Voices of Warringah created after their MP’s refusal to engage, group’s president says

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A group of Tony Abbott’s constituents have formed Voices of Warringah – based on the successful Voices for Indi, the community group that tipped out former Liberal frontbencher Sophie Mirabella.

The Vow president, Louise Hislop, told Guardian Australia the group was created after Abbott’s refusal to engage on issues considered important to constituents, including climate change, plastics pollution, traffic issues, same-sex marriage and mental health services.

“I asked a question at a forum about climate change and he said if you don’t agree with me don’t vote for me,” Hislop said. “He has a record of sticking [to] what he wants to do and not what the electorate wants.”

Voices for Indi was the community group that worked to engage Indi voters to give policy priorities to that electorate’s former member Mirabella. When those priorities were rebuffed, Independent Cathy McGowan beat the Liberal MP in the 2013 election.

Four out of five of the Vow executive are women and Hislop attended a recent Voices for Indi forum on getting elected to parliament, though the two groups are not connected in any way.

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Vow secretary is Kathryn Ridge, who ran as an independent at the 2017 state byelection after the former premier Mike Baird retired. Ridge attracted 22% of the primary vote.

Hislop said that she and a number of Vow members had tried to engage with Abbott on issues at community forums and by correspondence but he did not agree with their policy priorities.

“We speak to people all the time, many of them who have voted Liberal all their lives, and they say they feel very powerless,” Hislop said.

“Young people are shaking their heads, and you can talk to people in Mosman, everyone on the street are all completely outraged, particularly on climate change and energy.

“The fact that Turnbull wanted to do something and it was stopped yet again has made people angry.”

It is common practice for sitting MPs to write to newly enrolled constituents asking them to fill out a survey to state what is important to them. Hislop said Abbott’s survey does not include climate change on a list of concerns.

When 21-year-old Warringah constituent Grace Shepherd recently filled out her survey, she wrote that she was concerned about plastic pollution, particularly in the sea on the northern beaches, and suggested plastic bags should be banned or taxed.

Abbott’s standard return letter thanked her for her survey: “the issues you have raised help me to see what matters most in our local community”. However, Abbott hand-wrote on the bottom of the letter: “I fear that the danger of plastic bags is much exaggerated”.

The Warringah electorate is in Sydney’s north shore, taking in some of Australia’s most expensive real estate. It runs from Neutral Bay and Mosman, north-west to Forestville and east to Curl Curl on the northern beaches.

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It has always been a conservative seat, although Abbott suffered a swing in his primary vote of just over 9% at the 2016 election.

At that election, Abbott faced a large field of challengers, including the Nick Xenophon party (now known as Centre Alliance) candidate and the high-profile independent and television celebrity James Mathison, who won a primary vote of 11%. Abbott currently holds the seat 61-39% on a two-party-preferred basis. Hislop was Mathison’s campaign director.

Abbott has also faced challenges from within the Liberal party after a campaign for environmentally conscious Liberal members to join Abbott’s branches to oppose him. In September, Abbott was re-endorsed by his party, although he faced vocal opposition from at least 30% of grassroots members in his branches.

Hislop said Vow would conduct the same “kitchen table conversation” process undertaken by Voices for Indi, developed by the Victorian Womens Trust, and that the conversations would inform the policy platform and ultimately determine the candidate at the next election.

“We would like to take priorities to Tony Abbott, but I would be surprised if he takes on the issues as important because, for example, he has shown he’s not interested in acting on climate change,” she said.

“This is actually about our community. If people feel they are not being listened to, and it’s my gut feeling that they do, we will find a representative for the kind of people we are.”

Warringah delivered the fourth-highest vote in Australia (75%) in favour of same-sex marriage during the plebiscite that brought about the law change. Hislop said that vote proved that Warringah was a progressive community and Vow’s aim was to connect people on issues that were important.

“It’s important to connect people and do enjoyable things that people want to be part of in a kind and cooperative way, not by attacking other people.”

The ALP Warringah candidate, Dean Harris, said he had been campaigning for two months and predicted there was a mood for change in the seat.

“There is disenchantment with politics generally but there is also, certainly, disquiet over the local member’s role in the latest Liberal leadership spill,” Harris said.

“They are seeking change and better representation. Climate change is a very prominent [issue] causing a great deal of concern over the government not doing enough to ward off potentially catastrophic effects, including the lack of an energy policy moving forward.”

Harris is a data scientist who has lived in Mosman for 12 years. He said the community was socially and environmentally progressive but economically conservative.

“It is this sort of combination that gives 75% support in the vote for marriage equality. “It is an interesting contrast.”