Rachel Siewert’s June Update

By Senator Rachel Siewert

None of us were anticipating the election result and it was an evening of mixed emotions at our election after party more than a month ago now.

While we are all coming to terms with another term of a punitive conservative Government with no agenda we can certainly celebrate the wonderful work of our team and volunteers and the movement we created here in WA and across the country.

It was so amazing to be part of a team working to get Jordon re-elected, with our candidates and their teams working hard from Albany all the way up to Broome.

It was exciting to know on the night that we had most likely held our WA senator seat and avoided the nail biting wait we often have to go through waiting for the senate vote to be counted. 

We can also celebrate the fact that we returned all of our senators across the country and increased our vote which is no mean feat.

I have managed to have a small break after the election and am ready to go back to Parliament. It’s so important that we take stock and celebrate our wins and be proud of what we achieve before we move onto our next challenges. And our challenges are great.

Last week I went to the Progress conference in Melbourne. Progress is a conference that brings together those working in the progressive movement and not-for- profit sector to present keynote speeches and hold workshops. It was good to see a careful consultation with First Nations peoples. We heard from many First Nations persons from around the country that at the heart of the progressive project or movement there has to be justice for First Nations peoples. That is something The Greens have been and continue to be strongly committed to.

It’s clear that we need Greens in Parliament now more than ever. And we will continue to build our movement between elections and grow what we have worked so hard to achieve in WA.

Header photo: Campaigning with Scott Ludlam, Nerilee Boshammer, our Candidate for Forrest, and a supporter. _{Grace Turco}

Text photo: Wanting to raise the rate of Newstart by $75 a week. _{Grace Turco}