So, you might ask me these questions: Who I am and Why do I do it? What will be achieved? How will it be achieved? You could have many more questions but lets look at the basics.
I am committed to PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY which is a process of making everyone feel part of the community in which they live. In being part of that community we can all play our role in making this community across the whole of the PILBARA better and this is a fundamental difference to simply being represented by someone. I was lucky enough to be awarded a Research Fellowship to study Participatory Democracy in 1992 and have been an advocate ever since.
I run these campaigns because I don't think the PARTIES consult widely and encourage input from all sectors. They prefer to push THEIR own ideological agenda that is traditionally CONSERVATIVE and based on an INDIVIDUALIST philosophy or SOCIALIST and based on a COLLECTIVIST philosophy. Some newer PARTIES might have a slightly different agenda - like Greens but they have tended to be hijacked by a WELFARIST section of the community. I do actually believe the original GREEN PARTY had a serious and appropriate ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA especially in GERMANY where they began and obviously there are some great GREEN advocates in this country.
More importantly, I run these campaigns because they are always successful in different ways. Firstly, they influence PARTIES to try to re-connect with a community agenda and they then learn there are some serious needs that haven't been considered properly in their plans. Secondly, the PARTY that wins, usually needs some good ideas and immediately looks at what they can adopt as if it was part of their platform thereby laying the foundation for winning back voters who might have deserted them. Thirdly, it is just great fun meeting people as a candidate and seeing the look of shock that someone is giving it a go and trying to shake things up. And as if that isn't enough, just seeing a few votes come my way after a few weeks of campaigning, writing a platform after talking to lots of people, reviewing the practicalities of their ideas for the PILBARA and then putting it in the public realm to see if it makes sense and gets support through votes.
My campaign is 3 weeks and almost $3,000 of my own money - and all well worth it whereas the major PARTIES spend about $100,000 each and they tend to run candidates who have had public profiles for several years plus those who come out of private lives to suddenly behave as if they wish to be PUBLIC FIGURES serving the whole community (for as long as BIG MONEY PAYS most of the $100,000 for the campaign). I have run with candidates who have spent $200,000 of their own money and some have lost and some have won, most notably I supported Cr. JOHN SO in becoming the first Chinese Lord Mayor for the CITY of MELBOURNE much to the surprise of many people living in MELBOURNE, yet he was so good that within about 2 years of being elected LORD MAYOR he was awarded WORLD'S MOST POPULAR LORD MAYOR.
I therefore do it because it makes a difference - and in SO many ways - excuse the pun. My federal campaigns for the SEAT of MELBOURNE gained similar outcomes in both campaigns and was the best result for a MINOR PARTY in VICTORIA both times. Another minor party took the lead we had shown, targeted the seat and tipped out a MAJOR PARTY CANDIDATE to turn MELBOURNE into a GREENS SEAT. No Doubt it will return to LABOR sometime in the future but only after they re-connect to the electorate properly and focus on what is needed by the COMMUNITY. This time round I hope to help dislodge a FIFO NATIONAL who I felt had lost the plot and thought he could ride into the electorate on a WAGON full of ROYALTIES even though the policy has clearly been adopted by both MAJOR PARTIES.
My tip is his CAMPAIGN will be a dismal failure for so many reasons and not just because he failed to become a local but also because he must have thought the electorate was less than aware of the poor manner in which much of the ROYALTIES have been spent. This was the biggest mistake because I and many others know there has been monies wasted whilst the DEFECTING LABOR AND NEW NATIONALS MEMBER held the seat.
The perfect result for a small campaign run in a few weeks with a few dollars from an INDEPENDENT is to receive enough votes to be the difference between the WINNER and the LOSER plus 1. After that the PARTIES realise there is GROUP of VOTERS who are less than happy with their performance and that negotiating preferences according to agreeing to support and then implement some planks in the platform would have been smarter than ignoring the INDEPENDENT. They may well point the blow torch at that same INDEPENDENT in a subsequent election but they will treat that candidate with more respect next time round, especially if their COMMUNITY-BASED PLATFORM reflects and responds to the needs that exist in that COMMUNITY.
THE INDEPENDENT CAMPAIGN WILL ALSO ACHIEVE PRACTICAL RESULTS as the PARTY WINNER will ensure that some of the planks in the INDEPENDENT platform are actually resourced to prove they are listening and learning from the community. If they don't, then the INDEPENDENT could gain more votes next time but if they do implement some of the platform then the OXYGEN - as ideas - needed by the INDEPENDENT becomes scarce and they are suffocated out of existence unless they come up with a whole new platform at launch another MAKKA-TTACK.
MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT FOR MORE BY VOTING INDEPENDENT for PILBARA >>> McKENNA No. 1 at the bottom of the Ballot Paper and then 2,3,4,5 and 6 at the top of the Ballot Paper
in other words VOTE "REVERSE DONKEY" this time because it's MORE FUN and MEANS SOMETHING TOO because more will be done to implement the COMMUNITY-BASED INDEPENDENT PLATFORM BY THE WINNER.
MIRACLES DON'T USUALLY HAPPEN IN POLITICS BUT IF I DID WIN THEN I BELIEVE THAT WOULD BE THE BEST RESULT FOR THE PILBARA BY FAR ... Unfortunately the Parties have too much money and had too much of a head start ...
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