Independents are people focused

by Pnina Hagege

“For an Independent, it is not a game of party politics. Independents are people focused.”

For my whole life, the area I live in has been occupied by a Liberal candidate and so, when I turned eighteen, I thought that like my parents, friends and teachers, I would vote Liberal as well. It was a given. After all, our electorate had only two main choices; Liberals, who were economically conservative and supported the Jewish connection to Israel, or Labour, who prioritised progressive social values and public policies such as Medicare. I was torn between my pragmatic, religious and moral concerns. There was no sensible in-between. That is, until an Independent representative came into the picture. Dr Kerryn Phelps, our first elected Independent in Wentworth, flipped the political game on its head. She is the only Jewish, Female candidate for this upcoming election and since she was elected in November 2018 as a member of parliament, people of myriad demographics have been reaping the benefits.

As a student, my priorities include nurturing the state of our natural environment, maintaining economic stability, and ensuring safety from discrimination in spite of religion/race. Thankfully, Kerryn Phelps caters for each of these concerns and beyond, and more importantly she is making these changes possible. As an Independent she does not have to endure the relentless process of receiving approval from her political party in order to make such changes. An Independent’s policies can evolve naturally to reflect the mosaic of wants and concerns of Australians. Indeed, real change can occur without being handcuffed by one’s political party, as we saw with Malcom Turnbull and the Liberal party last year in relation to climate change. She has nobody to answer to except the Australian people and specifically, those from the Wentworth electorate. But she also has the power and support of the cross benchers of other Independents who share her concerns. Kerryn has taken advantage of all of the flexibilities that an Independent representative has. In a mere 6 months, she has spearheaded the campaign to take all of the children off Nauru detention centre, she has advocated strongly for action on climate change and has become a nationally recognised symbol for a strong, sensible economy.

For an Independent, it is not a game of party politics - Independents are people focused. Like many Independents, Kerryn insists on protecting minorities. Whether you are Jewish, a woman or a refugee, many of Kerryn Phelps policies focus on keeping groups at risk safe. Just recently, in response to the anti-semitic graffiti plastered on the Bondi promenade two times within two months, Dr Phelps acted quickly to ensure the Jewish community was safe. She achieved a $2.2 million funding bump by the Federal government to ensure greater safety for the Jewish community and other ‘at risk’ groups. Kerryn Phelps’ policies are inclusive and she has stated that ‘all Australians should be free to practice their religion, provided that does not impinge on the rights or freedom of others’, as seen on J-Wire.

As a doctor who ran her own business she is economically astute. Her powerful sense of social justice and practical mind has worked in tandem to provide voters like myself with a real choice - the essence of democracy. There is no longer a dilemma of compromise between one value or another. Kerryn Phelps has brought possibility for real, positive change both locally and nationally, and I feel empowered to be able to honour my feelings towards my religion, social values and economic concerns in equal measure.