turn up and start talking. The friendliness of the place is something that is important. My ideal community feels a lot like Terang.
To my mind the measure of a good community is a community that looks after the less privileged in the community. A community needs to be aware that it is part of a broader community.
A chess club would be great.
I have had an involvement in local government and politics and discovered we live in an area that is very conservative and by that I mean that we don’t communicate very much within the context of Wannon. Dan Tehan gave us a list of things that the local people really don’t know what is going on. The local press – the Warrnambool Standard is ultra conservative and it doesn’t explain the opportunities that Wannon has. We have so many opportunities, fertile land and climate. We don’t talk about what is important to them. People have to be involved you have to find ways to involve people.
I love where we are and our neighbours. Communication is very important in a community and to have things that can bring people together.
One of the highlights of this area is security. We don’t have a lot of criminal activity. We can live without fear. This is a healthy environment.
In terms of community involvement, I am a member of the local Progress Association and we struggle to get 10 people at those meetings. I have a lot of interests but I don’t have a lot of people I can discuss these things with.
Security is great.  We have a pretty low level of nastiness around town.  Overall it’s pretty good and that is important to me. A lot of the time I’m pretty happy with my own company but we have a men’s shed and a lot of things I’m slightly involved with. I really appreciate our surrounding environment.
Safety is good – we don’t need security screens. I walk everywhere late at night. I walk everywhere in this town and feel so blessed that we are here.
With the environment, it would be good for people to be connected to our environment and caring for our environment in the future as a community and how this connects into our national  and global care for our environment.
I don’t want to live in a conservative community. I want to live in a progressive one. Australia has a lot to fear if we continue to have the same approach.
Climate change, equal access to food and shelter and a good life. I don’t want to live in a community that stays conservative. There is a lot of things that need to happen – we desperately need more support for the arts. To ensure everyone who contributes to a community is appropriately rewarded. It needs to be progressive.
What is important is the health of people who are disadvantaged, marginalised people who are not cared for, that is a problem.
There is climate change and we need to address this effectively. We have a lot to do to make our community ideal.
-	Better shops – a bit more variety, more opportunity for small businesses. Centre of Warrnambool has empty shops due to high rents
-	More things to do – nothing to do during winter for kids. Things like an indoor skate park, indoor play centre
-	Opportunities for higher education – Deakin has a limited range of courses. We need to keep young people in the area
-	Could more government offices be moved to regional areas?
-	Would be good to have more government services with face to face support in regional areas
-	There are quite a lot of people living in poverty, especially kids – we need to do more about addressing this problem. The problem is hidden but it is getting worse.
-	We need to have more support for people that are struggling
-	Warrnambool library is very dated – they can be a good community hub
-	Better facilities, because we are not a marginal seat we do not attract the facilities, eg skate parks, aquatic centres, surf life saving clubs, breakwater.  
-	Lots of potential for improvement for childrens facilities
-	Public transport to accommodate growing areas and encourage use of these services
-	Warrnambool is expanding very quickly but the government is not reacting quickly enough for the growth, especially with schools both primary and secondary
-	Hospital not expanding quickly enough to accommodate increasing population – code yellows, staff at wits end
-	15 yo girl – skateparks, more advanced playgrounds, making the pool a bit better eg diving board, 
-	60 yo man – no toilets at whale viewing platform, 
-	State govt – fast rail, the trains to Melbourne have got slower, infrastructure is deteriorating ( tracks)  it would encourage more day trips to the city without 7.5 hours of travel, express services
-	It would have an aboriginal flag permanently flying. This would be terrific in Fiddlers Green (in Port Fairy)
-	A community art space where people of all generations and all abilities could feel safe, produce art and have workshops. Access for all from little children to elderly people and to those of all abilities.
-	Good infrastructure and services – medical, roads, water. These are pretty good here.
-	The schools are good here.
-	Port Fairy could do more to beautify the town such as installing planter boxes, murals and statues.
-	The ideal community would be have a broad based acceptance of the individuality of the members who make up our community.  Picking up people and putting them into special groups makes me uncomfortable.
-	Living compatibly in our natural environment. Thinking of the environment in every decision we make. Making the environment the main consideration we make before we do anything.
-	Decision making needs to not be populist decision making but forward looking.
-	We  would all have better access to information. Our political choices are being narrowed. We don’t have access to the range of information we need to make decisions. I would rather hear people saying politically incorrect things than them being silenced and censored.
-	I’ve recently moved into Warrnambool. Noticed few cyclists. I’d like more emphasis on people being actively involved in reducing their impact on the climate.
-	More green spaces. More bush and greener spaces in Warrnambool CBD or vegie gardens on nature strips. More parks incorporated in planned developments.
-	Australians build their houses in a spreading way. This is an inefficient way in building in terms of energy. In terms of town planning it would be better if people needed to leave 2 meters from their boundary without building on this area. This would reduce the space housing takes up.
-	We could have table tennis tables scattered around CBD to create random encounters between people.
-	More public art.
-	Aged Care – in conjunction with a public mural we could get older people to be creative in a public space. There could be activities in public spaces to get older people to start feeling important.
-	Provide more support for the poor in the community. Having worked as a teacher in Melbourne and here, there is so much more poverty and disadvantage here. Here, if a child has a speech issue in prep, they may not be able to see a speech pathologist until years 2 or 3.
-	There are families with drug issues and lots of other issues. Mortlake is really having a hard time. Not enough government services, like only one psychologist currently available.
-	All the new developments are really difficult to see. Needs to be more parks and bike paths to enable people to walk or cycle through the park to the city for commuting and recreation.
-	Emphasis on protecting the South West’s wetlands and researching the impact of a development on the environment before approving it.
-	Equal representation of women on government bodies and a bigger presence of indigenous people.
-	Indigenous references incorporated into our public spaces. We need to create more knowledge of indigenous presence.
-	Better and more imaginative play spaces. The Warrnambool Botanic Gardens is an example of a good play space.
-	Need more acknowledgement and action around the climate. We need to hear the voices of people who support windfarms.
-	Should be more electric vehicle stations. Not expensive. One in every town would be achievable.
-	We need a significant overhaul of our regulations around town planning to improve environmental performance. Still seeing houses with black roofs and houses not facing north. It’s not right that houses are being built on dunes. A lot of Councils are saying “what’s the point?”  If they refuse applications people will appeal to VCAT and have the Council decision overruled. Councils are toothless tigers, Councils no longer have any authority in planning.
-	Progressive leadership. We have had conservative leadership in Wannon for generations and we are worse off for it. I’m sick of hearing about roads. People are obsessed by them. We are too obsessed with building stuff, particularly roads.
-	Would like our indigenous heritage celebrated.
-	More public art and more activities in public spaces.
-	Living in harmony with our environment.
-	Some incentive for farmers to reduce reliance on sprays. Australia seems to be behind eg) WHO declared Roundup a carcinogen.
-	Reduce pressure on farmers to use sprays and artificial fertilizers to produce enough crops to be economically viable as it reduces soil biodiversity and is environmentally damaging
-	Better road repairs.
-	More decentralisation of government agencies.
-	More support for schools and health services.
-	Increased environmental awareness in the community. More education required on environmental issues and how it influences us all.
-	More strategic planning for population control in small towns. We need to prevent small towns going like Lorne.
-	More farms like Merribanks, Volcanic Produce and Green acres which will provide organic vegetable boxes.
-	Strategically planning for our towns. Question – how big do we want Port Fairy to be? Perhaps other towns should be expanded.
-	More diversity and inclusion for anyone with a disability. This is a lacking here. Difficulty in getting disabled granddaughter a sufficient mainstream education locally. Gap for children who aren’t severely disabled enough for a Special School but not suited to a mainstream school as they can’t get sufficient resources to support them in their education. Kids growing up who don’t see children with a disability won’t include them. Disabled kids are excluded here.
-	Proper protection for the Belfast recreation reserve from racing and developers.
-	Protect remnant vegetation and redevelop what was lost.
-	Nice neighbours
-	Good transport – current train and road network needs to improve
-	Caring for the environment
-	Living in Warrnambool that is the ideal community
-	Not smashing your car into a pothole
-	No sea level problems
-	A lot more first nations voices 
-	Better knowledge and history of indigenous community
-	Less judgement of difference
-	 - talking with Sudanese families, I just grew in my understanding of people from the other side of the world.  It’s really good for personal growth.  ( felt earlier that not as ethnically diverse as could be)
-	My number one priority is the looming climate. Action and movement on that in this area is really important to me.
-	 - I agree certainly with climate.  I stand on the highway every Friday come rain, hail or shine.  This humanitarian KINDNESS.  I really get out there.  We need more affordable housing, I have a connection with Anglicare.  My daughter has been living with me because they cannot get a block of land to build.  There are so many homeless in Warrnambool.  
-	 - the problem with the roads is the poor quality repairs, its just ridiculous. It’s a waste of money. It’s also wasting product, not good for the environment. 
-	They should have green zones for fertile land, because what are we going to eat when this all built on?  This ties in with housing issues - buying up holiday houses, or houses for investment. That’s why our prices are going up, just like in Port Fairy with the Melbournites.  Barcelona has put a stop to air BnB for this reason.  
-	They should encourage innovations -like on ‘Landline’, sustainable soil development, we need this in Wannon, including the Gundtijmara people in developing innovative farming. - not cotton and almonds, but hemp instead.  You want something that uses natural things ,not fertiliser 
-	The other two things - there are so many people who don’t want to go into a home, (but who have to) - how much of this is council or federal funding for keeping people in their homes? It’s silly when it’s the cheapest way to do it.
-	Last but not least, I worry about the youth and keeping them here.  We need enterprising ideas. We need to get young people more excited - students who have had one good teacher who make so much difference.  We need to pick up ideas 
-	  -.alternatives around housing - how many properties can be built on one block, eg an opportunity to put a granny flat on our block.   Real sustainability, not just ticking boxes for energy points.  The other thing - child care is incredibly difficult to get in Warrnambool, there are 200 people waiting for places.  It’s been sudden, a year ago we didn’t have this problem. My sister in law says there are not enough educators. intergenerational interaction is also important.
-	- agrees with what others are saying.
-	 - a bit more local leadership on climate change.  In Wannon, the condition of local roads - they are horrendous, I nearly drove off the Hamilton highway trying to avoid a pothole the size of the sandpit
-	Maybe longer term planning with local government schools, rather than reactive cash spends - ad hoc but would prefer long term strategic planning.
-	People would not drive their 4 wheel drives through the National park. People ignore the rules. Parks doesn’t have enough people to police it.
-	Have everyone treat everyone with equal respect. Taken out on Small business, what happens when people take it out on you for State regulations. Inconsistent rules: can run without a mask but cant play golf. Too much inconsistency.
-	My elderly aunt who’s had chemo: can take her out to a café, but couldn’t go and meet her in her home. Inconsistent. More practicality with the rules around COVID.
-	It would be better if Peterborough wasn’t at the ass end of Wannon, of Moyne Shire. of the Catchment Management Authority and of Polwarth. We get forgotten and we don’t get things from Government that we need.
-	Would like young indigenous people employed by Parks. We are getting Coastal Wattle taking over all our local plants. It’s a big area and a small population and so much work to be done.
-	We need a proper recognition of the Indigenous background of the area. Low key and local.
-	The Eastern Maar Group needs finances and support. Need to protect middens from people walking all over them inadvertently.
-	Don’t like Peterborough to be seen as the place of the nae sayers.
-	Everyone treating each other with respect and patience and tolerance.
-	A greater focus on community health development. They should focus on getting things safe, getting more activity.
-	A protected environment. Ramsar protection for the Curdies Estuary.
-	The development of passive recreation, walking paths, for bird watching along the Estuary. Would draw visitors who appreciate the peace and quiet. It would be good to have boardwalks and interpretation signage.
-	Where I live my road is an unmade single land country road with one side houses and one side native vegetation.. Some people drive through very fast and it’s not good for families or dogs or children. It would be good if we could make the whole town 40km an hour. The regulations about why you can’t do it are far too onerous. We need a speed reduced signage up for visitors.
-	It would be better if Moyne planning department had an overhaul; their rules are not consistent.
-	It would be better if it wasn’t so difficult to get answers from Corangamite Shire. 
-	I would like it if people could find their way around here. They love it but it’s hard to find their way around. It would be good if we could meet the expectations of Overseas tourists who are astonished that there is no signposted walking track to the Bay of Islands. Tourists are starting to come in via Adelaide airport. We need development that helps people find walks and interpret the information.
-	Local Air BNB coordination would be good. This would help regulate the standard. Can be a local business development. 
-	It would be good if government would make some improvements to the town. The community is over having to do everything itself. Locals need to weed the national park. Parks Victoria doesn’t have the resources to do things and they don’t prioritise the work here.
-	It would be good if Peterborough was people friendly without fast cars going through. Need crossings for people to walk across the Great Ocean Road. When asked VicRoads said someone needs to die before a crossing will get constructed. Moyne Shire was also disgusted. They also have difficulties in dealing with VicRoads. Peterborough’s sporting area is on the other side of the road. Shire has collected data and VicRoads agreed that the stats are pretty terrible but they still wouldn’t install crossings.
-	The Federal Government needs to establish standards for road construction. Roads fall apart as soon as they are built. There are no regulations/ oversight as to how they are built. Mt Shadwell Quarry gravel is not that great and Moyne Shire uses it for its road works.
-	It would be good if we didn’t have developments on public land that should be for the public. Areas shouldn’t be restricted to the wealthy. Access should be available for everyone. Not everyone can afford the Great Ocean Road Bus. We should be able to still drive into Ryan’s Den to start a walk. The Great Ocean Walk is becoming orientated to people who pay to walk in groups.  There is a decision to leave the access tracks to degrade or gates are installed over roads to prevent access.
-	Improved mental health resources
-	Better public transport between towns
-	Better public playgrounds for youth
-	Improve interschool activities and sharing of resources
-	Improve public art on the streets
-	Encourage kids to engage in art
-	More interaction with the neighbours on a day to day basis. Common place of gathering.
-	A greater sense of civic community among the next generation. Adults needing to model the idea of civic community.
-	Less red tape - enabling rules rather than rules which are about prevention. Too many permits required which inhibit activity.
-	Kitchen gardens, community gardens, food resilience for a changing climate 
-	Preventive health care
-	Renewable energy. 
-	Shared resources tie people together. Solar panels on the local hall more widely spread. Local energy supply - community batteries etc
-	Taking care of embodied energy in our existing systems. e.g.. water systems, buildings etc
-	More of a focus on retro fitting rather than new buildings.
-	Tools need to be repairable 
-	Reuse of existing resources
-	Re-skilling about how to fix things
-	Connection in community to share knowledge and skills. Less privatisation of community resources. Less individual property rights of resources that could be owned by community. Simple manuals of how to create local energy schemes.
-	Health of the biosphere which includes homo sapiens. A change in a sense of our importance in the biosphere. Cultural and spiritual transformation. Less digital disconnection, more connection with the real life around us. Investment in environmental connectedness in a real sense.
-	More food growing both individually and in community absolutely crucial. Kids need outdoor play
-	Mental health improvement of children - getting them away from screens. Regulation of what is on screens for children. More accountability by governments for what is available online for kids. More engagement with manual skills for children. Parents not using mobile phones in front of their kids.
-	More walking for children to and from school .
-	(More stealing of fruit on the way home from school)
-	Encouraging kids to get involved in clubs, sporting activities
-	We need an International Council of Grannies that can be in charge of the planet. This would be over and above individual country governments. I am sure that the grannies would not choose to spend so much on the military! 
-	Council of grannies in charge of Wannon. Less male power politically. More female engagement.
-	Less red tape. Less building regulations.
-	Connectedness of people working together. Focusing on where the potential positive change is for the community. Not so much stopping people from doing things but instead putting time and energy towards where change is possible for the health of community.
-	We need less, not more things. We don’t need to get bigger economically.
-	Emerging demand for more physical connection. 
-	Connection to others in a physical sense, to share ideas.
-	Everybody growing food and harvesting water. Saving seed. Relationship with the earth is so fulfilling. The most important things in everyones life are water and food.
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-	Our local communities providing as much as possible of the  resources it needs for itself. Looking after each other. Looking after nature. We need nature to be able to live. Community sufficiency. Relying on each other for our resources. Renewable energy needs from a local hub. Less carbon emissions. Growing food, recycling, repurpose, share skills - this creates connection and community. Growing most of our own food and providing shelter from local materials. Less money required so less work required - more time for connectedness for community and the natural world. Intergenerational connection through local survival skills - food growing, fixing broken things, recycling, building shelter. More freedom to build shelters with less regulation.
-	Intergenerational community. Creating connections on land for multi generations with multiple dwellings. Council building regulations get in the way of this.
-	Have signage that is indigenous and anglo
-	Rename our town to align with the area better
-	Indigenous walks
-	Cultural centre for indigenous communities
-	Stop pumping sewerage into the sea
-	Tertiary treatment plant
-	Diversity – welcoming
-	School – who gets traineeships in terms of diversity. Eg. More indigenous? Etc.
-	Community level stuff – Warrnambool is conventional,  in terms of past times etc. how could this change, and 
-	More quirk, whimsy!!!!
-	Better roads
-	Sport – good to get Melbourne based structure to give knowledge to local clubs. Clinics, more access to coaching and pathways for kids to get to top level, Access to coaches who have been national coaches like in Melbourne.  This extrapolates to arts, music, etc. which kids are participating in.  Government support for youth development
-	Less conservative
-	More environmentally concerned
-	Greater diversity of people & recognisition of first nations people
-	Education of the community around the aov issues
-	To be treated differently with lots of unpatronising care of disabled people, recognising their abilities
-	More social housing – affordable rentals
-	Talking about carbon sequestration & unify the good will that already exists (farmers etc), building greater respect of older people with experience
-	Rebuild a community of equals 
-	To have strong levels of trust between us & politicians
-	Increase cultural diversity (non-White Ango-Saxon Protestant’s WASP)
-	More acceptance of differences in community & seeing them as good because of no understanding through low level of education
-	On-board community to make things better
-	No denigrating the past
-	Asking how can we do better??  
-	More Community engagement –most are passive.
-	More diverse thinking in the community.
-	Major parties to have more representation in ‘safe’ electorates
-	Govern to win elections not to represent their electorates.
-	Politicians more involved in local electorate. Be more visible.
-	We could have more diversity – racially and religiously. The lack of diversity is more obvious being stuck here with COVID. Would be good for my kids to see people of other backgrounds. We aren’t as inclusive as we think we are. During elections I see so many people I haven’t seen. 
-	It is easy as middle class people to think that we have pretty good services. An ideal community would have far better access to public and private mental health services. We miss the pediatric child mental health services now they are no longer available. We cant get the Occupational Therapists, speech therapists, psychologists, obstetricians and other allied health professionals. People have closed their books. A massive shortage of nurses here at the moment. There is a shortage in aged care as due to COVID I and others can’t work in more than one job. Businesses aren’t inclusive. A LGBIQ child is not as accepted as they would like to be. People aren’t as accepting of diversity as they say. However it is much better than when I was a teenager.
-	Membership of the football clubs still very cliquey. Are some very toxic networks here. Children are excluded.
-	A child left school early as they didn’t receive enough support there. Another child found it difficult as they aren’t a member of a footy club, another left due to the toxic nature.
-	Also social disadvantage and racial prejudice. There is prejudice against the state school children.
-	Also excluded due to being divorced. A stigma attached. People judge you here for being a single mother.
-	It would be great if the local community was more inclusive and welcoming.
-	When I worked at Deakin we had a medical school here and had 3rd year national network to get doctors to work in the country. 
This was needed as people saw barriers such as work not being available for their partner. Reasons provided to not work here were not factual– People said no good coffee, not be able to get a job in allied health. People don’t locate here to work due to their ignorance of country life. Young doctors think it’s the middle of nowhere to start with but grow to feel more connected here than in Melbourne. Very labor intensive to change perceptions. A lot of professional families in town send their children to boarding school as believe schools aren’t good enough. This entrenches inequality.
-	Housing, affordable housing and rentals. Lots of families have left the Terang School because there is no affordable housing available.
-	No family violence services based here so women have to wait in hospital or in the community for services to respond.
-	Respect for the residents from all levels of government
-	More egalitarian - Opportunities for community leaders
-	Like to see more women on Council
-	Like to see bypass built in PF
-	Less influence from developers and more from the community members
-	More women influencing in Council
-	Greater multicultural society
-	Looks very similar to now but need to improve the climate issues such as East Beach, Indigenous issues, roads improvement, controlling development
-	Community shopping more prevalent than dress shops
-	Greater range of industries
-	Re-invigorating community events such as the Warrnambool show, Fun 4 Kids, Wunta
-	Local government needs to focus more on delivering services, hosting major events etc
-	More support for local community events from local government – including for horse racing events, the food truck evening 
-	It would be good to have more specialist medical services locally, instead of having to go to Melbourne
-	A large failing is the lack of rail transport for commodities such as plantation timber – this is all transported via road and means that we have to spend lots on maintaining roads
-	Need to improve the train to Melbourne – not on time, often is a bus instead, infrastructure needs investment
-	Roads are not great – compared to other states. Quality of road building is poor
-	Very concerned about the environment – no action from either major party on climate change. Would like to have a cohesive plan to transition to a low carbon economy. Government needs to facilitate the community coming together and making a plan to address the issue.
-	Decent mobile phone and internet service – currently it is not great. There are black spots with no phone coverage when driving
-	People are welcoming
-	Not in your back pocket but still have plenty of people to tap into
-	Variety of people in a community but also finding people who have things in common
-	Feels like home, happy memories
-	A community size where people know each other and there are resources for locals to access
-	A sharing community
-	A broader community that supports the smaller settlements
-	Core Service facilities such as banking, health services, transport and shopping that are present in towns and smaller communities
-	Accessibility
-	Access to all levels of education available especially Tertiary level
-	Holistic, circular community
-	When there is a crisis, everyone has a sense of responsibility towards each other as they know their neighbours, which provides a sense of both physical and emotional safety
-	Everyone looks out for each other
-	Most important is community connections. The chance for people to engage with others – eg out walking during COVID
-	Opportunities for inclusiveness – eg: local community associations sometimes forget to include people other than the mainstream, but there is potential to get this happening
-	Caring for the marginalised – aged, homeless, different cultures, people that don’t always get a voice
-	Ethics of care
-	Engage with and look out for one another
-	Promote an understanding of care and connection to land (which supports community): Encourage research into truly sustainable living and locally responsible living, regenerative farming, wildlife corridors
-	Hamilton – greater access to allied health for early childhood services
-	Cost of living is not so high, so people don’t work so many hours and therefore they can give back to the community – do more things with family
-	Having some strategic goals about how we can maintain our environment and standard of living in the long term.
-	Having the ability to contribute to local decisions on things that affect you.
-	The environment
-	Diversity of the community – everyone is different, different groups is good – having the chance to socialise with different people – we are richer for having people from different social, cultural and economic backgrounds 
-	Having security and safety – I would like to feel that the area that I live in is safe and secure – ie no mining or other activities which could have a negative impact on our community where the community does not have a say
-	No mining, no fracking
-	Wildlife corridors, regenerative farming
-	Increasing wilderness areas
-	Localised renewable energy infrastructure
-	Local food security (low food miles)
-	Universal living wage
-	Better access to a high quality higher educational locally
-	More revegetation schemes
-	More opportunities for young people to obtain professional work locally

