Voices of Franklin (VoF) was established in 2023 with the aim of increasing participatory democracy in Australia’s most-southern electorate.

It does this by broadly following the example of the Community Independents (Voices) movement in Australia that began in the federal seat of Indi, Victoria, in about 2012. That led to the election of independent Cathy McGowan and, following her, Helen Haines.

Our focus is ultimately on improving the quality of members of parliament. Such members would:

• Be more responsive to the needs of their electorates

• Champion good governance, human rights and ethics

• Be models of good behaviour both inside and outside parliament.

In recent decades voters in Australia have had a declining respect for politicians and political parties – and for good reason. This situation needs to urgently change. The Voices movement is leading the way.

VoF is led by a committee who represent all three of Franklin’s LGAs: Clarence, Huon Valley and Kingborough.

We are not a political party. We do not fund or run election campaigns. However, we may support an independent candidate who broadly aligns with the Voices movement.