Community leaders from across the Casey electorate recently had the opportunity to have their say of what matters to their community now and into the future
Federal Member for Casey, Aaron Violi hosted the two-part Community Leaders Forum bringing together a diverse cross-section of electorate members.
“I believe it is important to involve community in community decisions. This forum gave local leaders a space to shape our future and work towards building an even stronger community,” he said.
“It was heartwarming to see leaders from across the electorate develop connections while working together to discuss ideas and envision ways to strengthen our region into the future.”
Run by independent deliberative engagement organisation, DemocracyCo, and local facilitation organisation Hatrick and Co, the forum began with an online event on Tuesday 25 June followed by an in-person forum held on Sunday 7 July.
Across both events, over 60 local leaders gathered to envision a future community and discuss ways to strengthen the region across many critical areas, including food security, affordable housing, creating stronger families, social connection, disaster planning and resilience and mental health.
Seville Cricket Club secretary David Peel expressed his thanks to Aaron for bringing the community together at the forum.
“Aaron is doing a really good job in our community. He is out there all the time, getting around our businesses, our community groups and the forum he put on allowed many community groups to talk about general issues that we all face, our community faces and Casey faces,” he said.
Belinda Grooby, from Tribe-Monbulk Youth Inc, said the forum was a fantastic opportunity to engage and connect with so many different organisations and understand the work they are doing.
“It was a brilliant opportunity to connect with those organisations for future planning and understanding local issues,” Mrs Grooby said.
DemocracyCo co-chief executive officer Emily Jenke said forums of this kind give an inside view into the electorate but also what it means to be an active citizen.
“Watching them care, take responsibility and work together on cultivating meaningful connections with each other about issues that impact all of Casey was a joy,” she said.
“Our democracy is in good hands when we come together, make time to talk and support our Members of Parliament to do what they do best – represent their communities.”