All natural bodies of water would be looked after as a high priority, eg Lake Bullen Merri would be reliably safe to swim in, encouraging community gatherings and thus strengthening of connections for those who gather there together. More support for community theatre to allow local theatre companies to survive and thrive. More train services on the Warrnambool line. More charging stations to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles by locals and to encourage tourists who drive EVs. More acknowledgements and celebrations of Aboriginal history across the electorate.

More engaging activities for children are needed. Education on sustainability and environment for the general public.

Clear and visual recognition of indigenous culture. Non judgemental recognition of people from all backgrounds. Fair and equitable distribution of wealth.

"A state and federal government representative who has a presence and is in touch with their constituents.

Environmental stewardship.- the land in this area has been historically cleared.  There are remnant pockets/ reserves, of natural bushland and random wildlife corridors however is like to see more, much more.

My ideal community would also have a focus on carrying and giving to others.  Such as usinspiring our abundant roundabouts and verges to grow fruit and vegetables instead of expensive flowers. "

More affordable housing and better leadership on tackling climate change

"In light of the climate crisis, I would like to see innovative solutions to make our community's way of life more sustainable. Take up of renewables, community batteries, solar panels everywhere etc and other innovations.

Heightened awareness of indigenous culture/history of our area"

Mandatory tree planting blitzes, support for wildlife, ban on duck shooting and kangarooo shooting, more national park, creation of wildlife corridors, less reliance on the meat and dairy industries, focus on renewable energy, re development of the very old fashioned and european botanic gardens - make them more contemporary, more native plant species, overhaul of the wetlands to encourage frogs and lizards and provide more shelter for nesting birds - they are a beautiful space but could be so much better.

Depends on how wide. Wannon wise this is OK to us. Further afield I feel federally our government has lost its integrity and humanity,

more free community spaces, more support for refugees/immigrants and fostering community that celebrates diverse cultures

More welcoming of refugees, more open to respectful discussion - even when we disagree

I would like Warrnambool to become a City where people of all ethnicities are welcomed and valued. We are a very lucky community and should welcome many more people from other parts of the World who have nowhere to go despite the fact that many are genuine refugees.

Too complex to summarise in one sentence. This is a whole of community question.

More affordable housing to attract young families

More sustainable - electricity, farming practices, manufacturing, more things manufactured in Australia and fewer imports.

More supporting of original live music,

More engaged with our First Nations stories and recognition of white privilege, concern for refugees, concern for climate change

encourage more compassion and connection between people and more diversity so we welcome migrants/asylums seekers, we lead with compassion and understanding from all levels. we are committed to care for people on the margins and provide options for housing and jobs. We have a balance between people's needs and caring also for the environment.

Less complaining, more accepting of divergent opinions.

More social housing, more people of NESB (particularly refugees) living here, better roads, more environmentally and socially conscious policy applications such as improved public transport, better cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, reduced reliance on environmentally suspect agriculture.

Green projects protecting the environment, support for local indigenous peoples, welcoming of all types of people, engaging and respecting people from other cultures. The poor should be respected and provided for. The people who struggle with mental health issues should have excellent service and support available. All should be able to express an opinion and be heard with compassion

"My ideal community

A summary:

To be a place where everyone has opportunity to have 'home' - a safe appropriate place to live in, with access to all services needed (for example healthcare, education, employment, recreation).

In a setting that prioritises environmental concerns including actions responding to climate change.

And a setting that acknowledges and actively seeks reconciliation and healing for past actions by non indigenous people on the indigenous peoples of this land, and the ongoing consequences of all of that.

A place that values and celebrates all people, no matter their background/ culture/race/gender etc, and that actively supports the most vulnerable. Including the welcoming of refugees.

Some Specifics:

- Indigenous recognition and reconciliation. Healing of the land and our history, guided by indigenous people as they feel is appropriate. It would be great to know the stories of this land, and the truth of what happened during colonisation. To have significant cultural sites, including massacre sites, acknowledged. With signage and events. It would be great to have opportunities to learn local indigenous language.

I think it's important to prioritise actions that will enable equality between indigenous and non indigenous Australians in all ways, including health and education outcomes and life expectancy.

- Protection and restoration of the natural environment including very strong priorities for all endangered and threatened species. It would be great to prioritise wildlife corridors, vegetation connecting all areas so fauna can migrate and have habitat.

Ideas like the planting of nature strips in indigenous local plants or food bearing plants would be great.

- For the vulnerable the most vulnerable to be well supported, including decent amounts of social housing available at appropriate prices. Better access to mental health supports and treatments including addiction rehab.

- It would be great to have bike and pedestrian paths connecting all areas encouraging an active healthy lifestyle.

- Good governance, this is vital. Transparent, accountable and representative of local community and local issues. Leadership that is responsive, and that operates within budget.

-My ideal electorate would not always be somebody from the Liberal National coalition being elected but would have variety and real engagement with the local issues being represented.

- The planning of infrastructure would be well done with respect to the natural environment and general considerations like industry being kept separate from environmental or residential areas.

In particular respectful development along the coast to preserve the natural environment is important.

- It would be a region where local agricultural industries are supported to care for the environment, and with farmers being appropriately remunerated for their work.

And a region where shop local is actively supported and promoted

- Where industries are enforced to better comply with EPA and other environmental requirements, and they pay for their fair share of infrastructure developments ( for example are one and water upgrade for waste water treatment.)

- A region with good funding and active support for the arts where visual arts are included as a component of every new public infrastructure project

-Where there are great recreational facilities available for people of all ages and abilities

- Where the role of volunteers and community groups is acknowledged and supported.

Being retirees and the time we have been living here we have had most of our needs catered for. One thing which is apparent is that the state of the roads is not being maintained and deteriorating in many cases .Don't think I have been here long enough to be qualified to make further comment

Refugees encouraged and support to live here. Less new building of homes unless community housing.

"Increased casual employment opportunities for international students, diverse cultural and knowledge sharing events for multicultural communities including local and migrant indigenous communities. Government directed career guidance for younger generations catering futuristic goals rather than current market demands. Initiatives to communicating science and facts for a knowledge and data driven society.

Implement an action plan for Wannon with a board consisting academics, researchers and scientist including but not limited to environment, legal, economics and sociologica disciplines. This plan is governed by knowledge and not by individuals or based on political motives. "

My ideal community would be more culturally and socially diverse; more attuned and responsive to Australia's First Peoples; wholeheartedly committed to averting the climate emergency and achieving net zero; and better integrating the diverse needs of agriculture, Indigenous flora and fauna, townies, and tourism. My perfect SW Victoria would include wildlife corridors with walking/bike paths linking up all volcanoes - great for tourism, flora and fauna, Indigenous land management, and it would also increase the productivity of abutting farmlands.

