#CampaignInsiders

It’s been an amazing couple of months working on Zali Steggall’s election campaign. One week to go and there’s still lots of positivity, enthusiasm and a desire for positive change within the community.  I have been with the campaign since just after Zali launched and I have been most impressed by her honesty, integrity, desire […]

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum… ah, but which forum? That is the question. There have been so many since forum season started in Mildura an eternity ago, or so it seems. Since then there have been forums throughout the length and breadth of the electorate. Last Thursday was Horsham’s turn […]

Seven’s Sunrise program likes to have ‘personalities’ on to dissect the big issues of the day, which can turn out to be little more than: “Did you see that dress she wore?” On Saturday, one of the topics was the leaders’ debate the previous evening. Chris Smith bemoaned the fact that because it was on […]

The Nationals have continued to show their indifference to young voters with newcomer candidate Pat Conaghan failing to appear at a climate forum held at the Coffs Harbour ex-services club last week in the NSW electorate of Cowper. The Nationals candidate was represented by a lump of coal, with organiser Lissa Rusanen stating: “The lump […]

Many people have asked me why as a lifelong, loyal Liberal, I am chairing the campaign of Anthony Pesec, an Independent candidate for the Australian Senate in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The main role of any political party is to preselect top-quality candidates and present them to the public. The ultimate goal must be […]

While I’ve been photographing the campaign of Independent candidate for Warringah Zali Stegall, various media outlets have been trailing the campaign and I’ve captured them during my work. The ABC’s Four Corners is producing a special on the Warringah electorate to air before the election. Margo Kingston of No Fibs was totally oblivious to me […]

There’s no question that for any Independent hoping to dislodge a Nat from a safe seat you have to get some of the rusted-ons to rust off. The theory is a lot easier than the practice. There are a few announcements coming on that front from the @malleeray camp but at this stage I can […]

The most crucial element of a productive landscape is water: rainwater, surface water and ground water. Water has managed to get a lot of column inches over the past few months, with dried up rivers, fish kills, Royal Commissions, mud throwing and buck passing. All good for newspaper sales, but do they assist in the […]

I missed the first forum of the campaign in Mildura but got to Nhill. Let’s talk Nhill, I mentioned it briefly in the piece about Pyramid Hill but it is a truly remarkable community, another that has reversed its fortunes by embracing migrants and the economic opportunities they bring. At Nhill it is the Karen […]

High-profile independent candidate for the NSW electorate of Cowper Rob Oakeshott recently released his commitment to climate change action at the small Macleay village of Gladstone. His two-page document included a promise to vote against any new coal or gas power stations, calling out dirty money used for lobbying and to support policies that prioritise […]

I wrote Get Elected both at the urging of my sister Cathy McGowan, the Member for Indi, as a way of capturing and sharing the Indi experiences, and also to improve the diversity of representation in Australian politics where the vast majority of politicians are ‘older, white men’.  I hope that I can inspire diverse […]

I’ve been to a few election campaign launches over the journey: some slick, some frankly embarrassing, but I’ve never been to one like this. The Independent Voice for Mallee, Ray Kingston, chose the local bowling club at Rupanyup during the Dirt Music festival to make his case to be the next MP for the electorate. […]

I first met Adam Blakester (@AdamBlakester) about 12 years ago in Armidale. We chatted over a cup of coffee and discovered a series of common interests. Renewable energy and sustainability were among them, but they are only the tip of the iceberg. As a regenerative farmer with almost 20 years under my belt in the […]

Back the Beard! Ray Kingston The Independent for Mallee will officially launch his campaign this Sunday, April 7, at 6pm live at the Rupanyup Bowling Club. If you can’t be there it will be live streamed here or you can watch it later at the same link. You’ve heard too much over the years from […]

It was a funny old week during which not a lot happened publicly, apart from preparations continuing behind the scenes for that moment Scomo says go! The big difference was that unlike last week — when it took a 6am start to allow time to drive over to Kerang and Pyramid Hill — this time […]

I live in Canberra, by far the best city in Australia. With the exception of South Australia and the Northern Territory I have lived in every state of Australia, and also New Zealand, so I reckon I ought to know. I was born in Melbourne, grew up on the South Coast of NSW, and moved […]

After a week in the shearing shed Ray Kingston (@MalleeRay) the Independent for Mallee kicked off Saturday in a cafe at Kerang just talking to people who wanted to have a chat about their concerns. Next came the Kerang Markets, which spread along the walkway in a lush park just across the road from the […]

The other weekend — as is my wont — I was reclining on the chaise longue at Chateau Lennon, a flute of Moet in hand, when the butler brought in the freshly-ironed copy of the The Saturday Paper. Its lead article was the tale of Damien Hodgkinson, the campaigner behind Phelps, Banks and Steggall. I […]

The B1 bus from the Northern Beaches is packed with kids all chatting excitedly. I’m heading to the Climate Strike in Sydney’s CBD with Alice Thompson (@Indy_Ally), who’s running as an Independent in Mackellar. We’re both wearing her bright yellow campaign T-shirt. Next to me is a bloke with grey hair, dark suit, headphones on, […]

The Ballet of the Shearing Shed… I went to get these shots, it was my first visit to a shearing shed since I was a teenager and three things struck me: it was hot, it was busy and everyone knew their roles in a comparatively small space, moving with surprising speed and agility to get […]

Democracy is a funny thing. These days few would argue against the concept of one vote, one value. The age of the gerrymander is over, in Australia anyway. But in order to keep things straight the Australian Electoral Commission periodically reviews the boundaries of seats that get outside the margins. All well and good: democracy, […]

Before the why let’s have a look at the how. At the end of last year I was happily cruising to the end of my time at the ABC when the Andrew Broad scandal erupted. Our local MP in sex scandal. Well I never… and neither did anyone else! It just so happened that on […]

This post kicks off regular #malleevotes blogs between now and the federal election. The seat of Mallee is a huge 81,962 square kilometres, or put another way if you jump in a car in Mildura at one end of the electorate and drive to Maryborough at the other, you won’t have much change out of […]