The Local Network IS:
A vehicle to get respected community leaders elected to parliaments.
Committed to action on reconciliation, climate action & corruption.
Solutions bases and unifying rather than adversarial and divisive.
A coalition of independents - who won't be told how to vote.
Committed to basing its policies & decisions on the best available science.
The Local Network is NOT:
A vehicle for career politicians
Just another political party
Replicating existing power structures
A party that believes we already have all the answers
Old party structures are not fit for purpose in the 21st century
Recent parliamentary events have shown what can happen when politicians put ‘the good of the party’ above the good of the people. Allegiance to your own career over public good is unattractive in your co-worker, in your member of parliament it can be dangerous. The Local Network aims to change this political and personal culture from the bottom up.
We’ve had enough of career politicians, always desperately trying to beat the other team, either dodging bullets or firing them. We want politicians who will help us flourish together. We want independent local leaders who are already contributing to their neighbourhoods. We want representatives who work with their communities to unleash their collective wisdom to find real solutions and real opportunities.
None of this will happen within our current adversarial party system.
That’s why we’ve created an entirely new type of political party.
Why a Network and still a Party?
Our mission is to support independents into parliament. By remaining a party this brings many benefits
both for the Network, the community and the elected members. As a party we require certain standards
of behaviour. Our elected members will be on the one voting ticket rather than separate tickets and our
candidates will have collegial support across many areas.
Decisions directed by communities, not party factions and lobbyists
At the heart of The Local Network is a commitment to listening to, and being held accountable by, the community that you live in and are elected by.
Every elected member in The Local Network will have a conscience vote on every piece of legislation put before them.
Citizen Juries to keep representatives accountable
Elected members must engage with their electorate through meaningful processes such as citizen juries.
Citizen Juries work much the same way juries do. They give decision-making power to the people affected by those decisions, rather than leaving complex decisions to lobbyists, vested interests and experts deliberating behind closed doors.
Local candidates who are actually local
To be pre-selected for The Local Network , candidates must live in the electorate and already be involved with their community. Traditional parties often preselect candidates who are active in the party – promising to move into the electorate if they win. It’s just the wrong way around but somehow we have come to accept it as normal.