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Welcome to Active Democracy Australia – we are here for two audiences: individuals looking to contribute to a more robust democracy in Australia, and groups active in electorates in Australia as a place for them to share what they are doing to help others.
Individuals
For individuals we are here to help and support you in setting up an electorate group with others in your electorate. We invite you to think about this website as a toolkit for you to use as you want.
We believe that by connecting with others in your electorate who also care about democracy, and then getting into action together, you can help build a better Australia.
There may already be a group in your electorate. Go to the Your Electorate page to find out if there is, and how to connect to them.
If there isn’t, we collect the contact details of people interested in starting a group in their electorate, and we can connect you to them. We also organise online events to bring people together. To contact us about this, see the button at the bottom of this page.
No group yet?
If there isn’t a group in your electorate yet, why not consider starting one? After all, the existing ones were probably started by people pretty much like you. If you feel ready to jump in and find out how to set up an electorate group, we recommend running a Kitchen Table Conversations (KTC) process to do this. The Take Action pages guide you through the process.
If you are not so sure about what to do, read on.
Existing Groups
For groups already formed and active, this website is a platform through which other people from your electorate can find you to join in, and through which you can share what you are doing with others – in your electorate and elsewhere – and learn from each other. We can put information on the Your Electorate page or provide information in our Updates section.
Why have an electorate group?
Are you unsure if your electorate needs an electorate action group? You may believe that your MP is doing a reasonable job, and, if that’s the case, why form a group?
Active Democracy Australia believes every electorate needs such a group. Here are ten reasons why.
How to use the website
To use the website, think of it as a toolkit.
The main part is the Take Action section. This sets out in detail the what and how to go about setting up and running an electorate group. It sets out details of what to do next. We are constantly developing this section and welcome feedback.
The Your Electorate pages helps you find out about your electorate and your MP, with information from a variety of sources. We update this after each election and as new information becomes available. We also list the groups we know of who are active in the electorate and their contact details.
Updates are regular blog-like pieces about what we are doing, new ideas, sharing what is happening in electorates and other interesting news.
We are really happy for you to contact us with any ideas and queries, if you want to find out if we have other contacts in your electorate or a nearby electorate, and to join our mailing list.
and queries, if you want to find out if we have other contacts in your electorate or a nearby electorate, and to join our mailing list.
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