Kitchen Table Conversations


Kitchen Table Conversations (KTCs) are about getting your opinions to current and potential politicians. 

We want politicians to represent the views of their community. Although that should be central to representative democracy, the party-based politics of today often ignores voters’ concerns.

 

Background

The KTC method was developed in Victoria when there was a spate of local government and school amalgamations being pushed by the state government. People wanted to have a say, so local people (via the Victorian Women’s Trust) started gathering people at kitchen tables and recording what they wanted.

KTCs were then used in the highly successful Voices4Indi process that helped Cathy McGowan (2013) and then Helen Haines (2019) get elected as strong community-minded independent candidates in Victoria. Since then, thousands of KTCs have been run around Australia.

About KTCs

The host invites 6-10 people (maximum 12) for 60-90 minutes at a place of their choosing – often their home or a community venue. The KTC facilitator is a trained volunteer who sets some good behaviour rules. Everyone responds to three or four questions, uninterrupted, and their views are recorded by a scribe.

How it’s facilitated

All input is recorded anonymously. The questions are likely to be: (1) what do you like about where you live; (2) what are the issues that concern you the most; and (3) what characteristics make a good elected representative.

Summary report

Voices of Franklin will collate the answers into a summary report.

To set up an event

Email voicesoffranklintas@gmail.com and we can answer all your questions.