"More reliance on sustainable practices and renewable energy. Environment is balanced and considered in all projects / new businesses- our area is so beautiful we need to preserve it.

All people accepted - services that support the underprivileged, acceptance of refugees, growing links to indigenous culture and support to retain indigenous practices and culture.

Community hubs that could provide meeting points - e.g. artistic/creative, educational, environmental (a reflection from lockdown is how important relationships are and the question is how do we encourage these and how do we support people that are in danger of being left out)."

More job opportunities, especially in the smaller towns. More care for the environment. Better social services and public transport. Improved access to health care such psychiatric services. More education options, especially in the tertiary sector. More attention from our state and federal politicians who seem more intent on serving their party than their contituents

"An inclusive community where diverse cultures, races, sexualities, religious beliefs are welcomed, celebrated and whose voices are respected and listened to.

A place where refugees can be welcomed and given access to accommodation, work and inclusion in our community life. A place where affordable housing for the disadvantaged is prioritised. A place where the environment and it's health is also prioritised and strategies to reduce waste, recycle as much as possible, and prevent pollution of water, sea and land are active creative and discussed frequently on the public arena.

Continuous arts programs are encouraged and funded to create interest, beauty locally, and offer social commentary about our local, national and international state."

Better long range planning to replace breakwater, build ring road, build low cost housing

Like it does now, locally owned businesses

A community where everyone is engaged in helping those less fortunate.

Less inequality, great schools for all, more walking trails around towns and in state forsests or national parks, more diverse employment, carbon neutral, cleaner public spaces (less rubbish)

Would love less tourist .... Bus shelters and a better timetable on the weekend for Buses

Somewhere for local people to meet. Somewhere like the old Martians in Deans Marsh. 1

Enforcement of planning overlays which preserve the character and agricultural nature of the area while ensuring affordable housing is provided in more Urban areas such as Warrnambool.

Improved climate control and public education, greater diversity, improved support for asylum seekers, greater welfare provision for the poor, safety for women at home, work and the community.

climate change needs to be prioritised. it is the big issue of today. its not s polemical cause , it is real and needs to prioritised. This coalition government is as bad a govt as this country has had. The ideal community cares for people and the environment

a community that it engaged with local issues in a positive way - on the issues of climate change, environmental sustainability, and educational opportunities.

More young people living affordably and working in the area.

I don't think an ideal community exists, given any community is made up of imperfect people! I do think a very good community cares about everyone, especially those who need a bit of extra support for whatever reason (illness, age, disability, poverty etc). This doesn't really answer the question - I have no specific suggestions for improvements or changes

A community in which members respect each other, care about things other than money, care about the environment and understand and be willing to act on the rapidly encroaching Energy, Ecological, Equity and Economic crisis.

Where all groups have more opportunity to have a say at local, state and federal level.

I would like a more broad-minded community, more accepting of people with different backgrounds or views

"Affordable housing (rentals are rising and becoming unaffordable and a risk of homelessness is becoming real for some people. There isn't enough houses to rent through the private rental market, demand is outstripping supply. There isn't enough social housing, most rentals are in the private market and profits are at the forefront to the detriment of the renter. We need more investment in social housing to keep rentals affordable)

More Doctors in Portland are needed (GPs and Specialists), there is a shortage and Urgent Care (emergency) at the hospital are seeing more patients because they are unable to get into a GP. Also no more GPs surgerys are bulk billing anymore on Portland meaning some people are unable to afford to go and see a Doctor.

Roads need to be fixed throughout the town but also on the highways. There are so many pot holes and these pot holes are getting bigger and make it difficult to drive on which damaged vehicles and can cause accidents.

Also we need more federal investment into sustainable energy and also putting local industries and businesses before foreign owned business, this is the only way to support local jobs and economies. Portland has a company, Keppel Prince that build wind towers but they missed out on a federal government contract and it went to an overseas company and manufacturer! "

More multiculturalism

Social housing required, new land planning to encourage range of ownership options, community economic development programs, ageing in place initiatives

Far more diverse community - eg. we could be bringing in refugees to our communities. This would add to our population, add to numbers in small rural schools, broaden our knowledge of other cultures. Recognition and respect for First Peoples of our country. Positive action towards reconciliation and truth telling. More community owned renewable power generation. Intensive planting of street trees for shade and habitat. Positive action to improve our environment and mitigate or adapt to climate change eg. simple things like container deposit scheme, more public transport, encourage electric vehicles (government led subsidies to encourage uptake); Local community renewable power generation; encourage local "green" industries that support our primary production capabilities eg. cereal straw processing; support local food production to reduce food miles, encourage regenerative agriculture; intensive planting of VVP grassland species on roadsides to reduce fire risk (flame height for phalaris much greater than for native grasses), reduce need for mowing and improve habitat; Encourage farmers to carry out environmental works eg preserving wetlands, planting native vegetation - financial incentives may be required as land prices dictate landholders need to maximise financial returns. Government support for major environmental works at landscape scale eg. work that Nature Glenelg Trust is doing. More doctors servicing small communities such as Lake Bolac

What would strengthen the connection between local people and our local Federal member? 

Engaging with the community. Listening to what community wants.
Values driven. Transparency of values. Not party driven.
Not party driven voting
Engagement between that representative and their community where the member votes for their communities values rather than their political party.
Community engaged with political process
Helen Haines  - articulate, honesty, not accountable to a party line. She’s hamstrung by less power in parliament. Collected and engaged with community. Accountability.
Local referendum on how the community votes on all issues.
Surveying of the electorate’s view.
An Independent is more willing to listen and to change view. There is a responsiveness to their community.
Prepared to say I’m sorry when they make a mistake. Listening to their community and the changing representation of community.
Represent the community views. Non corrupted. ie not bought off by big companies. 
Care for the community and for nature. Trustworthy and honest.
- It would be nice to have someone with a broader visions, not so my myopic.  They need to b e more ‘out there’ to see what it is like for people like refugees.
 - you want them to represent the views of the constituents.  Wannon is a pretty broad church and big electorate.  And then act on those views, rather than voting along Political lines.
 - our values do not align at all
 - I would prefer not to speak about him (Dan Tehan), I don’t think very much about him at all.  I think a person should be listening - I would prefer they had some meetings with people, he is never there when we knock on his door.  
 - we are very not welcome with extinction rebellion - what are we going to do(to him)??? He pulls his blinds down when we come.
 - You can see how much I think of him - disgusting.
-  Hard for a Federal MP to get around the electorate, especially when a Minister with more time constraints
- Up to us to engage our MP
- An Independent member would likely have concern for their electorate, not the Party
They do just enough at the moment, to improve things we need to be a marginal electorate. 
For the local member to be open, helpful and transparent. They are available but not genuinely engaging with the community. Its only when you pressure them that they become more responsive.
A female would be good.
We need an ethical and effective leadership.
We need leadership.  Dan Tehan is often overseas and totally ignorant about what is happening here.
To act on issues that the community identifies as being required. Rather than pandering to big business. This Hall only received funding when we got it from Origin Energy.
Helen Haines is doing quite a good job. I’m feeling a bit burnt out. The Voices model and what they are putting forward and the Legislation to keep the government honest. The Voices Group does seem to be on the right path.
You don’t want big business or media moguls to run your Government. 
We don’t want to see things like Sports Rorts. 
Federal member needs to have a local presence to listen to people. They need to be here.
Need to be accountable. Not happy about Dan Tehan being part of people who allow Christian Porter to get funding to defend a rape allegation.
Grants shouldn’t just appear.
To be fair and equitable and transparent. Equitable approach to community life. 
The economy and business should not dominate the local community, the people as a key issue.
No negative politics. It is undermining our democracy.
They shouldn’t take all the praise when they allocate grants. Its an allocation of taxpayer money.
It was very annoying the way the Standard did an article on Celebrating the volunteers of the Wannon Area. The article shouldn’t have just focused on the politician doing the presentation and said nothing about the volunteers themselves.
For them to be present 
To be aware of community’s concerns
Honesty
Transparent and accountable
To be available to the community
Seek out and value the opinions of the locals of the communities
Develop opportunities and incentives to keep teachers in communities
To concentrate on local issues
There are lots of small communities within the Wannon electorate and it is difficult for our communities to impact at the Federal level. 
Would be good if we could pin down Dan Tehan so the community knew when he would be in town and how often. For example, publicise when he will be in town and is available. Increase the transparency. It would make him more accountable and make him more approachable.
Dan Tehan speaks on the ABC once a month between 7 am-7.30am. Where he gives a report to Jeremy Lee.
Our local member needs to be known by the local community, they need to be seen. The best thing that they can do is to listen.
People also need to bring their expertise to the local member.
My expectations of my local member? My National representative needs to support our environment. I want serious action on climate change and them to support good social justice objectives.
I don’t like the progressive conservative polarisation. While many would label me as progressive, I believe we need to conserve what is good about our society. 
I want my local member to be contactable. They need to be recognisable and willing to accept conservative and progressive opinions.
There are people who don’t even know who the local member is. They need to be more upfront. Have meetings open to the public. But they don’t seem to want to do that. If you get a good member – they are doing that.
I have taken interesting things to our member’s office in Warrnambool. Clerks pass it on to him who pass it to the Minister responsible. But they alter the issue. The response comes back as pure spin. 
We need a representative with a van saying for example at 10am they will be in Terang, at 12noon in Camperdown. They should drive the van to each community on a regular basis. The van should be distinctive and they need to be very accessible so we can speak directly to our representative.
If I want to talk about wind farms or battery banks I’d like someone to be accessible preferably in our town.
Where we lived before the local member was everywhere. And everyone knew that the representative as the local member-they were very visible. The person needs to listen and know the issues of all of the community.
I write to Dan Tehan regularly and his staff write back in a very professional manner. However, the local member is constrained to operate within the party system. This prevents proper representation of the local community. It also prevents people from outside the party system from contributing as much as they could towards pressing national issues.
If you look at Dan Tehan’s voting record, he has not improved the situation around gambling, he voted against helping refugees, the Liberal party has not done anything to help the environment.
Our local member in previous electorate was not very effective at supporting the community’s priorities.
I have been pretty happy with Dan Tehan – he has turned up in Colac, despite a big workload and lots of travel and senior responsibilities, and met community groups. I expect that local members do this and would encourage him to do more.
Enact policies that protect the natural environment and farm land in Wannon, and protect the environment across Australia. This includes genuine frameworks to rapidly reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions. 
Enact policies that respect and care for all human beings. This includes social welfare policies and humane treatment of refugees. 
Do what is right in spite of pressure from industries whose products benefit a few and harm many (tobacco, coal mining, gambling, etc.).
To represent the current electorate but to also consider the future of the electorate ... and the planet.
To represent the majority of the community not the minority
If there is a problem we should be able to get a timely response
For the representative to vote for how we want them to vote but the political parties affect that wish
The representative only seem to tow the party line
Ideally, the member should listen to the community and take action accordingly
The promises made need to be followed through
Stop the “pork barrelling” that goes on
A good local member needs to listen to the community.
He has visited our area and helped to get funding for some things in our area. Dan Tehan then congratulated us and acknowledged what we do, so he remembered us even though it was 18 months later. 
There are others other than Dan Tehan – state member etc. I have been disappointed with some other smaller parties including the Greens that have previously supported free choices etc, but they have flipped during the pandemic and are now supporting the lockdowns. They have sold out to the current regime. I feel totally let down.
We need to get back to being a marginal seat. It is very sad that our political system is such that we need to be a marginal seat to get attention. I think that things should be done on merit. We need the politicians to set the policies, but then leave the decision making of who gets what to be done on merit by the public service. The two main parties blame each other. 
All grants include the requirement to survey / engage with the community. I have the same expectations of the members of parliament. They need to find better ways of getting the views of the community.
As far as I am aware, Dan Tehan hasn’t visited the new part of his electorate. It would have been nice for him to visit.
•	Not particularly approachable, reactive not proactive to community concerns.
•	More consultative.
•	Listening
•	Being present and available.
•	Not bringing back a mostly empty plane with only 26 people from Afghanistan.
•	That the local member is actually in touch with people in their electorate. Seems like just a status symbol of people who are not active in our community other than their politician role. They don’t see that their role is to represent us.
•	To represent their electorate.
•	In the US you can still be a grass roots member and be able to get onto a ticket. Don’t have to be in the Party for a long time to get preselected. This is a better system.
•	The allocation of resources can be life and death decisions and  I believe people who make these decisions don’t take them as seriously as they should. They should really understand the impact of their decisions. They come from such a narrow demographic.
•	I’d like them to stop politicking once they are elected and just govern.
•	I’d like them to show professionalism and integrity. 
•	Don’t want tacky childish games like the Give Dan the Boot campaign.
•	The leadership we get from our politicians make a difference.
•	I have had involvement with Dan Tehan and it has made me very cynical. I would like to be able to make an appointment and sit down and talk to the local member. He is not here very often – feels distant. I don’t believe that he writes his letters of response himself. The area is large and he doesn’t seem to spend much time in the local office. It used to be possible to go in and make an appointment but no longer.
•	When the local member becomes a minister, they are never available for the local electorate. The seat is a safe seat and so they don’t care. 
•	My biggest objection to Dan Tehan is that he was parachuted in from somewhere else. Malcolm Fraser was local and approachable, what you saw was what you got. David Hawker was also really easy to talk to. What worries me with both the major parties is that there is a progression from school to party official to politician, and they haven’t lived in the real world. It is important to have a variety of people from a variety of careers as politicians.
•	I have a real issue with the way politics have done – they put forward policies and if they win the election, they think the have a mandate for every single policy. I think that the local member should actually represent the local electorate. When you write to them they send you back a rebuttal of your point of view, but instead they should be taking your views on board.
•	It would be great to have a way to engage with politics and contribute to decision making online. 
•	I would like the seat to be marginal so that they politicians have to work for my vote.
•	There needs to be more transparency and accountability. 
•	We want our member to represent our views. It is his job to listen and consult with the community. The issues raised with him should be taken further by him, rather that just stop there.
•	Integrity. The local member works for us, they need to show up and listen.
•	Willingness to meet with constituents.
•	Not pick and choose their topics – we only see Dan Tehan at sporting events or agricultural events. He needs to also tackle the tough topics.
•	I don’t want to have a career politician where it is all about them. I would like to see more diversity in politics: health professionals guiding health policy etc.
I want someone to represent the local community, able to step away from party lines and prioritise the community over the party
Not to vote along party lines.
 You hear from them when it’s time to vote,  I would like one in touch with the community and the needs of this electorate.
Not to vote on party lines.
My expectation is that the local member delivers what the people want. Our current member doesn’t answer questions and feels very detached from the people. They need to be tuned in to the community, to listen. They think too globally and are not in tune with the grass roots.
They need to have loyalty to their electorate rather than the Federal party machine. Our representative doesn’t represent me, I feel alienated, disappointed and frustrated.
I’d like my local member to be more sensitive and have an awareness and commitment to local issues. 
I get questionnaires and put climate change at the top. And ask myself how can he ignore it. It frustrates me how he can ignore it.
Very angry about how my local member votes.
Coming from a Melbourne electorate. It’s alienating to come here where I feel I don’t have so much influence.
I would hope that our local member would listen to the local community and act on our desires. Be approachable and be present here.
Politicians are part of the machine and that probably influences of what I expect of them. My colleagues were listened to and our representative acted on what they said and he remembered the details of what was said. He did a decent thing. But there are lots of things that the machine does that aren’t decent. We haven’t ever had the level of representation that the community has in Indi.
Our member needs to work within the machine. It would be good if our representatives could represent our local electorates better. Not just work and represent their party.
Disappointed about a Labour candidate who didn’t get to run as they parachuted in Christine Conneally.
A good local member would be a very good listener, a good communicator, have a personality that can relate to a community, work in a swinging seat, be down to earth, really care about the grass roots. That would lead to a good democracy. The personality and not being such a safe seat. Someone who doesn’t care so much about the requirements of the Party. The current representative doesn’t even get here much.
-	Be more visible – many young people don’t know who the representative is
-	Visit the schools in the area
-	They attends launches etc but you don’t see them otherwise
-	Dan Tehan does seem approachable and listened to concerns, but whether this makes any difference is another question 
-	Our leaders are more concerned about image and spin rather than the actual substance
-	What is our local member doing - `who is he, and 15 yo girl says he is sitting there getting paid to  do nothing,
-	What does a good local member look like  - Jacquie Lambie – actively listens to her community, and negotiates good outcomes for them, and she is true to her principles
-	Have his own opinions about things and articulate them
-	Don’t sound so dumb when he talks
-	Reporting on what he does about local issues in the local paper
-	Talking about how other electorates are handling issues similar to ours in other areas of the state/country
-	Active in the community, talking about issues, can get things done (eg. Vickie Jellie in the local election)
-	Be visible within the electorate
-	He said/she said currently
-	Not 2-party politics domination
-	Dominant class is reflected by Dan Tehan
-	Representation of the real community
-	Democracy
-	Low expectations due to the past experience & performance
-	Member does not care & I am very disillusioned
-	Dishonesty & denial about First Nations history
-	Dirty tactics in & between all political parties
-	Active listening & act on what constituents want with some balance
-	Be good at balance & not pleasing everyone
-	Be loyal to electorate over what the party wants
-	Prioritise the work of their own electorate’s needs & wishes
-	I would like the local member to represent us not only the Liberal party
-	Values are not being represented
-	As a Senior member of the federal government, he only gives you back the party line. The role of his office is better at helping the community than he is and he has the staff that are happy to assist
-	Hard to get around the fact that he is in cabinet so the electorate suffers.
-	Needs to do regular surveys, maybe deputise someone to be the make contact with the community
-	I want him to be more accessible and responsive.
-	He needs to give the community opportunities to feedback to him their issues
-	Get beyond his awkwardness so he communicates better
-	He needs to give us regular feedback on national as well as local issues
-	Helpful to local community who voted him in
-	Person to person contact occasionally
-	Genuine feedback rather than promotional info and parry line
-	Know in advance what is coming up in parliament and get local opinion
-	Responsiveness
-	Empathy training
-	Transparency, honesty
-	Put the region first before their party
-	State government is irrelevant – should only have big regional government (eg: Moyne and Warrnambool should be one council) and Federal government, not state government. Can work together to benefit the region as a whole.
-	Would be good if they live locally
-	We don’t get things done because we are a safe seat
-	Don’t want professional politicians whose main focus is to get re-elected. Especially politicians that have not had experience in other fields before going into politics.
-	A flaw of the party system is the difficulty with representing the local area, and being a visionary / leader
-	Need to alter the system so that “preference whisperers” are not a thing. Need a more proportional voting system.
-	Issues should be addressed on their merit rather than via a politically partisan lens. Like Jacquie Lambie who polls her electorate and posts how she votes on her web site.
-	Allow politicians to vote to represent their electorate rather than just the party they represent.
-	When we write to our local politician they just send back a form letter or don’t even reply. This is disrespectful. Letters should be read, considered and a respectful reply provided. We would like proper engagement.
-	I have met 1:1 with Roma Britnell and Dan Tehan who responded well personally. But there is a divergence between individual conversations and action.
-	Currently don’t have expectations of our local member. Have no faith in the current system and not faith in our local members. Ideally the local member would be forward thinking, independent, non religious, socially responsive and pro-environment.
-	Honesty and transparency. Even honesty in expressing that an area is grey rather than expecting no comprehension.
-	Up to date and ready to plan for future challenges
-	Participate in long term rather than short term planning
-	Be responsive to local issues not just national.
-	Represent the people not the party.
-	Take part in serious informed debate not politicking,
-	Work positively for climate change.
-	Show leadership not political expedience
-	Make choices that benefit the people of Wannon and Broader Australia not just their political party.
-	Decision making that is pro people.
-	Voting that supports transparency.
-	To be honest and represent constituents rather than their own personal gain
-	Less political speak – speaking to electorate like they have no understanding
-	Support voting with conscience, not down party lines.
-	Political representatives that come to a local area and have local meetings to discuss issues in a local forum with local people.
-	Politicians should publicise their voting record
-	Election publicity should be paid for by government. Not by corporations.
-	Want humanity - my representative to be a human being more than a politician
-	Want them to be future thinking.
-	Include women without making a point of it so women can stop feeling we are token.
-	Include all genders and more androgynous speaking. Remove gender bias labels.
-	Engage with our local community.
-	A greener outlook for the electorate.
-	Represent the environment
-	Take any religious reference out of their speech making.
-	Raising issues at a higher level to improve funding to the area
-	Be a good local member and truly represent people of Wannon
-	If you need help you should be able to get it and at a local level they need to politically impartial
-	To be fair minded
-	Better present the community voice
-	The higher up the MP the more difficult it is for them to manage local issues
-	See politicians get out in the community so that they are recognisable
-	Have politicians travel around to hold forums that locals can access 
-	There is not enough public information about what happens in politics – we need more conversations. Connections get strengthened if you feel heard
-	Community connection, grassroots up rather than top down
-	Improved information in schools to help people understand how politics functions
-	Authentic consultation
-	Not have a political representative that is required to vote down party lines
-	After writing letters to the local member, felt like they were being fobbed off. Did not feel like the representative had integrity about listening to my concerns. The local member did not assist the constituent to resolve their concerns
-	Voting in a transparent way and acting with integrity

