Voices of Canberra is a volunteer not-for-profit group aiming to endorse a Community Independent candidate for the federal electorate of Canberra. We are your neighbours, the people you see at the local shops, at the school gate, and around the neighbourhood. We want better representation in the federal electorate of Canberra. We want to make the electorate of Canberra a champion of Australian politics, where our candidate genuinely represents the aspirations and priorities of the community.
Our aim is to build a grassroots movement for change in Canberra and are now reinvigorating and building on the work that the initial iteration of Voices of Canberra did in 2024. You can find an archive of news, listening activities and the resultant Listening Report here.
We are open to participation from people across the political spectrum and representing the full diversity of the electorate. A strong community is needed to find and then endorse an Independent candidate for the next federal election, due to be held in 2028.
We draw inspiration from the success of proACT in endorsing David Pocock in his successful campaigns to represent the ACT in the Senate, and from Voices of Bean in endorsing Jessie Price who made our neighbouring electorate, and one of Labor’s safest, its most marginal in 2025. Voices of Canberra collaborates with all the community independent movements here in the ACT.
Voices of Canberra, proACT and Voices of Bean are all part of the Community Independents movement that is breathing new life into Australian democracy.
If you live in the electorate of Canberra, please join us in forming a strong movement that can effect change. There are opportunities to get involved and to support us in many ways. Please join our mailing list and contact us with any questions.
Our Purpose
We are a volunteer, not-for-profit community group that seeks to change our representation in Parliament by identifying and endorsing a community-backed independent candidate to stand in the electorate of Canberra at the next federal election. Supporting our local community’s involvement in the democratic process is essential to achieving this.
Our Values
Our values are our guide rails: they shape what we do and how we do it:
Integrity - We believe in honesty and value authenticity. We are accountable to each other and to our community.
Community - We want to be part of a community that is both diverse and inclusive and which thrives on connection. We want all sections of the community to have a voice and to be listened to. We seek to empower our community to have a direct say in the events and issues that affect it.
Positivity - We reject today’s aggressive, negative party-politics that generates and amplifies divisions amongst us. We seek to be part of changing politics for the better.
Respect – We seek and value diversity of views and perspectives that will make our community stronger and more resilient.
Justice - We believe our community wants equity and fairness to be at the centre of our politics. We value and draw strength from the progressive character of the electorate of Canberra.
Caring - Caring for each other, for our community, for our climate and for future generations is the driving force for what we do.
Amy Carrad, Frank van de Loo, Geoffrey Nelson, Jen Lindon, Laurie Dunn, Marianne Cullen, Peter Versegi, Richard Webb, Susan Vickers and the rest of the Voices of Canberra team.