Voices of Warringah has been listening to you! Over the past eight months we have been conducting Kitchen Table Conversations and community forums across Warringah. Through these conversations we heard loud and clear many of the questions you have for our candidates in the upcoming federal election and we have asked them!
After the candidates were officially registered in April we asked all of the Warringah candidates thirty-three "Yes" or "No" questions across ten topics YOU are passionate about. We drew our questions from Warringah residents and the work of peak bodies across Australia. You can see their responses represented in the graphic below, an additional two, longer questions can be viewed below it.
While we asked the candidates to respond to our questions with a simple yes or no answer, many elected to elaborate on their reasoning and approach. Answers where no clear definitive "YES" or "NO" was given, or answers where candidates chose to qualify their response have been coloured RED. For these answers we encourage you to view the candidate's full response and ensure we have represented each candidate fairly. You can download PDF versions of their responses here.
The questions presented here are summaries of the full questions we asked our candidates, if you would like to see the questions in full, including the peak bodies they were drawn from you can do so here.
Not all candidates have responded to our questions, notably the Liberal Party candidate Tony Abbott has failed to respond to our questions as of publication.
We hope that the questions we have asked and the answers our candidates have provided will help you, the people of Warringah, make a more informed decision on who to vote for in the upcoming federal election.
Voices of Warringah deeply cares about the Warringah community, we wanted to know what values our candidates hold in our community. We asked them two additional, longer, questions about community and Warringah you can view below.
Brian Clare (Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party)
What makes for a strong community?
- Pulling together without overt socialist tripe.
What do you value the most about living in Warringah?
- Near the Northern beaches and a number of reasonable service facilities, with Manly hospital closed, the Frenches Forest private hospital is the nearest, thus a requirement for a good public transport from the Manly peninsula etc. Running a tram up the steep Brookvale road would be a problem.
Kristyn Glanville (Greens)
What makes for a strong community?
- A strong community is driven its members being compassionate, kind and looking out for one another. By working together, we can make sure everyone gets access to the essentials to live our best lives and provide a safety net so we can be resilient to challenges we either individually face (like unemployment) or together (such as climate change). Strong communities require an attentive government that listens to the community’s needs and makes sure it’s citizens have what’s needed to live in an active and fair community.
What do you value the most about living in Warringah?
- I’m fortunate enough to live only 10 minutes walk from one of Australia’s best beaches and a similar walk to local bushlands and lagoons. Not everyone gets this opportunity and I instinctively feel the duty to ensure we take good stewardship of our local environment so that we can pass it on to future generations. Warringah is home to many kind and thoughtful people, and I am very inspired by those who work hard and volunteer their time to clean up beaches, and care for the vulnerable members of our community.
Dean Harris (Labor)
What makes for a strong community?
- A strong community is one that is founded on equality, fairness and opportunity – no one is marginalised or left behind, we treat each other with respect, we provide opportunity for everyone to be their best selves and we reward and recognise contribution and achievement.
What do you value the most about living in Warringah?
- Warringah is for me about people and place. I have lived in the electorate for over 12 years and have always found it a particularly friendly, welcoming and harmonious community. It must also be one of the most beautiful electorates in the country. I am very passionate about protecting the native bush, pristine beaches and marine environments for future generations.
Susan Moylan-Coombs (Independent)
What makes for a strong community?
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Strong Communities are communities where its citizens know the “civic story”. There is acceptance and inclusion of the historical narrative of place and future aspirations of its people. It recognises and embraces diversity and promotes equality and equity to build a strong social fabric.
It intentionally has a willingness to be open and has the ability to work together towards common goals. It creates memories together. It allows freedom of expression and promotes fairness. In times of crisis it can pull together as well as express joy in celebrating achievements and milestones.
Communities are only as strong as the individuals and families that are apart of it.
What do you value the most about living in Warringah?
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Warringah, which means “deep water” referring to the water in Middle Harbour, has been my home for over 50 years. What I value most about living here is my connection to country. This is Gai-mariagal land, this is the ancestral homelands of Professor Dennis Foley and his family, who I am proud to call a friend. When I walk country, the beaches, the bush and swim in the ocean and waterways, I know the proper way to be in country and I value that.
Warringah is home for me now, I have raised my children here and I am deeply connected to this place. Warringah is where I now professionally work as a small business owner, I value the acceptance and inclusion of my contribution, giving of my time voluntarily and being of service to the wider community to bring healing to the land and to all people who call Warringah home.
Zali Steggall (Independent)
What makes for a strong community?
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A strong community is healthy, safe and connected. A place where we value and respect each other; care for each other, support each other and celebrate our diversity. A strong community is where all people are recognised, listened to and those in need are supported.
To be healthy we must value our physical and mental health and treat them as equal. This is why I've called for more holistic health practices and more community programs in schools to promote mental strength and wellbeing.
Loneliness is a growing problem and while we're more connected through devices, we risk losing person to person connections. Our sports groups in Warringah help this enormously and all those who volunteer and participate in local sports should be commended for making our community stronger.
What do you value the most about living in Warringah?
- We live in a very special part of the world. I feel so lucky to be able to raise my children in Warringah. What I value is our environment - our bush and beaches - and I want to preserve them for future generations. I also value our people, our heritage and unique local communities.
Voices of Warringah knows that across the electorate there are a large number of voices passionate about politics. We structured our questions so to cover the broadest range of issues as in depth as possible, but inevitably we have missed many.
If you have more questions, please get involved! Email or call your candidates, go see them at candidate forums and townhalls, and of course join us at Voices of Warringah!
Thank you to those candidates that responded to our questions, your willingness hear and respond to the voices of the Warringah people is a testament to the value that this campaign has had for improving politics in Warringah. Good luck to all the candidates and voters come 18 May, let our voices be heard!