Real climate action with improved genuine targets for 2030.

Understand, represent and respect constituents. Consistently seek current community attitudes to issues. Reflect those attitudes. Advocate for the electorate.

"That they can have a physical presence and be available advocate and to listen to their constituents.

Follow the example of Cathy McGowan and  Helen Haines.  I used to live in Indi and still receive Helen's newsletters and callouts. I can't help but compare that to Dan's yearly paper mail out survey! Even though I continually ask for an electronic communication!! Even that he/ staffers don't acknowledge.

That they're broadly and acutely representative of their community."

Acting with Integrity, representing the people of the electorate not pursuing party politics or cheap shots at the state labor Govt

Availability to constituents.  Recognition that constituents are being heard, and responding with real changes.

That he actually represents the people of his electorate.  Hold virtual or face to face (when appropriate) town halls around the seat on a regular basis to interact with the community.

Honesty and integrity.

work hard for human rights of all, not just the majority

That they will represent the views of people in his electorate - even if they are not always the majority view or views that completely align with the members or their party's policies

I expect my local member to represent the views of the electorate, and have a value system which treats all people equally.

Care for people (including refugees), standing up for Human Rights and liberty of the Media (Free media whistle blower Julian Assange), care for the environment, promotion of peace, action on climate change, foresight and intelligence in planning issues, not an attitude of secrecy and coverups, and a consequent hatred for the media that reveal government corruption and mistakes.

proactivity on local issues

To be contactable. I am still waiting for a call back. It's been 2.5 YEARS!

That they will advocate for the people and the environment in a positive way. They will look after all people regardless of age, gender, sexuality, race, language, or class.

To be available to constituents and answer questions when asked not just spew out party  rhetoric

to be accessible and to try to listen and represent all parts of our community. When i write hi a letter or seek to meet him I don't just want the standard reply which clearly indicates he has not read my letter. I  don't mind if he stays in his job but I want him to approach his job differently.

To listen and take up local issues.

to sensibly represent the views of the majority of people in the electorate

To respond to the needs and concerns of constituents in a timely and constructive way and without pushing party talking points.

That he or she should listen to expectations of the local constituency, those views should be taken to government, not necessarily the party views

The local member's role: A local member who will represent the whole of the electorate,  and not just those they agree with.  And not just a member of a particular political party (who then just pushes their agenda) who happens to live in this place.

The elected member should be open to meeting with people and should actively engage with the issues that people bring to them. Particularly when the issues are not something the member already agrees with or its outside their comfort zone.

The elected member should actively advocate for what's needed in the electorate.  To do that they must ensure that they find out what's needed, and wanted, by all parts of the electorate.

When an issue is  raised they should be responded to specifically, respectfully and authentically.  And not just have party politics rhetoric language spoken back. The conversation should be had, and people should feel heard and well responded to.  No matter the actual outcome of the issue and decision.

The elected member should be accountable and transparent to the people of the electorate. They should do more than just self promotion and party politic promotion.

For the electorate the size of Wannon I feel it's a massive challenge for the member to deliver to such a diverse region.And when you introduce party politics into the mix you have a problem. The divide between urban and rural/regional areas is another dilemma

to really listen. To answer letters , not the same response  every time. to be compassionate and honest

Follow the action plan that is provided by the Wannon Action Plan - Intelligent Board

To meet with locals and hear their ideas and concerns

"They speak to their local constituents and actually listen to their concerns. They discuss and dialogue about issues, recognising the complexities and that slogans are not the answer.

They are part of their community and visible to the area they represent. They are on the ground. They get their ‘hands dirty’ and participate in the community. They don’t just send out fliers and feel that is communication. Fliers that just have boxes to tick on already decided topics with no place for people to state their own concerns are designed to meet the needs of the politician not the people. They understand the issues that are peculiar to their electorate but also listen to people in the electorate about their views on global issues. They represent us in Parliament and no matter what there role on government is they are still there as a representative of the people."

That he be available for consultation. I have heard of one constituent who has been unable to make an appointment for over 2 years. Very poor service from a local member. His statement earlier this year that vaccination was not a race was a gross lie when vaccination is so important to try to control Covid.

To listen to the community's concerns, including a broad range of opinions, investigate issues brought to their attention, think independently, facilitate debate and be open to new ideas which will  enhance our local, national and international health (physical, emotional, ecological and spiritual) To lead from conviction, not from  political or popular bias

Be responsive to Wannon issues and be available to electors.

To convey the majority view of constituents

To be a genuine local rather than an import. Someone who is not a political establishment, and someone who represents all members of wannon rather than giving the impression of the parstrolist of the Northern part of the seat.

Advocate on national issues of importance that affect our lives,

to never forget where they came from and to stay humble.

To hear the voices of the local people and go in batting for them.

That they or their office respond to correspond, that they take time to listen to community groups, they genuinely consult and respond.

Representation of electorate not blind loyalty to party, progressive and inclusive leadership.

I came from an electorate where Ged Kearney was the local member. She was real and communicated and stood for supporting those who had fallen through the cracks.

High - but already disappointed

"Leadership of energy sustainability and its employment possibilities.

Championing solutions to shifting to sustainable energy sources and decarbonising the economy.

The importance of farming to food security and quality.

The importance of supporting the arts to achieve rich and clever social life.

To represent the electorate and it's needs ahead of personal ambition. To act with honesty and integrity.

One who understands science and is willing to put science, the environment and people ahead of party political and donor interests.

That they represent all sectors of the electorate and ensure that this is so by regular open access consultation.

I expect him or her to be local, to know the electorate well, and of course to represent them, but also to show leadership and be with them in their community events, not just turn  up for photo opportunities.

To listen to their constituents, to reprresent our views, concerns and to essentially be our voice. Also to not be corrupt, to not be influenced by lobbyists, media moguls, billionaires and multi- national companies. To also be accessible to their constituents. 

More than he delivers. To represent us in the parliament, not impose the Liberal party on us

Transparency, strong advocating and listening

Honesty, but that’s too much to expect

That my local member will represent the PEOPLE in the electorate NOT the corporations. Will speak up for the electorate and put needs of the electorate above the wishes/demands of the Party. Is willing to work collaboratively with other politicians and a wide range of people / sources rather than always following the Party line. Local member is familiar with the electorate - its people, business and industry, community groups.  Will physically attend local events.  Is available for consultation with constituents

What practical things can we do to improve engagement and trust in democracy?

