28 April 2022

The countdown is on!

With just 29 days left until the election, things are moving at a rapid pace and momentum is building.

This week we topped 1600 volunteers with more people signing up all the time!

Please consider signing up if you haven’t already and be part of something really exciting that is already making the city we love an even better place. If you know someone who might be interested, please forward this on to them.

A massive thank you and huge welcome to our newest Team Pocock recruits, I look forward to meeting you at one of our upcoming events.

With so much going on here’s a quick recap of some big announcements.

I was delighted to announce that proACT co-founder Clare Doube has officially signed on as my running mate. I’m so thankful to have Clare with me over the next month, as we continue to let Canberrans know what our community movement stands for and how we intend to do politics differently.

Today, I also announced that I have formally renounced my Zimbabwean and South African citizenships. As any migrant knows, giving up citizenship is a huge thing. But I love this community and I want to do what I can to have the opportunity to represent the people of Canberra.

The AEC Ballot Draw took place today and we drew Group E on the ticket. So now you know where to put a 1 on your ballot paper! Keep an eye out for our How-to-Vote cards coming soon.

Talking to experts and the community

Right through this campaign I’ve been getting out and speaking to as many experts and members of the community as I can.

I called into Lifeline’s warehouse in Mitchell this morning, who together with their team of more than 650 volunteers deliver an amazing service here in Canberra and across Australia.

Yesterday I was privileged to meet with Dougie and Stephen from local NDIS provider Community Connections and hear about the extraordinary work they do. We need to maintain a sustainable NDIS long into the future. There will be a national day of action in support of the NDIS next Thursday. Details to follow.

After concerns raised with me in the community around safety and numbers of police, it was great to meet this week with the Australian Federal Police Association to discuss what needs to be done to better support them and their work protecting us (more on this soon).

I also got the chance to meet with the National Farmers Federation President Tony Maher, and was excited to hear of their plans to make Australia the AgTech capital of the world and support farmers to improve the health of their landscape.

And rounding all this off was a really good discussion with the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) about all things road safety, infrastructure and emissions standards that are the priorities for their more than 8.5 million members nationally.

The team has been busy working up some brand new campaign material. We’ve developed a new one page flyer that summarises our policies, which you can download here and will be finding its way into stalls from this afternoon!

I’m looking forward to engaging in the ANU Students’ Association candidates debate tonight. This is a free event, and I believe there are still tickets available if you want to come along, details here. Unfortunately, I’m told that Senator Seselja has declined the invitation to join us.

If you can’t make it tonight, don’t worry we will also be hosting our own Youth Forum next Friday 29 April from 6 - 7.30pm in Kambri Theatre 2 at ANU. This politics done differently panel will feature Ash Streeter-Jones, Daisy Jeffrey, Aqeel Camal and Dhani Gilbert. Spots are limited so register now at this link.

Patients being left behind by the PBS

This week I released my policy on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. This is an area where people have told us they have concerns, in particular in accessing medicines that are not on the PBS.

I looked into it a bit further and was shocked to find out that on average it takes over two years for a new medicine to be listed on the PBS after it has been approved by the TGA. We can do better. I am advocating for reforms that can reduce the time to listing, including providing the Department of Health the funding they need to keep up with the number of applications hitting their desk each week.

Can you help us on election day or at a pre-poll station?

Around 25% of people decide who they will vote for after they arrive at a polling booth. If you want to help out the campaign in a way that will have the biggest impact, we’re looking for volunteers to help staff polling booths on election day and during the pre-poll period.

Please sign up here if you can lend a hand.