The Era of the Independent
The tables are turning on the big parties with another by-election victory for an Independent
Australians are increasingly seeing the benefits of having an Independent sitting in parliament who can truly represent their interests with Independent Dr. Kerryn Phelps set to win an historic election in Wentworth.
In the former safe-Liberal seat, the current results show Dr. Phelps with 50.6 per cent of the two-candidate preferred result. The Liberal Party lost their previous margin of 17.7 per cent, and thus this election has been the biggest swing against an Australian government in the nation’s history. This result is a direct message to the major parties to focus on electorates rather than ambitious internal power plays.
Dr. Phelps will soon hold a crucial position in a hung parliament with the Coalition Government having lost its one-seat majority. As an Independent, Dr. Phelps will be able to focus on advocating for the needs of her electorate and truly represent the issues that matter to the people, rather than representing the interests of a party. This is the power of an Independent.
The victory for Dr. Phelps comes after a campaign that centred upon the views that are reflected amongst many today: that Australians will no longer stand by and support the major parties while in-fighting and factionalism erodes stability and progress. In her victory speech, Dr. Phelps stated, “What we have done is tapped into a sentiment in the Australian people to talk about the issues that are important to them, not the issues about survival for a particular political party.”
The success of Independents is not just occurring in the federal sphere, evident in the recent state by-election in Wagga Wagga that saw Independent Dr. Joe McGirr win a seat with a 60-year history of Liberal election victories.
Independent candidate Mathew Dickerson is contesting the seat of Dubbo in the state election on 23 March 2019. Mr. Dickerson has travelled over 16,000km in the electorate since his 22 May announcement and in talking directly with over one thousand people so far, he has identified similar sentiments to those expressed by Dr. Phelps.
“I made the decision to stand as an Independent to allow me to focus 100 per cent of my energy on advocating for the needs of this electorate. I believe this electorate is too important to compromise the needs of the residents with the complications of putting a party before the people,” said Mr. Dickerson.
“We see constant reminders of party politics controlling outcomes at both Federal and State levels. In the recent debacle in the Senate, all Senators from one party voted for a motion with white supremacist language which, if they knew what they were doing, was appalling. The motion was recommitted to allow that entire party to reverse their vote which tends to suggest the individual members had no idea what they were voting for, which is also appalling. Many members of the public have asked me what this says for senators from a party that mindlessly vote for anything they are told to back, however inappropriate,” concluded Mr. Dickerson.
About Mathew:
On 22 May 2018, Mathew announced he would be standing as an Independent for the State electorate of Dubbo at the election on 23 March 2019. Mathew is a self-made businessman who served twelve years on Dubbo City Council including five years as Mayor. He is a fourth generation local married to a fifth generation local and, with his wife Katrina, they have raised their four children locally. Mathew is a true Independent listening to the electorate and giving people a voice.
Call MATHEW on 0418 628 439 or e-mail on mathewdickerson@dubbo.com or use social media