Would be good to have the opportunity to meet with politicians at their local hall regularly. 
Perhaps our politicians could sign a social contract under the Commonwealth Award. Get a job description for a politician and demand a social contract as part of their job. This could compel them to do certain things. Could put in social contract that they are required to live for a certain time in the region.
The communication issue is important. You go and see someone and you get a stock standard answer. It would be good to have a mechanism where they can understand what the local people see as important. No one is checking back to get more information and to clarify what people were wanting. Weld like to know what the plan is.
In Parliament we don’t work in our Constitution. There are no Parties in our constitution.
We like people to know what this community believes and wants. This is nothing to do with party politics.
The public service needs to be better resourced by professionals. Senior appointments need to be apolitical. Conditions and terms of employment needs to support career public servants. They need to be able to give free and impartial advice. We need an independent public service.
Each town should have a residents’ group and our political representatives should attend their meetings and listen to what is said at them. Over 40 people from Peterborough residents Group attended our VicRoads meeting calling for crossings over the Great Ocean Road. This happened 2 years ago but nothing was done.
We need community health and community development education so we are more likely to be on the same page. As a way to reinforce standards of behaviour at meetings. 
Organisations and authorities who have a responsibility for Peterborough need to be more engaged in consulting with the people.
There should be oversight and serious guidelines on the role of a Federal Minister, Prime Minister and staffers.
Need standards of behaviour for our politicians. Behaviour in Parliament is not acceptable. Watching grown adults abusing each other at the top level of government is disgusting. There needs to be more respectful interaction between members.
Politicians need to adhere to their Code of Ethics. There needs to be repercussions if people don’t listen to the Speaker. Accountability for decisions. 
An Independent would be more likely to represent what the community believes in.
Politicians and bureaucrats need to lift their standard of behavior. They need to hold themselves to this standard. This would help restore some faith in the political process. Openness and transparency is important. 
We need to look seriously at the state of emergency powers that has been implemented during the pandemic – this has gone too far. We shouldn’t have 2 years of emergency powers. Governments have used their extra powers gained through anti-terrorism laws and have had over-reach in using these powers against demonstrators.
A Federal ICAC
Regulation of social media. It appears that right wing terrorism has grown via social media and this needs to be addressed
I think the government has done a good job during the pandemic to show that everyone can contribute – do their own bit to help the situation. Government should show the community how they can contribute to help with other issues in society, including the environment, on refugees etc. I would like to see us being empowered.
Engage and advocate. It is great to have groups like the Voices of Wannon – we all have to get active and engage. It is not good enough to sit around and wait. Volunteering is huge – we could volunteer for more political things.
Transparency in the political decision making process.
A free media. It is important to have the facts come out.
Start with a Federal anti-corruption agency.
Even recently politician would step down even for not declaring a bottle of wine as a gift, but that does not happen any more. 
Education – people need to be more educated so that they are more willing to engage in politics. 
Ralph Leutton “You won’t get any change until people understand preferential voting.”
Get a strong local independent candidate to make the seat marginal. 
It needs to be more widely known that when there are issues to be debated in parliament, often anyone can go online and put in a submission.
We need to be careful not to be too negative about getting our voices heard.
Don’t make Wannon a safe seat. As soon as it’s not a safe seat, they will pander to you.
Not to vote along party lines. Not automatically voting for the party.
Big political issues, people our age are disconnected, don’t really care, need to be directly issues affecting young people, that are relevant .
In my 20s I had more involvement in Labour politics, social Justice seemed far more possible. It was an amazing time. I’ve steadily seen that eroded.
We need to write letters and sign petitions. People listen to these. Fill in surveys and tick boxes.
We need to go and visit our politicians.  Keep plugging away. If you feel strongly about something get on the email.
In the past there was a whole societal sense of possibility, people had energy and were full of hope and possibilities. It’s so different now. We had a naive sense of progress in history.
Attend meetings like these.
Have a voice. A lot of news is not news. It’s right wing propaganda. People believe stuff is true if they see it on TV. 
Have the right type of people representing us. 
More women representing us and people of different ethnicity and cultural backgrounds.
We need to change how we recruit politicians. For example, a high proportion of liberal candidates are from the law profession. In the ALP many politicians have a trade Union background. We need to influence the recruitment of politicians. We need to poll local constituents. Need less career politicians and more with grass root life experience. Should be a limit on how long you can be a member. Turn them over. There is currently no diversity of views. 
•	Shouldn’t have to be in a marginal electorate to get things done.
•	Like governments that look after the most vulnerable people, rather than self interest
•	Attend protests.
•	Change the system to make independents to get into politics.
•	Reduce the level of secrecy about the basis on what decisions are made and the influence of lobbyists.
•	Sometimes we are infantilized by our political leaders. 
•	Need more transparency and accountability to improve trust in our democracy.
•	We need more transparency about political donations. Need to hold politicians and senior advisors to account.
•	Issue with future lucrative car??
•	Independents are a reaction to people not being listened to by the political parties.
•	Just make seats marginal so the politicians listen to us. 
•	Public funding of electoral campaigns on an equal basis.
•	Would prefer to see the major parties better represent their followers as inadequate power in independents.
•	Religion should be kept out of politics
•	Christian Porter and similar people need to be held to account.
•	Make it easier for people to have a say and be heard.
•	Politicians decide on how to vote based on market research.
•	People who have Ministerial Portfolios should actually have qualifications in that area.
•	
•	Federal governments need to take action in response to the findings of Federal Royal Commissions and Inquiries.
Have a more frank and fearless public service
Thinks that the number of candidates in the senate is way overboard. But if you vote above the line, then you risk that your vote goes to someone that you didn’t want
Need to step away from the 15 minute media cycle – getting information out quickly but not accurately
Would like politicians to answer the question, instead of giving their talking points
Poor example being set by politicians with regards to vaccinations and corona virus – focussing on the adverse reactions rather than the need to protect the population from COVID
KTCs can act as non-party political sources
KTCs would do better to concentrate on more local issues and work at the local level to effect change and improvement rather than having a strong focus on parliament
Wipe out one level of government especially the State Government level
Concentrate on ensuring infrastructure supports community
Anticorruption commission to address Federal parliamentary conduct
Manage gender issues in governments and the community to help result in better decisions being made about the community.
Raise people’s awareness locally because a lot of people aren’t engaged and we don’t know who needs help. Introduce a ‘get to know your neighbour” ideology
At the local government level there are good intentions but the bureaucracy (reporting processes and legislative requirements) stop progress being made.
Get practical and utilise local skills to get things done.
Increase the number of women in all aspects of government.
-	Need to confer with the constituents more. They need to listen to all voices, not just the “loudest” voices. 
-	They need to be proactive in finding out the views of people who do not have a voice.
-	MP should make platforms available to get feedback from all groups including minority groups (eg online surveys)
-	Improve education and engagement in politics
-	People need to know how the system works so that they can effect change 
–	everyone is jaded and disillusioned with the political structures, eg Peter Garratt – so exciting when he was voted in and then he just became a Labour mouthpiece
	Mainstream politics is beige, no one is willing to stick to their principles
	There is a loss of direction because people are not leading with conviction – too much bending in the wind
	15 yo why is it not optional for 16 yo kids to vote – they would have opinions on things.  Best raised kids example is the Costello brothers – Tim and Peter
	It should be part of the curriculum – apparently was part of the teaching last year 
	Kids are voting for their futures – adults are looking more to the short term
	Example of a well educated young 18 yo niece – completely sheltered from politics, unable to make her own decisions or opinions, would follow her parents
	Example of 11 yo boy fascinated by politicians arguing at the time ( Rudd Gillard conflict) in house of representatives, but he has since lost his interest
	15 yo girl – compulsory voting – but we are not taught, teachers lack enthusiasm at times, dry topics and history based rather than forward looking
	My mum and dad are very political so that’s where I get my information
	Democracy party believes that for key votes the general population would be sent out a survey to gauge their views. A great idea but might slow down system a bit. Need to educate electorate on issues.
	More KTC’s that lead to people working together and promoting their grievances. Climate for Change group has conversations like this.
	Less politically divided conversations and more inclusive conversations.
	Change the voting system to remove 2 party preferred. Reduce the effort to get independents over the line. Possibly the New Zealand system is a better one.
	Candidates need to have a broader experience than politics. Considerable real life experience not just a lawyer.
	Greater gender equality should be insisted upon.
	Should be limited tenure for politicians – 2 or 3 terms.
	Ban political donations over $500.
	Establish community fora on important issues.
	Monthly fora to listen to issues, engage and provide feedback on issues.
	Local representative have real regular connections with the electorate.
	Get rid of the male politician uniform of the suit.
	Increase transparency. What people stand for and how they voted.
	Interview candidates and provide details on how each of them would vote on issues.
	Identify and promote our politicians voting record very widely in the paper.
	Need to make an effort to engage young people. Need to address the massive cynicism and apathy about politics. If we start with children and explain democracy and demonstrate democracy and participate democracy they would be more engaged as adults. Structured into the curriculum how schools and classrooms are managed. Have working democracies in the school.
	Open meetings where the local member meets the community periodically eg. Every 6-12 months
	The member needs to actually be here at times and improve accessibility
	Hard to find out how to get involved so improve communication options to the community. Improve how the community finds out what’s going on.
	Let the community know how he is voting and why he voted that way
	Have an assistant who can speak for him and help make decisions on his behalf
	Consult with different community groups
	Town hall movements for broad community consultation
	More time in the electorate less time in Canberra. Why vote for a MP that is not engaged. Sense of MP not being accountable or engaged.
	(We could collate our community views on a personal level though some sort of questionnaire personally delivered.)
	Send out a list of what our community would like funding for, what would you like me to do?
	Less corruption. A house of independents maybe. More independents means more accountability
	Creating more community in itself is the most radical improvement of democracy based on equity and fairness. Grass roots movement. Ultimate form of democracy.
	- Greater transparency here and worldwide
	- All political donations should be visible
	- A Federal ICAC with teeth
	- An Independent entity to determine infrastructure spending and grants not pork-barrelling MPs
	- Prefer a Government that doesn't arrogantly recycle shamed MPs
	- Clamping down on whistle blowers ( eg Witness K) is very wrong
	More of these discussions that amplify the views of individuals.
	Preselection needs to be more transparent without influence from media.
	Cancel above the line voting.
	More diverse political representatives. Proportionate representation system.
	Change the voting system
	Need to nurture an environment where people aren’t fearful to have political discussions. We need to nurture our democracy. Have an engaged community.
	Cancel all large donations to political parties or politicians. Finance elections from the public purse.
	Have a weekly advertisement in the local paper listing how our local government, stage government and federal government representatives vote on issues.
	Let people know that the offices are staffed with people who will help
	Let people know that help is in the form of admin support rather than the politician
	Meetings such as KTC are good
	Make an effort to meet with the MP or their representative rather than waiting for him/her to take that step
	Open and transparent political donation system
	The behaviour of politicians is so disgusting that it is hard to build trust
	The community receives a list of donors to the political parties and their politicians
	Open lines of communications between the community and representative
	Generic communications increase distrust
	Grassroots movements need support to keep going otherwise it will die down
	There is nothing in the media now about the issues facing parliament recently
	Grassroots movements have to start demanding outcomes and insisting on answers
	Media has short news cycles so voices are lost
	Having a representative system that ensures citizens’ concerns are being looked at and passed on
	Improve how the different political parties work together so that parliament is not as combative
	Reduce self promotion
	Reduce parliamentary privilege where politicians can say anything with little consequence to them
-	For the local member to have information available on his website about how he has voted. Also prior to voting on significant issues would like the local member to seek feedback and advice on how to vote
-	Would like the member to go out into the community and proactively seek views on Federal issues to determine if bills needs to be developed to support community priorities
-	Acting on constituents’ concerns even if it means following up with other levels of government if the issue is not a Federal issue
-	Would like the member to go out into the community and proactively seek views on Federal issues to determine if bills needs to be developed to support community priorities
-	Member who wants to represent the local area who can articulate it, and have these sort of conversations with the electorate
-	Member who informs electorate about the issues
-	Donations are secret and we need to know
-	Need to know who the lobbyists are
-	Need to know whose mates are getting what
-	Make public service more independent and improve skill base
-	Honest politicians with integrity
-	Banning question time, has become a substitute for debate
-	Truthful info comes from Royal commissions
-	Want to see more politicians sitting in their seats being involved, listening to others, less voting on the party line
-	Empathy training
-	Local member has lost touch with what is important in Wannon beyond roads, sport clubs and RSLs
-	Despair at the local politics, people aren’t thinking, we’d do better if the seat was marginal, Liberal Party is very right wing
-	Very conservative electorate
-	Feeling unrepresented, feeling angry, communications and responses are poor. Getting tired of fighting over issues that just fade in the next turnaround
-	Political class has become detached from the public, manipulative system currently because they don’t really want to know what the public thinks
-	More transparency in how politicians voted – easier to access voting history.
-	More diverse media ownership.
-	Politicians to give own opinions rather than just the party line.
-	More political education – lots of people here with shared community values, caring professions and farmers which have different view points regarding local issues.  Can we bring disparate parts of the community to work together and listen to each other to solve problems and learn/work on issues. This can then filter through to national issues.
-	At the moment, quite unempowered in the electorate, but there are people living all these issues within the electorate.
-	Local issues, but then filter through to state and national levels (eg. Cancer centre built though local movement).
-	Inaction on climate change – farmers are more engaged in this than the LNP.
-	Someone to empower the electorate to work together so as not to rely on the government to drive change, bringing people together around a common cause.
-	Imagine if Dan was facilitating a Farmers Federation meeting to discuss.  Not working against the party, but listening to stakeholders within his electorate and helping them meet local goals – eg. Working on erosion or some initiative specific to the local area.
-	Guidance on where to take issues if they’re not relevant to federal.
-	Connect not complain.
-	Open, regular meetings of electorate where Member came, sat & listened to issues, including follow up of actions by the Member at future meetings
-	Change our current constitution so we don’t have parties and everyone is an Independent
-	adhere to our constitution as it is currently written
-	Genuine representation of the electorate
-	Anonymous communication of issues
-	Very open forum & some way of summarising the issues with focus froups
-	Trying to connect with the people of Wannon so they can be interested, through local papers – good dto be  involved; what’s in it if you are; 
-	Tell people what they do can make a difference
-	Show benefits of having representive democracy
-	Engage & interest young people in politics

Federal government create an independent integrity commission with the power to investigate government use of taxpayer money for partisan advantage (sports grants, carpark allocation, etc.).

The local member to speak honestly about his own views as distinct from party policy.

Be authentic. Use knowledge of community to formulate policy. To implement policy. To provide vision and leadership. Be inclusive.

"Be available between parliament sittings.

Listen to what your constituents want and need.

Demonstrate transparency in all that you do.

Value based political representation.

Federal ICAC , publishing a  list of what each politician votes for and against in easy to access format. clean up political donations regulations so we know who is buying influence, keep ABC / SBS idependent and well funded. Stronger regulation and accountablity of private press , more regulation of social media

Transparency and truth in government dealings.

'Kitchen Table' discussions with Federal Minister.

ICAC would be a start. Make our reps responsible for decisions they make. No more rorts, no more waste of taxpayers money without integrity in decision making

More community consultation. Members could use technology more to gauge the feeling of their constituents on important issues. eg Jacquie Lambie has done this.

I have lost trust in democracy because I believe politicians have lost sight of what they were elected to do - represent the views of the people instead of spending a large amount of time trying to ensure they are re-elected. Tell the truth instead of treating us like we don't understand

The electors will not get action on climate or social issues by electing again and again the same two political parties that are responsible for the mess we are in. We need a new economy that takes into consideration the fact that humanity is completely dependent upon the environmental ecology that makes our oxygen, produces our rain, keep our world at a livable temperature. We are like a person cutting off the branch on which he sits.

Honesty, integrity and morality. Qualities sadly lacking in the Federal Liberal Government

A local member who actually meets with the broader electorate, even if it is by phone.

The people of Warrnambool need to be able to have their voices heard at council. Everything that has happened through the Warrnambool city council in the last few years has been appalling. People need to be listened to.

Have a member who is seen in the community & who is prepared to listen & engage with people they don’t agree with. Have a member who has heart not just the economy as their primary focus

more avenues for political reps to mix with and meet the people they represent. The safer the seat if feels the less they do. Trust might also improve if our member gave more info about himself and showed himself to be caring and vulnerable rather than always taking the party line and not being interested in what the people think. In saying that some of his staff have shown more engagement and care and this is much appreciated..

Its a winner-take-all system. Which ever party wins can do what they like and ignore valid opinions from "the other side". The winners always say "we will govern for everybody" but it only lasts a few weeks. No way of holding them to account.

Dan could listen and engage with those of us trying to speak to him

Establish a Federal anti-corruption body with broad powers and that conducts public hearings. Improve/increase transparency around all Government decision-making. Greater accountability of Government Ministers, and higher standards of conduct and ethics. Reduce the reliance on corporate donors and greater transparency with regards to all political donations.

A forum where our representative listens to the voters, and acts accordingly

I don't know. I feel like he is a lost cause. I feel that he is a Liberal party rep who spouts party politics and doesn't engage with issues that don't align with that view.

a million dollar question

greater transparency.

Democracy is just over the mountain at the moment. Inorder to maintain the quality of democratic ruling, the democratically elelcted rulers need to engage in extensive debates before making importnt decisions. Fundemental human rights need not to be debated and law makers have the obligation to amend the laws with time protecting the human rghts.

