27 March 2022

It’s Game On in Kooyong!

50 days and counting down fast…!

That’s right, we can hardly believe it either. They say that an election campaign is a marathon not a sprint, but Team Mon has been running this marathon at sprinting speed.

And, with articles about Mon’s campaign in every major newspaper this weekend – The Australian Financial Review, The Weekend Australian, The Sunday Age and the Herald Sun – the media has finally figured out what we have known for some time now: It’s Game on in Kooyong!

Links to all of these articles can be found on Mon's website.

Calling all vollies! Your time is now!

If the election day is held on 14 May, early voting and postal voting will commence at the end of April. Because of COVID, up to 50 per cent of votes are likely to be cast before election day. That means that we have less than FIVE WEEKS to sway voters.

And now, Monique needs your help more than ever. The size of our volunteer army makes it possible to do something that has been rarely done by any Kooyong candidate in the modern era: knock on doors and phone residents to find out what matters to them and to share the news about Monique.

Door-knocking and phone-calling are really powerful tools of voter persuasion.

Our hard working door-knocking team has knocked on 6,000 homes but we need 80 more volunteers to help us knock on 20,000 doors! Door-knocking is done in pairs and everyone reports that it is a lot of fun, with lots of positive vibes about Monique. Over the next few weeks, Mon will be joining the door-knocking teams on weekends.

Our phone-calling team has already called 2,000 Kooyong voters, but we need 15 more volunteers to join us each week to help us reach our goal of 20,000 phone calls. Training is fast and easy. You only need your phone and it can be done from home in your own time, or by Zoom, or at ‘phone-calling parties’ at campaign HQ on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Phone-calling is a really important way to activate volunteers and raise awareness about Monique. We’ve even managed to put up 10 new signs as a direct result of phone conversations!

This election may come down to a few hundred votes. If you have thought about helping Monique to win Kooyong but have not yet signed up to volunteer, now is the time to put up your hand and join Team Mon. Apart from the satisfaction of doing your bit to achieve action on climate change, integrity in government, and equality for women, we can promise you new friends and a lot of fun along the way.

Please help Monique to become the next member for Kooyong by signing up here to volunteer as a door knocker or phone caller.

Note from Mon

Dear all,

With the Budget this Tuesday and the election to be called imminently, it’s a good time to think about what we want from our government. In the last few months, I’ve been lucky enough to meet so many members of the Kooyong community. You’ve told me you want a Budget which gives us a new green vision for the future – a budget that helps people to electrify their homes and transport, a budget that improves our battery storage capacity to meet demand surges, and a budget that supports workers and communities in the fossil fuel industries to transition to the new renewables industries.

I’ve heard that you want better pay and training for aged care, disability and child care workers, increased funding for child care, action on gender inequity in superannuation, and an increase in the Jobseeker and disability support payments. You DON’T want pointless ‘bonus’ payments or cynical tax cuts immediately prior to the election. Our Kooyong community is telling me that you want to see our government’s long term plan for our recovery from this near trillion dollar debt.

With this budget, the government has one final chance to show us the leadership and vision that has been so sadly lacking. In May, we can and will determine our futures: we will have a voice and a vote.

You’ve told me that you want more from your government and more from your local MP. If you’re not happy with the Budget and the Morrison government, it’s time to act. For the next six weeks, we will work together to show Australia that Kooyong can no longer be taken for granted, and that our values and our votes matter.

I’ll need your help to get to Canberra. Please come out with us to support our community campaign over the next few weeks. Please join our Coalition of Hope, and help me to get this done.

It’s now or never.

Mon

Keep lifting us higher

Each week we are buoyed up by the staggering support we get from you…all of you!

Whether it’s letterboxing, door-knocking, phone-calling or handing out flyers around Kooyong, volunteering at HQ, donating to fundraisers, putting up our vibrant teal signs, walking down the road emblazoned in Team Mon t-shirts, or sharing our campaign message on your socials – just know, we see you.

And…it’s really working.

There are loads of ways you can help. Here are a few things you can do that have a massive impact…

Gimme a little sign

If you have time this week, go for a drive, stroll, or ride through Kooyong. You’ll soon see powerful signs of change on the streets.

Here’s the exciting bit: while Josh’s face still looms large on big, expensive commercial signs – our signs are on fences, windows, front yards and small businesses everywhere. It’s genuinely thrilling. (Seriously, go look!)

There’s no better way to say: ‘Hey, this is our election, and we’re voting for change’ than a residential street or shopping strip that holds up our proudly independent banner.

You can still sign up. Join more than 1000 Kooyong residents by getting a big ‘real estate-style’ sign for your fence or front yard or a more compact option with our classic ‘corflute’.

Yes! Sign me up – large (‘real estate’ size)

Yes! Sign me up – regular (‘corflute’ size)

Thank you…for all you give!

A campaign like ours runs on volunteer power, hope, and a whole load of enthusiasm. But your donations…believe us, they help!

Keen to help? Donate now!

Want to know more? We’re always happy to hear from you. Get in touch now.

Special Events

We have three very special events coming up quickly. Please register to join us!

Join us for a special screening of Regenerating Australia at the Lido Cinemas, 6:30pm on Friday 1 April – followed by a lively panel discussion with our own Dr Monique Ryan, climate activist Anjali Sharma, and Climate 200 convenor Simon Holmes à Court.

Book now for an unmissable evening!

Want a sneak peek? Watch the trailer here.

Monique will be in conversation with Saul Griffith, inventor, scientist, visionary and author of The Big Switch: Australia’s electric future. This zoom event will commence at 7:30 pm on Thurday 7 April. To join us for this special event, register here.

Official Campaign Launch

Look, we’re excited. So expect us to remind you a lot about our official campaign launch. When and where, you ask?

It’s at the Hawthorn Arts Centre on 10 April, kicking off at 3.30pm.

This is our last chance to get a big crowd together before election night, and we have some surprises in store.

Entry is free. But we’ll need you to book so we can cater for you. Register now!

What’s on Mon?

Thursday? Must be Pizza Night

Okay, it’s cheesy. We know. But we like to thank you every week…with pizza and drinks. So join us Thursdays at 6:30 pm at your HQ (655 Glenferrie RD Hawthorn).

Why not bring a friend who’s thinking about joining the campaign crew? It’s a great chance to kick back, get to know one another, and get an update from Mon about the campaign.

Get to know your HQ (655 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn)

Our HQ has an open-door policy: we’re here for you, Kooyong. Literally! Our incredible volunteers are there to greet you between 9 am and 5 pm every day.