Independents to receive tutoring under Helen Haines

NEWLY elected Federal independent MPs Dr Monique Ryan and Kate Chaney visited Wangaratta last week to receive mentorship from "leader of the pack" Dr Helen Haines. Dr Ryan said that the success of Cathy McGowan and now Dr Haines as independents in Indi gave her the model for how to succeed in her own electorate of Kooyong. "She (Ms McGowan) has inspired the voices of groups in so many electorates around Australia and that was the case in Kooyong," she said. "Cathy's the godmother and Helen is the current leader of the pack, so we're all benefiting from their experience and knowledge." Ms Chaney, who came from her electorate in Curtin, Western Australia for the tutorage of Dr Haines said the way the Indi independents were able to connect with the Indi community inspired her to achieve the same for her electorate. "It's been fantastic, really great to hear from someone who has done this successfully and to hear how you retain your connection with community when running an electoral office," she said. "Seeing the story here in Indi made it apparent that it is possible to have some impact as an independent." The mentorship comes after Dr Haines announced she would be meeting the fellow independent MPs at the declaration of the polls Tuesday, to help them with the basics of setting up an office as an independent politician. Dr Ryan said being an independent politician can bring its challenges without the party structure behind her, and learning from Dr Haines has been rewarding as she looks forward to carrying out the responsibility of paying it forward to the next MPs who find themselves in a similar position. "We're starting from the beginning, we don't have any staff, don't have an office, we don't know how to organise things," she said. "So support from someone like Helen who has been through it, has the experience, has the knowledge and a fantastic group of staff members has been invaluable. "The job for us in three years time is to pass that on to the next group of people doing similar sorts of things in other electorates." Current energy shortages around the country have both MPs understanding the difficulty that is involved around negotiating a solution has been brought upon by many external factors. Dr Ryan said she would like to see the new Labor government bring a changed approach from the former Federal Government. "The reality is we have heaps of gas that we're selling overseas cheaply when Australians are struggling to access the supplies that they need at a vastly increased cost," she said. "That's something that the current government has inherited as a legacy from the previous government which is really disappointing, but I think they are doing their best to negotiate it." Ms Chaney is impressed with the improved cooperation the federal and state energy ministers but doesn't want the present issues to interfere with Australia's long term energy goals. "I hope that they can find an appropriate path through the short–term issue that we're facing without losing focus of the long–term transitions into renewable energy," she said. On Wednesday afternoon the Australian Energy Market Operator suspended spot marketing in all regions of the national electricity market, in order to simplify the tracking of energy generators. Dr Haines said in a statement that while the move to suspend the spot market was necessary, it was brought upon by the "neglect" of the energy market by the previous government. "Households and businesses are literally paying the price of the lack of action to address the transition away from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy," she said. "This is why two years ago I put forward a detailed proposal to the Federal Government to invest in locally–owned renewables and community batteries to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and give everyday people more control over their energy." Dr Haines has also been public on her intentions to be a part of a federal integrity commission and has reached out to Attorney–General Mark Dreyfus to steward in the select committee. Ms Chaney said the support she has received and the results of the last election show the importance of establishing a federal integrity commission to communities around Australia. "I think we've seen in the last election that the integrity commission that Helen has been quite vocal on is something that's important to communities all over the country and certainly in my community in Curtain," she said. A spokesperson for Attorney–General Mark Dreyfus said the current government intends to form an integrity commission by the end of the year and is open to the prospect of Dr Haines being a part of that committee. "There will be some form of committee process, but that is yet to be finalised," he said "However, Mr Dreyfus has assured Helen Haines that she will be closely involved in the process of legislating for a National Anti–Corruption Commission." In terms of current action for the Kooyong and Curtin MPs, it's all about setting themselves up with what they have learned from Dr Haines before beginning in parliament. "At this stage we are just picking up the keys to our offices," Ms Chaney said. And Dr Ryan looks forward to working with Dr Haines in the future. "We'll continue to benefit from Helen's experience," she said. "She's been really generous with helping us once we get there (parliament) and negotiating what's a pretty complicated workplace in Canberra."