The loss of trust in Democracy started with the vote bank politics. The most poppulistic vote bank wins over a well placed policy. This is where the ""majority"" interest comes before the intelligent interest of a society. There are situations in the world where candidates won elections by promising to reduce the cost of living and then increase it several forlds after winning. This cycle of fake promises and election win is exeplified all over the world.

I think election polciy portfolio should be backed by evidence and a data driven action plan before the election. In this way, there is a transparency for everything what happens after election. Election policy portfolio also will need to be present with a risk management plan in case those policies and promises aren't met.

In this way, democracy can be taken in to a new era where, it is monitored, and assessed quanitatively and hence progresses from one to another cohesively."

Have a local member who gives a rats' for voters! My experience with Dan is that he is indifferent at best, a liar at worst. He has no interest in meeting with his constituents, and on the one occasion I managed it, he responded with arrogance and baldfaced lies. We need a member who is not funded by ??agribusiness??, who cares about climate, who has compassion for vulnerable people, and who is responsive to constituents.

"Listen, ask for feedback / ideas (like this survey). Community forums.

I feel that education is required as many people don’t understand the political process and so don’t feel part of it and don’t feel they can make a difference. We often hear from the ‘very vocal’ minority but need to hear from everyone.

Having watched Helen Haines on TV the other night, having an independent who truly represents the electorate is a big plus for democracy as you would then feel that your voice matters. Just because they don’t belong in a party doesn’t mean they have no influence. If anything they can speak out more freely. I am sure though that she also has a very astute and supportive organisational group behind her and it has not been an easy road."

"Our local member needs to spend at least 1 week in 4 in the electorate. .Members of political parties should not be on the local staff in electorate offices (they should be seen as a public service and be opperated by public servants, not aspiring politicians). Electorate offices are seen as a political propaganda arm of the member (at state and federal level). MPs should not be allowed to hire the staff in their electorate office when these people are paid by the public and should serve the public, not protect the MP concerned.

The local member should hold regular public town hall style meetings to connect with the electorate. Also visit local towns for street style consulations using the publically funded car as a mobile office Especially as the Wannon area is so large. It was disappointing that Mr Tehan was parachuted into the electorate (a safe seat) and suggests a lack of trust and a degree of disdan for local people."

Access for groups/ individuals to meet with local member face to face and encounter a sense of authenticity, rather than party line responses in letters, and formulaic responses etc. A sense that the local member is open to information presented in a variety of ways, e.g. going to documentaries when invited

Reform outdated and combatative parliamentry traditions. Make political donations transparent. Take exponents of political double speak to task. Make politicians and public servants more responsible for their mistakes - Murray Darling Basin, pork barrelling etc

As we are new to wannon we need some local engagement

A federal ICAC with integrity and the the jurisdiction to look into past transgressions.

increase funding for ABC, regulate private ownership of media to reduce News Corps dominance, regulate social media platforms, publicly fund election campaigns to remove private capital influence, legislate for an ICAC style federal integrity commission

For the Politian's to keep their word for what they stood for and were voted in for.

This- KTC

Improve candidates

listen, believe in social justice, believe in the sustainability of the environment (especially in this electorate ), have a local member who believes in supporting rural workers and small farm owners and urban dwellers not just those who pay money to their coffers

Consistency,

"National anti corruption body with strong powers.

Ensure representation of young people on various bodies making or advising on policy to ensure their needs and values are represented. And Act on them.

Support of newspapers - tax deduction for subscription?

Increase funding to ABC and SBS.

"I would like to see politicians set higher standards of behaviour and follow them. My trust in democracy as represented by our politicians is lowered each time they say what they think people want to hear, and use weasel words to avoid being honest and accountable. Our political leaders need to have values which they make clear to us, and need to abide by them. This applies to both behaviour and policy. I've been a public servant where high standards were expected, and met, in the way we used public assets, and it disappoints me when politicians bend rules of behaviour to try and keep power in their own hands.

Elect a local member who is willing to act in the interests of their constituents rather than taking them for granted and treating them with contempt.

Getting interested people to meet to plan strategies to make our local politicians more accountable and consultative.

Have our politicians face the same laws as the rest of us. Have politicians that show leadership, have the courage of their convictions, listen to the people of their electorates instead of just big business . Get rid of lobbyists.

More transpearancy and accountability (Federal ICAC has to be created similar to what NSW and Victoria has) and also the public having more access to information and documentation on what legislation will commend debated or come through parliament (like they do in Scandinavian countries) so politicians have more accountability and there won't be a reliance on the one-sided Rupert Murdoch' News corp media to get information. Also we need bi-partianship with the major parties.

Our MP be more willing to meet with ordinary constituents. For more trust, the government could stop stalling on the integrity commission

Regular conversations and true speak

I need room for an essay but vocal interests groups are not the answer

Ideally reduce allowable campaign spending to a minimal level. Reduce to minimal level all political donations. Improve transparency of all political donations so that we can all see in real time who has given how much and to whom. For the last few decades the power of the lobbyists has grown excessively (refer "The Big Deal" on ABC), giving far too much influence to the interests of the corporates, especially coal and other miners and the fracking fraternity. I cannot understand how fracking can even be contemplated in a country where water is vital for human, animal and plant life, and how ground water can be easily contaminated in the fracking process. Must be some money changing hands somewhere????? Set up a federal ICAC - urgently required. More groups like Voices for Wannon, Indi etc - to get independent members into parliament. MPs should be there to serve the electorate NOT their own interests and long-term jobs as MPs. Ensure all issues are covered in a fair and unbiased manner by mainstream media

What are the most important things that you would like your local member to address? 

- The Haves, especially the older ones with money, are prioritised over the young
- Franking credits and negative gearing are disenfranchising the young
- Poor Social Equity and growing inequality
- Disgusting in a rich country that people are homeless
- Public/Social housing could be built with guaranteed % return for investors 
- Liberals are taking us in the USA direction to purposely create an underclass
- Disgusting that people seeking asylum are still imprisoned, the deterrent is well establish, bring them here
People who work and advise politicians used to have to have qualifications in the area. Now they just pick whoever. These positions need to be more professionally selected.
Political decisions need to be supported by documented informed reasoning.
The lack of funding for our public education system is a huge and devastating issue. I know that by working in schools that the money is not there to assist children who are struggling. You shouldn’t have to pay to attend kindergarten.
Climate Change
ICAC. X3 
Climate change: national policies as well as the most constructive ways for Wannon to engage with the challenges and opportunities
Tertiary education: support for tertiary education in Wannon and also for the national tertiary sector given the huge hit from covid and inadequate federal funding
Refugee policy: basic humanity in refugee policy, and using leadership position to bring us together and lead Australians in the direction of common humanity, to see the goodness in human policy
Care for local environment
Real and substantial action on climate change 
Humane treatment and compassion for asylum seekers and refugees, not demonising
Unfair weighting tourism is given vs the environment.  Visitors come and damage the environment. 
There is too much emphasis on big commercial tourism developments which will destroy the attraction of the natural environment. Needs to be more sensitive smaller scale development with local involvement. 
Achieve a balance between attracting visitors and requiring payment to visit attractions. Like Mona being free to Tasmanians. Should it be free for people to visit attractions.?
Shires need non profit caravan parks so people can afford to travel.
Influence of big money on overdevelopment of attractions.
Equality
Dan Tehan to validate all his grants through ICAC.
Scott Morrison should explain why he didn’t follow the Speaker’s directive. Should be required to comply with rules.
Free education from kindergarten to tertiary.
Fair funding for private vs govt schools
Shouldn’t be religious people in role of student wellbeing councillor.
Proper attention given to mental health. It is underfunded under recognised. The system in Victoria and Federally is broken. The situation for people with mental illness is unacceptable, People with minor issues or major mental health issues are addressed, people in middle don’t get treatment. About  90% of people diagnosed with  borderline personality disorders don’t get treatment for it.
Shouldn’t need to complete a form to get kids into childcare or kindergarten. People from disadvantaged backgrounds should be given support to negotiate these things. 
More equity if want to employ a part time person. Can’t afford to pay people what they get in benefits. People should be able to earn on top of unemployment benefits. Dealing with Centrelink is a nightmare.
Better Childcare.
Professional assistance to work with families to address issues with children when they are young. Children have people to go to if they have issues. Support for disadvantaged families instead of just intervention. 
Need tertiary education in Warrnambool, as it is vitally important for being a cultural centre. The way that culture has been abandoned, education, art drama all those things that make us a vibrant society. The abandonment of this at a Federal Level is terrible.  This is a terrible situation.
The easiest people to criticise is the public service which is not fair when the decisions are taken by politicians. Ministerial advisors and political staffers need to be qualified. 
The level of welfare payments needs to be increased. The Government needs to justify what they are doing. eg there is no justification for not raising the level of unemployment benefit. 
Sexism. Needs to be addressed. People are in Parliament as an elected member, gender shouldn’t be a concern.
Christian Porter should have resigned
Staffers in Parliament house shouldn’t be able to get away with their behaviour in allowing a rape to be ignored. People shouldn’t be exempt from normal standards.
A universal guaranteed income.
Government decisions are not based on merit.
Because we are on the Great Ocean Road we are highly vulnerable to big development. We have 2 Shires, a border of the CCMAs close by. It means we can be easily overlooked. Our local Councils need to have enough people to uphold environmental laws and regulations.
More transparency from local government on the decision-making process. In relation to Princetown, information from Corangamite Shire meetings was not available and when provided crucial information was blanked out.
A submission to the strategic plan to the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority said it wasn’t their business. Seems to be a conflict of interest between developers and the Shire Council. The Great Ocean Road Authority seems to be given so much money that everything is white washed. A general lack of rules that are clearly stated for development along rivers. Nothing is clear cut. Farmers aren’t required to have rivers fenced off where they don’t own it. River is acidified. A board walk needs to be installed to prevent people walking along the river to fish. There is a huge lack of management.
Rules are so wishy washy and developers can work these with lawyers.  Because Princetown is located in a wetland it hasn’t been developed.
We have an international airport in Peterborough now a 2km long runway that meets international standards. An international airline can fly in smaller aeroplanes. The runway is deep and long enough to take big aeroplanes. Developed with a $750,000 grant from the Federal Government. With the ability to fly in  to support emergencies. This seems to be a case of overdevelopment by stealth. Cobden airport is poorly maintained despite there being a hospital located nearby - funding should have gone to Cobden airport instead. 
Peterborough’s estuary is listed as protected. It contains protected fish and birds and flora and fauna.  But it is not protected from development. There is an inappropriate development currently at VCAT. The development is Tiny Away, comprised of 35 small units proposed for the Eastern side of the Curdies River on land zoned Conservation Zone, it includes 70 car parks and road access and shouldn’t be allowed. There are a number of environmental concerns including sewerage, with plans to take it though vulnerable crown land over the bridge to Peterborough. No proper environmental impact study was done. Council has accepted it. Would like information on how they are going to comply with environmental rules. Avoiding rules to get approval.  No cohesion or compliance with planning.
Need a long term strategic plan for tourism development in Peterborough and surrounds (Postcode 3270) that both Councils adhere to.
Sports rorts should be addressed.
There should be guidelines for what every government school delivers. Should be guidelines for the building itself and the safety. Government schools need to have enough funding to all provide better facilities. 
Private schools get an unbelievable amount of money. Blows me away!
They need to stop playing with people’s lives. My mother worked for St Vincent De Paul and said that to ask people who aren’t literate to fill in forms to get an income is just nonsense. On a computer! 
Vicroads. Federally the quality of roads need to be addressed.
The palming off of Federal responsibilities to States, is a real problem.  eg COVID, Quarantining people.
The Federal Government is not running government well. When COVID hit they already had a plan for pandemics which wasn’t followed.
Federal staffers shouldn’t be there to get votes. They are being used for party political purposes.
Warrnambool needs a trained museum curator. Museum Victoria needs to oversee Flagstaff Hill. Need professional curators at the Warrnambool Art Gallery. It is not acceptable to have someone as the only Art Curator at Flagstaff Hill and the Warrnambool Art Gallery. Needs a professional person to run the place. F project has been set up as everyone is very frustrated with the Art Gallery. Very unprofessional unwelcoming. Need help from Museum Victoria.
Liberal party needs to take action on climate change esp. with regard to farmers, bush fires
Need to address the future of Australia not just addressing how to get back into power at the next election
Issues only seem to arise when an election is looming. They do not have a vision
National party is preventing action being taken to climate initiatives
Man made Climate Change.	The right to choose is a human right. Eg. Immunisation.
Climate change. Inequality - cultural and economic.	Our current political culture needs an authentic and empathic revision
Environment care
Childcare
Healthcare
Education
Affordable Housing, Climate change, reducing poverty, improve Public education funding, measured diplomatic engagement with China and Europe, Keep NDIS system intact , improve health funding and fix mental health system
Recovering from the pandemic is  crucial time to bring the community together for a common purpose, imagine a new green future. We need strong leadership Nationally and not a governement overtaken by private interests
Increasing investment in renewables
Independent commission against corruption
Increasing funding for education
Increasing funding for research eg CSIRO
Appropriately fund the ABC
Encourage industry and institutions (federal, state) to reposition into the regions
Utilise the skills and expertise already in place to grow research and knowledge eg. Partner university and govt research bodies with local health and education services
Vote according to the wishes of the electorate
Restrict donations to political parties
List who the donors are immediately rather than months after the fact
Stop the privatisation of public utilities
Look at reinstating some of the public utilities such as NBN to ensure that all the people have access
Environmental protection and climate change action
Fundamental care for equity across our community
Lack of housing policy for older women.Equity in superannuation. Children need to have housing security for the future. Affordable housing
Vision for equity for the long term for our community. No more 3 year plans . 20 year plan

Environment protection  - everything else comes out of that.
Unaffordability of housing for the younger generation

