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97% of Tasmanians do not feel well represented Voices of Tasmania (VoT) has published the Survey Analysis report from 756 respondents to the Have Your Say survey. The most striking result is that just 2.8% felt they were well represented by their elected politicians. Just over a quarter (26%) felt “somewhat” represented. The “Voices of Tasmanians” report can be found here: https://voicesoftasmania.org/survey-report/ It is publicly available and will be sent to all candidates. “This is a shocking result. So many Tasmanians feel un-represented by the way the way party politics operates.” said Voices of Tasmania convenor [...]

Two proven ways to regenerate 'the voice of the people' By Stephen Williams Central to the Voices movement is the belief that voters should have more say in how we are governed compared with the present. This is usually called ‘participatory democracy’ or ‘direct democracy’. Voting at elections, depending on the precise rules, is often compromised because wealth and power can give some candidates and parties an unfair advantage. Then, post-election, the common experience of being sidelined by our elected representatives and their political parties is hardly ideal. Creating petitions is good in theory but is [...]

Voices groups are often challenged with questions like: “Aren’t you just a political party by another name?” and “Teals aren’t real independents, they’re either Liberals or Greens in disguise.” As a Voices group, we are not a party, nor will we run candidates. The name “Teals” is a tag-name coined by the mass media (mostly Murdoch press) and often used in a negative way to belittle this major political movement. Some people think of "Teals" positively. But it underestimates the powerful differences these Community Independents are championing. So let’s unpack what a Voices group is about, [...]

We want 5000 Tasmanian viewpoints. Yours. Why? Because democracy is a verb; it’s a doing word. And we’re asking YOU to do something. We are asking and offering Tasmanians to have a real say in how this state grows and develops. What do you most want and not want? What needs to change and be changed by our government? By adding your voice, and actively engaging like-minded others to do the same, your participation in the democratic process can bring about massive change. It happened in Victoria last year when Kooyong residents replaced Liberal Treasurer Josh [...]

The next Tasmanian state election is going to be BIG. Big for Community Independents with the game-changing wave across mainland Australia at the last Federal election. Big for Tasmanian politics because there are suddenly 10 vacant seats – that means there are no incumbents defending them! There will be 10 fresh faces in the next Tasmanian parliament – who do you want there? What calibre of leader do you want to step forward and engage with the real and pressing priorities Tasmanians are facing? THIS is your chance to get active and help put high quality [...]