2022-11-25
There’s so much work to be done, but we’re starting to pick up momentum and my team and I are excited about the change we can make in the year to come!
By Elizabeth Watson-Brown
I couldn’t start an annual report without acknowledging the incredible work of everyone on the election campaign. Our campaign for Ryan had close to 15,000 one-on-one conversations, delivered countless flyers and letters, noticeably outnumbered the major parties on yard signs, and was comprehensively the biggest presence at prepoll and at every booth on election day. We won people over with our positive, alternative approach to politics that genuinely listened to people’s concerns and needs.
I’m so proud of all the volunteers and staff on the campaign. While the win was a shock to the media establishment, it was something that was patiently built towards and that many of us (though not necessarily me!) increasingly felt was possible as we got closer to election day. The deep engagement with the community throughout the campaign has meant that we’ve got a head start on the work of the new electorate office!
Nonetheless, getting a new electorate office set up and learning the ropes of parliament is an enormous task. Nearly five months in, I’m starting to feel like we’ve got a good rhythm going, and our new team in the electorate office is doing incredible work already!
The key focus that my team and I have taken for this period has been to extend our community connections and begin to build community campaigns.
One major area that has emerged is the flood resilience and preparedness of the community across Ryan. The electorate was hit hard in the floods earlier this year; so we are developing plans for how our office, working with local community groups, can support disaster relief and recovery in the event of another flood. We are also beginning our work advocating for long-term flood resilience solutions in the Moggill-Bellbowrie areas of the electorate – areas that get isolated during floods, and that are in need of local services and escape infrastructure.
Other work includes advocating for better community infrastructure across the electorate. From fighting for an upgrade to a local BMX bowl for young people in The Gap, to advocating for suburbs to be added to the NBN upgrade rollout plan, to pushing for further investment in community centres in Kenmore and other suburbs – we’re trying to make ourselves as useful as possible to the local community. We’re also beginning work on advocating for major public transport upgrades across the electorate.
On a parliamentary level, while supporting the broader Greens work to push Labor to go further and faster on climate action, and deal with the major cost of living issues of our time (including stopping the stage three tax cuts!), my focus has been on public ownership of our essential transport infrastructure. I am excited that Labor has taken the first steps towards building high-speed rail on Australia’s east coast, but their current framework and funding model will likely lead to significant private ownership being involved.
I have moved an amendment that would ensure the new high-speed rail infrastructure remains entirely in public hands, for the benefit of the community and the environment, not corporate profit. With months of chaos, safety issues, and mistreatment of workers at Qantas, I have also called on the government to consider bringing the airline back into public ownership.
There’s so much work to be done, but we’re starting to pick up momentum and my team and I are excited about the change we can make in the year to come!