Population control! Sustainable population for the country
- Invest in education. Australia used to be great. A fair society should have equal opportunity
- Stop funding Private Schools, and properly fund public schools
- Properly fund Universities to be places of learning not cash cows where overseas students are used as a money pool
- REAL action on climate mitigation - and a plan to do that 
- This Government think we are above having to do our bit on fossil fuel reduction
- Short election cycles leads to no long term planning
- Young people turned off politics because of MPs behaviour
- Pervasive government malice toward refugees in Australia denying them education and work rights
- More funding for the ABC to counter the Murdoch media, which is working to abolish the ABC
- Lack of media diversity is destroying democracy
- Too much religion in the Government is determining policy
- Get rid of that part of Section 44 of the constitution that disqualifies people from standing for parliament on a technicality like their grandmother was born in New Zealand
- Bring Angela Merkel here to show us how co-operative Government it is done
 - greater action on climate issues this is number one
Greater education investment - better planning- tertiary as well,  a bit more focus on increasing the ease with which country people can access this, especially the cost - far easier for those in the city.  
 - climate change action - that’s the most important to me.  I also think we need affordable housing.  If you don’t have an address, you don’t get benefits.  It’s a problem. 
 - 100% climate action ASAP
Then sustainability.
An ICAC ( integrity commission)
Australia’s treatment of refugees is atrocious, and it makes me ashamed
 - refugees - the fear building up when they think they might be sent back.  Scottish egalitarian viewpoint - the gap between the rich and the poor has been widening more and more, you can see how the money was handed out ( during covid) - robodebt vs companies with squillions not being asked to give the money back
It’s just got worse and worse
The country city divide - people don’t understand this.  
 - echoing climate, its just ( lost for words)
Investing needs to change for renewable energy.
When people turn eighteen, seeing what has been done by their local member.
More than point scoring, it’s distasteful.   What’s important to you, what can be done about it/Look for solutions.
Anti-corruption body federally that includes MPs
Address population control and overconsumption problems - both these issues are driving climate change
Fast action on this or our civilisation will collapse - needs to be address soon.
Environment !!!!! including animals. 
Education about how the political system works. This engages children in the political process
Government runs the country like a business. it’s not a business. It’s not an economy it’s a society, it’s a community.
Environmental vote drives me every time.
Climate change and environment. First Nations people should have a voice over  the resource extraction on their land. Greater access of indigenous people to land. 
Complete rethink about land rights to allow this to happen
Corruption - end of political donations from corporations -Why would you vote against tobacco plain packaging?
Why would you vote against an anti-corruption watchdog???
Underpinning all of our social and environmental issues due to white supremacy, patriarchy, colonisation and extraction ( set of values where ‘domination over’ is the culture rather than a culture of nurturance ) These systems of oppression need to be dismantled. A discussion around climate change needs to look at these underlying systemic issues.
Truth telling is really important, historical genocide and land stealing need to be a visible part of our history. Our nation is based upon this past visceral violence which continues in our present racism towards indigenous peoples.
Putting national values onto indigenous communities which then results in children being removed from families for not going to school for example.
100% of recycling now
Environment climate change
Humanitarian obligations at home for indigenous and refugee populations
Process refugees more efficiently and quickly so they are not locked up indefinitely
Give indigenous people a voice to parliament
9 billion dollars better spent on people than submarines!!!!!
Redistribution of wealth. Limit on what any person can make. Over that amount redistributed to those who need it. Homeless and indigenous peoples discriminated against in our welfare system.
Reduce level of privilege/education required to access welfare
Enabling a more equitable society. Community about everyone being cared for and connected with the opportunity for safe and adequate shelter. 
Access to education. University access for all.  Equal resources for education across the broad range of available education
Grannies nominated by local community  -  their names put into a hat then pulled randomly. They are in charge of politics and the government implements the policies developed for the country by the grannies. 
Gender equality.  Gender paygaps.   Casual sessional employment, no set hours to work to accrue  holiday pay, underemployment.   I think it’s wrong that people need three jobs to make a living.  Highlighted in covid.”
Aged care – Royal Commission highlighted this should be a place where people can live a dignified life – it’s profit and mega businesses. Everyone fears going to a retirement home”
Refugees.  Covid 19- in general, and how to re-open, our electorate has a lot of tourism, how they‘re approaching that, support for the community.  
Environment – climate change.
Rentals in Warrnambool – more affordable, people wanting to move here.
DHHS -Social housing, emergency accommodation.
Access to mental health services.
No sustainability plan.  Financial incentives.  Need to strengthen integrity in the media – the uninformed don’t want to be educated, they just read what’s on their feed, a massive group on twitter feed.
Affordable housing, negative gearing. 
 I used to love independent informed magazines.
Federal leadership has been missing on all topics.
Spending too much on defence and more on international aid. That would prevent some of the issues we have. $90 billion on foreign aid would be as big as impact as $90 billion on submarines.
Climate change. We need to get in step with the rest of the world
Invest more in alternate power sources eg hydrogen. And renewable energy projects
More money on international foreign aid and support
Address increasing social inequality. It’s becoming structural. Very bad for people themselves and bad for our society. We need to look closer at any legislation and question what is the social impact? Some countries in the world do this very well and it makes people happier and healthier.
I am worried about how we are going to get out of this pandemic, how are businesses are going to survive and pay for everyone. How are our children are going to have jobs and pay for their own home. I’m concerned about the impact of the pandemic and lockdowns on mental health and physical health, businesses and housing.
Appalling that refugees are left in remote places. It’s inhumane and appalling
I’m worried about the amount of rubbish we create. Everything is disposable.
My major concern is climate change and the inadequacy of the Australian Government’s response to it.
More elective care, housing affordability, make more money available for indigenous people’s education and health.
Defence spending really annoys me.
The power of the media is a significant issue and needs to be addressed. Select few control the media and politicians. Conglomerates that own social media are also an issue.
They need to address every issue that is needed at the time
A living basic wage. Everyone in this country should feel as comfortable as everyone else in the room does.
We should be a leader in climate change. We shouldn’t have to dig anything out of the ground or make anything out of plastic.
Globally we should announce we are peaceful people and we don’t need war machines and that money can be directed to more useful things. Like New Zealand.  X 3
We should address homelessness, the sick and underprivileged. Compassion has to be entered into this whole agenda.
We used to be a more caring society. Now we have a rule book but compassion has nothing to do with this. People need to be less selfish in what they do. X 2
Its so tragic the young people who take their lives through fear, It’s very sad. They really need to be able to get some help. Our grandson is depressed. He’s a great sportsman and has everything at his feet. It’s the scaremongering and the sense of hopelessness. It’s really tough for kids at the moment. It’s terrible that suicide sounds like a reasonable option.
The major problem with politics in Australia is that the Government is bowing to big business. They are spending money and know they can borrow money and running the country into debt. The debt level of this nation would mean that we wouldn’t even own our own homes if we were called on the cancel the national debt. We need to get the Country more Independent to get away from the big money controlling our representatives.
The lack of ethics in politicians behaviour
I’m ashamed of the way we are treating people applying for refugee status. I know of the Biloela family. They were doing everything right. They have been ripped out of their community and given a temporary visa.
The roads of this nation are in a terrible state.
Return to manufacturing in Australia so we aren’t as reliant on tourism as we don’t make anything here anymore.
Compassion. The environment is a big issue – We haven’t planned and developed appropriate rules for the State and Country to address the issue of climate and the environment. Thinking is too short term.
The Federal Government needs to look at long term planning. Things like the development of adequate social housing. Perhaps we need more education on politics and how people should vote for the long term and not the immediate. Perhaps longer parliamentary terms.
Integrity and compassion
Our youth needs to be more looked after.
Generally politicians seem to be lying in a way they haven’t been in the past. Lies about how Capitalism is good for us. It feels to me that we need to say “Please be rational.” There is no sense that people will have any impact if they lie. We need to trust our politicians to be honest.
Perhaps require people who are politicians to earn less money.
We need to address the power of lobbyists and disguising of electoral donations. Do our politicians just serve those who give them the money?
I believe in climate change I was born in 1942 and I have seen it. 
Aged care with morals and dignity.  Stop Melbourne-centric politics, news and language, and get rid of the double standard, they think you’re so far away that you live in a different world.  Victoria is not that big in distance.
•	Action on Climate change
•	Media ownerships, formation of federal icac, limit political party donations. More independent media voices.
•	Decentralisation from major cities.
•	Not to be scared about spending money on infrastructure.
•	Stopping funding to private schools.
•	Tax Reform especially with respect to high income earners/corporations paying little or no tax.
•	80% of people who apply to enter Australia as refugees are refugees –But we aren’t letting them into the country. Feeling the need to protect our own turf. Our place and our turf. Don’t take jobs.
•	Have a mentality that we punch down.
•	Too difficult to get the disability support pension. Shouldn’t take 9 months to get payment approved.
•	Clients that fall through the cracks are middle aged men in trouble with an injury. So difficult to get housing. People move from Warrnambool to Penshurst for housing.
•	Affordable housing
•	Climate Change
•	Growing inequality between people in housing dsp. It’s obscene. Punching down and lack of empathy. Awful.
•	Change the way tax income is spent and spend more funds to reduce inequality.
•	Seen Government find money for COVID. 
•	Inequality of money spent on top private schools. Is disgraceful. Contributes to inequality.
•	Our MPS are all privately educated.
•	Local Environmental issues. Like lack of waste water treatment in Warrnambool. Need tertiary treatment in Warrnambool.
•	Access to our natural resources. Magnificent lakes are privately owned – We  can’t have a walking track around Lake Bullen Merri. Have blue green algae.
•	Aboriginal Recognition. Poor response to Voice from the Heart by Malcolm Turnbull. Needs to happen on a Federal Level.
•	Need consideration of independence of Aboriginal people.
•	Address neglect of Recognition Garden in Camperdown.
•	Need more financial support of universities including Deakin University.
•	Environment Minister rather than saving our Reef is furious that our actual reef is dying.
•	Federal Politicians can learn from the Victorian Labor politicians at the COVID press conferences about answering questions openly fairly and honestly.
•	Human rights. We need a bill of rights.
•	Climate change.
•	Immigration policy.
•	Address land clearing and habitat loss. Incentives for tree planting.
•	Climate change is the big one.
•	A federal anti corruption body.
•	Immigration law.
•	Need to address the way universities are funded.
•	Genuine action on climate change. Seize the opportunity.
•	Addressing inequality. The “haves” are increasingly getting more than the “have nots”.
•	Economic rationalist approach does not work in the caring professions such as health and education. Need to change the way they think about their community as a whole to address this.
•	Bring down the patriarchy.
•	I think we should end indefinite mandatory detention, and end temporary protection visas for people that qualify for protection. 
•	Stop live animal exports. 
•	Animals are sentient beings and should be treated with respect.
•	Governments often see regulation as an expense, rather than a way to get good standards. We need good government regulators to uphold standards. Should not be gutting the public service. This is all an indication of the decline of respect in the public service by the political class.
•	Action on the recommendations from the royal commission into aged care. Need to have similar action in the disability sector.
•	Governments need to follow up more on the recommendations from findings of experts. They seem to ignore the experts. Why can’t they listen to the experts.
•	Education is a big priority, from early childhood on. Early childhood education is particularly important.
•	I don’t want us to go the way of the US education and health care systems.
•	We need to value the caring professions – teachers, nurses etc.
•	Young people at 14 - 15 years of age who are disengaged with schooling need to have more support to do hands on learning have a wider range of options provided for them. There should be more opportunity to re-enter the formal education system at a later point.
•	Reduce funding to private schools.
•	More support for veterans, and more support for drug and alcohol re-habilitation. There is no residential re-hab support in Wannon.
•	Similar support needs to be in place for people with poor mental health.

•	Environment – instead of using big fertilisers, plantations, using other farming methods – organic, regenerative
•	Unless we recognise you can’t escape the climate, (go to Mars like the rich are planning to do), we should be focusing on this – extinction rebellion – should I plant a rose or more grass here??
•	More integrity in government as it feels both parties are corrupted by processes.  Worse is by consensus.  Evidence says we are going to wipe out humans on earth due to CC.  (WE need) some reality in the situation, gently and accurately.
•	Change schools – participate at level of enthusiasm.  More people should stand up for individual dignity.  Treat everyone with dignity and respect.  Malcolm F said “I will look after you and you will be ok”. Patronisation – men look after women who look after children; Patriarchy reigned, which is 
•	Basic living wage
•	New people to the region – housing, low level of unemployment but lots of jobs – but not enough housing so people can’t move here!
•	Progress – how to balance the environment, planning, education, infrastructure, public transport, road funding
•	wASP culture is catching up & Wannon may be left behind compared to other regions.  Why? Because we are conservative & not as culturally diverse…..
•	Greater care of people outside their own bubble of self-interest
•	People don’t act or turn up to have their say
•	 Great barrier reef, forest, mangrove swamps, Kakadu are being lost to gas and coal industry
•	If we lose our environment future generations will miss out
•	Fire management – reduce permanent loss of environments and species
•	Climate catastrophe management – look at wind and solar generation and reduce coal and gas, offshore drilling fracking
•	Indigenous peoples have a treaty
•	Indigenous communities in gaol
•	Truth telling and impact on first Australians, apologies i.e. reconciliation
•	Climate change
•	Nature conservation
•	Human to have less impact on the natural world
•	Greater empathy for developing nations from richer nations
•	Greater funding for aged care, reduce private education and improve government schools, more money for universities
•	Greater respect for expertise and academia
•	Encourage people “thinking”
•	Ameliorate climate impacts, plan for the future of our natural world
•	Less attention to Economics and jobs
•	Better management of asylum seekers, different system as we are responsible for the damage that’s been done
•	Australia needs to better manage its scarce resource of water, better manage our rivers and include indigenous knowledge to management of water
•	Incorporate indigenous voice into constitution rather than as an addition
•	Do something about the recommendations from Royal commissions especially in relation to indigenous peoples and management
•	Cohesive plan on climate change and reducing emissions
•	We need to improve our planning schemes – don’t want to have subdivision for housing on prime agricultural land
•	Focus on hydrogen energy – great opportunity to produce green hydrogen locally and use it to support local industries.
•	Need more support to ensure people with a disability can live independently and have meaningful work
•	Don’t want disabled people to end up in a retirement home – there are no local facilities for this
•	Our health system is not very transparent – how bulk billing, generic drugs, gap payments. Need more transparency in the Medicare system. Some of the issues are because the health system is not funded appropriately. People should not be paying significant out of pocket expenses, even if they have private health insurance. 
•	Politicians need to think outside the short term 3-4 year election cycles. Need to think long term and support nation building infrastructure
•	Franking credits and negative gearing need to be abolished
•	Short termism is a real problem
•	Baby boomer have a lot of wealth due to capital gains etc, younger generation is really struggling
•	Hate the idea of constant tax cuts
•	Happy for people who are reasonably well off to pay more tax
•	Education needs of communities to be addressed
•	Look at incentives and requirements of teachers, medical staff etc. to encourage them to stay in the communities
•	Utilising technology to improve education and create opportunities, share skills and knowledge.
•	Roads management
•	Better management of Covid rollout and vaccination system
•	Limit our population growth nationally and globally because a viable earth can only support 4 billion people.
•	Manage our end-of-life choices
•	Better focus on the care of older people
•	Address the black spot areas in relation to mobile and emergency services provision
•	Refugees/Asylum seekers
•	Inaction on climate change
•	Australian exceptionalism – playing part in local stuff that is not exceptional!
•	Australia a more proactive presence in the region and being a global leader
•	Australia Day- date changed
•	First Nations – we are in privileged position from colonialism, but not being a global citizen
•	Australia to be a proper citizen of the world
•	Government is white, pale and stale.  Need a government who moves us forward.
•	Family from Biloela – so much money to keep them locked up
•	Q& A is on Thursdays!!!!
•	COVID was an opportunity as a circuit breaker to be a global leader.
•	Dan does a good job with trade, and this area is heavily connected with trade. The government is slowly moving in the right direction on climate change.
•	I am pretty concerned about the way democracy is going in this country and around the world
•	Political landscape is not great – it would be great if we got a more democratic response from Canberra which respected the communities and what they want
•	We need action on climate change, gender equity and a Federal ICAC.
•	I too am interested in climate change, equality (in a broad sense, not just for women) including refugees and indigenous people. We live in an area with a lot of diverse farming – it strikes me that one thing they should be doing in Canberra is providing farmers with practical things they can do to address climate change. It shouldn’t be either / or. There should be more focus from Canberra on getting solutions to climate change into the economy. 
•	Improving educational opportunities – this will bring more people back to regional areas. 
•	Better educational institutions will help us to get better diversity of people in regional areas.
•	Climate change is the key one.
•	Politicians should have psychological tests to determine their ethics – are they in it for the right reasons.
•	Climate change is number one
•	Our politicians need to address the shortage of mental health support – this has only been exacerbated during COVID. 
•	I would like them to address the mixed messages we get from the different level of politics, Federal vs State.
•	They need to build on the positives of the pandemic, build on the ability of kids to learn remotely. It allows for more time between parents and kids.
•	Need to rebuild re: jobs and mental health issues after the pandemic.
•	Action to support refugees – this is an important issue.
•	We have an immediate opportunity around immigration – farmers and hospitality need workers and this could be addressed by resolving the immigration problem.
•	Micro grids for power – these have been trialled in Western Australia to good success. A similar thing could be trialled in relevant communities in Wannon.

