What a week it has been at Team Mon! Amidst the ups and downs of the campaign trail, our spirits were lifted by the completion of our giant billboards at Glenferrie Rd. All thanks to you – our generous donors and supporters.
Celebrating Women
With International Women’s Day on Tuesday 8 March, Monique’s campaign will be celebrating the strength and achievements of women across the week.
This year’s IWD theme is gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow, highlighting the contribution of girls and women around the world who work to promote climate change adaptation, mitigation and responses in their local communities.
Here in Kooyong, thousands of women have stepped forward to help Monique’s campaign – women who care about our community, our climate, our economy and our kids. Women who are sick of the Morrison government sweeping climate change under the carpet. Women who are dismayed by the failure of the Morrison government to stand up for women’s right to have workplaces and communities free of sexual harassment and discrimination. Women who want an Independent voice like Monique’s to represent them in Canberra.
Please join with us and consider donating your time, ideas, skills or money to help make our dream a reality.
Help Mon get our voices heard in Canberra. Donate now!
Independent thinkers
In celebration of IWD, we’d like to introduce you to some of the wonderful women who have been drawn to Mon’s campaign. Their reasons for hopping aboard may vary. But they’re all tired of ‘politics as usual’ and are highly motivated to make a change.
Belinda Burke, 68, is an active volunteer and proud member of Grandmothers for Refugees.
She understands the need for strong borders. But she wants to know why refugees – people who could make a real contribution here – are treated so cruelly. And she’s not getting any answers from our local MP.
'I am tired of feeling unrepresented, tired of feeling unheard. With the Independents, that’s how we can get representation at a local level and not be taken for granted.'
22-year-old Johanna Andrianopoulos, volunteer team leader for our letterboxing team and recent university graduate, has been keen to get involved in a campaign that supports women.
'We keep having scandal after scandal and that really distresses and upsets me as a woman,' Johanna says.
'If women can't get treated right in the national parliament, how can we expect it to happen across the country?'
Supporter Tien Phan, 40, is a working mother with a leadership role in the public service.
Tien thinks improving the gender balance in parliament will lead to better policies for women.
‘We need some fresh voices, fresh faces, and a better balance of female representation in the political landscape.’
‘I would like to see more respect towards females and more policies that benefit working women. I'm a full-time working mum and some of the policy decisions around the childcare subsidy discourage women from returning to full time work.’
So how can we make things better?
Belinda sums up the mood of all our supporters: 'I think Monique is our best chance for bringing about a change in Kooyong.'
Want to join Belinda, Johanna, and Tien to support Mon? Sign up to volunteer now!
Help Mon face off against the status quo
With less than 80 days to go until the election, we are entering our most important period for fundraising. Josh Frydenberg is throwing everything he has at Monique’s campaign, reportedly spending $800,000 on advertising in Kooyong already, in addition to an estimated $750,000 of taxpayer-funded government communications since the last election.
As a community campaign, we can’t ever hope to match those eye-watering amounts of advertising. We have to be smarter and do more with less. But we cannot do it without you. We need to raise $200,000 in March to cover our advertising costs through to election day.
Could you please help Monique get her message out by making a donation?
More sign ups
Another great way to help Monique’s campaign is to ‘sign up our landscape’: go big with a real-estate-style sign or a more compact impact with the classic ‘corflute’.
Signs are visible proof to the community that Monique enjoys widespread community support. Every sign that goes up helps voters to know that for the first time ever, there is a genuine opportunity for real change in Kooyong.
Yes! Sign me up – large (‘real estate’ size)
Yes! Sign me up – regular (‘corflute’ size)
A Note from Mon
Dear all,
What a week it’s been, with the local member capitulating to the voices of the community and withdrawing the $66 million of pork barrelling funds he had previously promised for unwanted car parks in Kooyong. We’ve seen the power of the community working together to reject rorts and keep Kooyong cleaner and greener. The Government fought back with a personal attack on me via the Murdoch press, but we take this as positive reinforcement: our local member does not like being held to account by the Kooyong community.
Next week we’ll be celebrating International Women’s Day. This year’s theme – Changing Climates: Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow – recognises that girls and women around the world are working to change the climate of gender inequality and build a sustainable future. We’re looking forward to several events for IWD over the week. It is a time for us to celebrate how far we’ve come, but also recognise how far we have to go in achieving true gender equality at home, at work and in the community.
We should also recognise how the Russian invasion of Ukraine is likely to affect women and girls there. War disproportionately affects women by causing displacement, poverty, loss of housing and welfare services, and exposure to environmental contamination. Gender-based violence is often a hallmark of conflict which can impact permanently on the safety, health and economic security of survivors and their families. Rape, sexual torture and sexual exploitation are fueled by war, and the majority of war refugees are women and children. Please keep the plight of Ukrainian people at the top of our minds in the weeks and months to come.
I look forward to seeing you in the streets of Kooyong or at one of the many events at our campaign HQ. In the meantime, stay safe and well.
Mon
Tune in: Mon’s on the pod
'I will be someone who’ll be able to take courageous decisions and to be bold, fierce…maybe a bit fiery at times…but I will be someone who will represent the people of Kooyong with integrity.' – Dr Monique Ryan, Independent voice for Kooyong
Need a new podcast recommendation? Tune in to Mon’s episode on The Independents: A climate 200 podcast.
The podcast series features independent candidates from all over Australia – a courageous movement of individuals determined to challenge the status quo. It’s stirring stuff!
Listen to Mon’s episode here! Share the link and tag #Mon4Kooyong.
Morning tea for IWD
There’s nothing like a cuppa with friends to kick off a celebration.
So join us for morning tea at campaign HQ (655 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn) on Tuesday 8 March from 10-11:30am to celebrate International Women’s Day – and all the incredible things women have achieved, here and around the world.
We’ve planned a friendly and relaxed gathering. You’ll meet Mon, connect with other women in our community, and toast women’s hard won social, economic, cultural and political victories.
Bring along a friend, neighbour or family member who wants to find out more about Mon and what she can do for Kooyong. Book now to secure your spot!
What’s on Mon?
Rainbow Connection
If you’re a member of our LGBTQIA+ community or an ally, we want to hear what you want this election.
We’ve all had enough of Scott Morrison’s damaging and divisive politics. So come to our ‘Rainbow Mon’ event and help us amplify your voices so we can all call for change.
Get along to Rainbow Mon at Ramblers Ale Works, Sunday 6 March, 2:30pm to 4:30pm, 96 Riversdale Road, Hawthorn VIC 3122.
Weekly Campaign Pizza Night
We’ve said it before, and you can bet we’ll say it again: this campaign is nothing without its impressive group of supporters.
So every Thursday night is pizza night at our campaign office at 655 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn. Drop in from 6:30 to 7:30 pm so we can catch up, share a progress report on the campaign and thank you for all you do. See you there!
Meet Mon at HQ (655 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn)
Thursday 10 March 1-2pm
Tuesday 15 March 1-2pm
Street Meet and Greets
Thursday 10 March from 10:30am-12pm, Whitehorse Road, Balwyn
Saturday 12 March from 10:15-11am, Belmore Road shopping strip near corner of Balwyn Road, North Balwyn
Saturday 12 March from 11:30-12:15pm, Hamilton Road, Mont Albert
Want to keep your calendar up to date? Find out about all our upcoming events here.
#Mon4Kooyong