Alex Dyson, with the backing of billionaire Simon Holmes à Court's Climate 200 group, listened to the polls.
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He ran an effective campaign on the key issues, climate change, the environment and the need for a federal anti-corruption commission. He presented as a strong alternative. His timing was also right.
Voters are tired of major parties bickering internally and ignoring medium and long-term visions.
Mr Dyson did a lot more than your editorial acknowledges.
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First, it is important to note that having run in Wannon in 2019, Alex was aware of issues of concern to both himself and to Wannon voters.
Second, his campaign was informed and endorsed by the Voices of Wannon who had worked throughout 2021, holding Kitchen Table Conversations across Wannon using Zoom during COVID, seeking the views of many Wannon voters, including those new to Wannon in the east, about their priorities.
Further, it was not 'the backing of Climate 200' that motivated and funded the campaign.
READ MORE: ALEX DYSON CONCEDES WANNON ELECTION
Alex very largely funded the campaign himself, aided by many small donations from VoW volunteers who became active in his campaign, and other locals.
Yes some funding was received from Climate 200, but that only became available once its board had determined that Alex actually had considerable community support.
It is important for all of us in Wannon to see that this campaign grew from Alex's own views and energy, and from genuine and real impatience on behalf of the community with the lethargy, inaction and lack of community funding provided by our current 'representative'.
Dr Deb Campbell, Deans Marsh
Appointment puzzling
Peter Dutton, leader of the Liberal Party? Obviously the party didn't join the dots after the recent election.
Mr Dutton's trail of racist comments and examples of disgraceful behaviour are littered throughout his career.
Here are but a few examples:
- Tony Abbott had just returned from climate change talks with Pacific Island leaders. Following that meeting Mr Abbott, Mr Dutton and Mr Morrison were conversing at a meeting in Canberra. Realising the meeting was running late, Mr Dutton joked that it was running on 'Cape York time'. He followed it up with, 'Time doesn't mean anything when you have water lapping at your door'
- Melburnians are too scared to go out to restaurants because of African gangs
- Bring white South African farmers to Australia because they're being persecuted
- Malcolm Fraser bringing Lebanese Muslims to Australia in the 1970s is part of the reason for Australians joining ISIS
- His refusal to allow asylum seekers access to medical care on the mainland
- Deliberately walking out on the apology to the stolen generation in Parliament.
- In response to the Greens' idea to boost the refugee intake by 50,000 he said, 'they won't be numerate or literate in their own language, let alone English. They would be taking Australian jobs and would languish in the unemployment and Medicare queues!'
- When asked what would be his main focus if the coalition is voted in at the next federal election, he chose, 'cleaning up the mess Labor leaves'.
Another man of vision and compassion!
Gavin Arnott, Allansford
It's a political game
I understand Dan Tehan's swipe at the lack of funding from the state government is probably well-deserved and is part of his "Rah Rah - Go our Team" leading into the coming state election.
But having seen the billions of pork-barrelling dollars funneled unashamedly into Corangamite over the past three federal elections (at the cost of many much-needed projects elsewhere), we need to accept it's only Dan playing politics by ignoring his own shortcomings in his ability to obtain a fair share of federal funding of the past.
Gary Sayer, Warrnambool
Time for a re-think
It is time for a new vision? Let's get behind a re-invigorated residential rehab committee as they step out and think big.
Repeated denial of funding is a harsh message.
Let's face up to it and abandon the Dennington project and catch the attention of funding sources with a state-of-the-art project in a spacious, sheltered, safe environment where participants can get meaningfully engaged.
Murray Kingsley, Dennington
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