-	Respect for women
-	More long term research in to strategic planning 
eg: shopping malls on the edge of towns – is this a good idea
lots of residential development in former farmland but the infrastructure and public spaces have not kept pace, planning seems to be ad hoc
-	Women’s voices
-	Climate change
-	Poverty
-	Not happy with how either side of politics has handled the immigration issue – need to stop holding asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely
-	Financial support for university students
-	Affordable housing, and cost of living in general. Need to have affordable rental properties
-	Access to university education for kids from regional areas – more scholarships for regional kids
-	Infrastructure for regional areas needs to be distributed equally, not just in marginal seats. No pork barrelling. Need better facilities – are we missing out because we are a safe seat?
-	We have glossy environmental statements, but they don’t take account of farming land use – there is not enough support for farmers to plant trees / create wildlife corridors
-	Environment does not seem to be a priority. Policy makers don’t understand farming and how they need support to make improvements. Some farmers have gone in to regenerative farming and it has been a win win but they need support to do this (eg grants, advice).
-	Need to have a local agricultural college – re-open Glenormiston college
-	climate change, positive change rather than spin
-	15yo girls Its all about tax cuts rather than making things better.  The only system that has power is government
-	Accessibility to the city for regional regions, to improve people’s ability to take advantage of bigger centres,  need decentralization of services and jobs
-	Health services 
-	Roads
-	Affordable housing, $25000 stimulus just bumped up house prices
-	Need to open up more land for housing so more people can afford housing
-	Houses in Warrnambool are lasting a week on the market and are worth 100k more than a year ago
-	Education- it has been very evident in the last five years at Jamieson st that the demographic has changed, younger families, more disadvantaged families, 
-	Need more support for single elderly women.
-	·         Good economic management of our country and area. You can see political manipulation of the electorate by politicians saying some decisions will threaten our standard of living.
-	·         We need more educational opportunities for the farming community on issues such as land management, climate change and modern farming methods.  Sessions should happen at the farmhouse or on larger sessions in local farm houses.
-	Higher emphasis on funding of higher education and research and development. Address dumbing down of Australia, brain drain. Education is too vocationally based.
-	Stop sale of Australian land, water and businesses.
-	We haven’t worked out the true drivers of our economy. We need to own these and keep these resilient.
-	Need to dramatically improve our response to climate change. We are so retarded due to our large deposits of gas and iron ore. Need to place more emphasis on renewables.
-	Need to improve refugee management.
-	Support our ABC and independent media.
-	Prevent our large corporations being ahead of our government on environmental issues.
-	Significant constitutional change for First Nations people. Incorporate indigenous people and their culture in the Australian Constitution.
-	Policies to address environmental issues.
-	Ensure our microeconomic position is sturdy and resilient so we can more fully participate macro-economically.
-	Innovation.
-	Hold large data companies accountable for their use of algorithms that lead to the manipulation of people and organisations.
-	Aged care
-	Town planning.
-	Address anxiety and depression rates and the impact of technology on mental health.
-	Address the long term impact of artificial intelligence on employment and mental health.
-	More emphasis on the long term impact of technology on human mental health.
-	Need to positively engage in our neighbouring countries.
-	Need to include Aborigines/ First National people in the Australian Constitution.
-	Need to act on our Royal Commission on Deaths in Custody.
-	Reduce the brain drain from Australia. Ensure our inventors and developers are able to further their developments here.
-	Equity and inclusion.
-	Need to stop wrecking nature, stop logging old growth forest, stopping clear felling, protect our ocean environments and marine species. Protect whale nurseries.
-	Recognise that science is science and it is difference to opinions.
-	Preventive health.
-	Reduce levels of government,
-	More support for voluntary assisted dying.
-	Care for the environment
-	Carbon sequestration / climate change
-	Refugees – not locking them up in detention x 7
-	Meaningful action on climate change x 2
-	Effective action on climate change x 7
-	Support for the ABC and SBS as the national broadcaster
-	Funding for universities and research
-	A national living wage
-	No forced sale of land for mining
-	Support for a First Nations treaty
-	Aged care
-	Respect for women
-	More de-centralised government. More say for local government
-	More social housing x 2
-	Overhaul of the tax system that results in people paying tax appropriate to their income and prevents offshore accounts / closes loopholes 
-	Reform of the superannuation scheme to support women having money paid into the scheme when they are having children so they don’t experience poverty in their old age.
-	Prevent big business from avoiding/minimising tax – a fairer system
-	Fairer system for processing refugees
-	Support and investment in the new “green” industries such as hydrogen from renewables then metal extraction etc
-	No sale of Australian water to overseas investors
-	Climate change
-	International aid
-	Biodiversity loss
-	Major roads
-	Refugees
-	Climate change
-	Diversifying trade
-	Climate change
-	Agriculture regenerative farming methods and reduction of the use of chemicals and GM crops
-	Commercial fishing practices are very carbon polluting
-	Stop the use of Round Up because it is detrimental to both our agriculture and our bodies
-	The use of poisons for foxes, rabbits affect our indigenous animals
-	Manage our refugee issue better
-	Representation of the good parts of Australia and express appreciation of the benefits of living in Australia
-	Open up towns to take in refugees to help economically and culturally
-	Establish a solar farm that situates itself over irrigation systems to reduce evaporation of waterways
-	NDIS Medicare availability
-	Greater scrutiny of police and their actions
-	Greater police involvement and presence in the community

"Climate Crisis - immediate commitment to Net Zero by 2035 or similar.

More humane and timely response to refugees and asylum seekers (end indefinite detention).  Create more efficient asylum seeker processing facilities."

climate change, land use, habitat loss, wildlife preservation, treatment of livestock

Climate change, zero carbon emissions, refugee acceptance, values of our members, (Craig Kelly for instance).  Transparency in decision making.  Secrecy of decisions.

far more humane/welcoming refugee policies, less administrative/assessment/planning/reporting pressures for teachers, improvements in mental health support system

"1.   Reversal of mandatory offshore detention policy for people seeking asylum.

2.   Push the incumbent government to a commitment to comply fully with the UNHCR convention.

3.  Call for Royal Commission into mandatory immigration detention and operation of the immigration  dept.

4.   Push Government to commit to Zero carbon Emissions ASAP."

Treat refugees humanely instead of putting them on visas allowing them to temporarily stay in this country without work or benefits and no assurance for the future.   Surely the Sri Lankan couple and their daughters being held in Perth deserve to stay in Australia and return to their home in Queensland.    They will be welcomed with open arms and make a genuine contribution to the community.   Why do we have to be so pig-headed just to prove  a political point???????

Local manufacturing, sustainability

Horses should not be allowed to train on beaches, takayna/Tarkine in tassie should be made world heritage listed, reconciliation should be a high priority, we should be moving towards green energy as quickly as possible with no new coal or gas.

Locally- listen to our local Gunditjmara people. Act on climate change

looking out for the marginalised, especially asylum seekers in detention and people without housing and jobs

Cancel culture. Power of Big Tech. Cruel asylum seekers treatment.

refugees & those seeking asylum, climate change, social housing and homelessness, care of the disadvantaged and marginalised in our society

A post-COVID recovery that addresses tax reform as recommended by the Henry Tax Review; a reduction in tax incentives that drive up house prices; improve housing availability and affordability for those on low incomes; commit to net zero carbon emissions by mid-century and implement a credible plan now; cease the cruel and inhumane treatment of refugees; increase funding for education (not private or Catholic) at all age levels; greater funding of universities, the sciences, the arts, the ABC and SBS.

Environment, poverty, compassion for refugees. Old Australian values of caring for our neighbours, whoever that may be

Indigenous reconciliation. Environmental restoration and climate change action.   Addressing social inequality- housing and mental health services access in particular.

"Climate change is the issue of our time and it is so frustrating seeing our political leaders failing to show any leadership

Rescind  'turning back the boats' policy.  increase immigration.  Stop all off shore detention. give temporary visa holders full status.particularly Afghanis. Address climate change seriously. Call out publicly Mp's who spread misinformation

Climate change, refuge crisis, migrant problems, permenent residency for temprorary visa holders

Immediate urgent climate action at every level (household, local, state, national). A non-punitive Centrelink and immediate rise in support payments (as recommended by some of Australia's largest corporate consulting and accountancy firms). Justice and mercy for those who are vulnerable or who live in poverty. Investment in social and affordable housing. An end to negative gearing and tax breaks for the rich. A dramatic uptick in the number of women, LGBTI+ folk, Indigenous folk and people of colour in Parliament and cabinet (why not make it, shock horror, representative). An immediate end to corporate political donations, especially from the fossil fuel and gambling industries.

"Climate change, real and forward thinking targets, support for technologies and jobs in this field that will help e.g. renewable energies, solar batteries,  electric cars. We have so much possibility in this area.

Impoverished countries and overseas aid. Our current aid for developing countries is pitiful and we should be providing much more support to our region with COVID vaccines. We should also be providing more support to our region around climate change.

Refugees and humanitarian responses. Our authoritarian approach in this area is embarrassing and makes me angry.

Recognition of the indigenous population, treaty, change to the constitution, actual action on the suggestions that have come from indigenous forums.

Action on aged care.

Action on disability needs.

Action on women and discrimination / violence against women.

Action on racism

Just action really....

I really just want to see visionary thinking and not reactionary thinking."

Environment issues and climate change. Lack of sevices in Wannon. Waste and corruption at state and federal level (no federal IBAC). Pork barreling such as the spots rorts. Poor ministerial standards. Release assylum seekers and the Beolila family.

"Compassion for people who are disadvantaged both locally, nationally and internationally e.g. first nation peoples, disabled, people of diverse sexualities, refugees, those from  developing countries.

Taking care of our environment, looking at ways to radically increase sustainable practises, and maintain the ecological health of our planet

Seeing the arts as a vital part of our culture and given resources equal to those of sporting groups etc."

Balancing resources and the environment for the greater good.  Taking better care of our disadvantaged.  Caring more about our Pacific neighbours rather than engaging in far off conflicts.

Climate change

Environment, federal ICAC.

climate change, trust in government, taxes and spending managed together to limit public debt

Our environmental impact including flora and fauna also the fishing industry sustainability and impact.

"Doing something about Climate change.. URGENTLY.

Stop the clearing forests

Stop allowing over fishing

Education must be ramped up expidentially for everyone

Support people in need with compassion and money

Stop live animal trade. It is barbaric and inhumane. Export the meat frozen in boxes keeping jobs here.

Supporting recycling and making it work for us and the world.

Making good food cheaper and takeaway expensive.

So many other things.....

Provide strong education and health services, support economic development and entrepreneurialism,  reciprocal trade relations.

Welcome and support for asylum seekers, measures to support inclusive communities.

Climate Change, renewable energy, a reliable safety net, equity in education, ini

robust, bold environmental policy; renewable energy; a greater emphasis on embracing and recognising Indigenous History, ensuring education is equitable and accessible;

"Policies in relation to climate change.

Youth perspectives in relation to a range of policies.

Housing availability and affordability for young people."

Real and effective action on climate change. I've despaired for years about the toxic debate and lack of proper action by government in Australia. The recent carry-on by the National Party adds to this despair. I have no confidence that they actual mean what they say about backing net zero by 2050 - and it's nowhere near enough action anyway.

Global warming, environmental destruction, inequality

More specific action on climate change. Effective action to alleviate poverty in this country. Policies that stop runaway house prices. Fixing the tax system to stop avoidance. More action to reduce family and sexual violence. Transparency on all govt job appointments. Reducing the reliance of government on gambling revenue.

"Environment - climate change, production and management of waste, elimination of thermal coal and gas use

Unequal distribution of wealth - the rich are getting obscenely rich, and the poor are getting poorer

Increase our intake of refugees, and massive simplification of the process - entire elimination of off-shore processing. We should face up to our global responsibilities.

Practice diplomacy rather than prepare for war in the world of trade"

"Affordable housing (social housing), disbanding negative gearing so younger people won't be priced out of the housing market by investors or overseas buyers.

More money put into regional health care (Doctors and hospitals), more money into road infrastructure in small regional areas. Plus putting in more funding for Medicare and less funding for private health insurance.

Increase in welfare payments (we all know that people on welfare can't afford to survive on their current benefit which forces them into a vicious cycle of debt and poverty which is very difficult to escape, plus the extra money they earn will  be spent in the local community and boost the local economy).

Abolishing Cashless Debit Card, it doesn't work, people have ended up homeless and in debt as when they have requested for rent and bills to be paid they haven't happened. Plus the money for setting it up could be put into increasing welfare benefits. The whole program has been a waste of taxpayer's money!

Tax reform for the millionaires, billionaires and large companies so they pay more taxes as currently it's well below what the average person pays.

Legislation reform for lobbyists, they have too much influence and access to politicians to the detriment of the constituents voices."

Climate change seriously, indigenous  Statement of the Heart and Makarata, decent treatment of asylum seekers

Climate change - mitigation and adaptation; local food security, new models of community organisation and social equity and accessibility for our most vulnerable

Climate change. Renewables

Climate change, climate change, climate change.................Immediate action to set and work to a plausible 2030 target of 50 to ideally 75% emission reductions. Refugees - immediately release from detention and short term visas all the people who have been found to be genuine refugees and settle them permanently so they can build their lives.  Increase significantly our refugee intake to deal with current refugees fleeing political violence and war.  Be prepared to welcome climate change refugees.  These people are, in many cases, refugees as a result of Australia's actions eg. invading Iraq and Afghanistan, lack of action on climate change. Environment - local, state and federal laws must be changed to give the environment a much higher status and opportunity for protection and enhancement.  Environmental issues should be number one priority - not dealt with as an afterthought because community members complain about impending or actual damage.  We have several current issues in Wannon where environmental considerations have only been properly looked into well after initial planning has been completed - eg. Western Highway widening, Panmure Quarry. Victorian Volcanic Plains are a major issue - much could be done to encourage planting on roadsides - this would help reduce fire risk (Insurance companies may be interested) while improving biodiversity.  Wetlands are another major issue for Wannon, with many drying up or being drained.  Both the VVP and wetlands are a major feature of Wannon and deserve to be managed for future generations.