Monday, February 07, 2011

New England manifesto & the NSW elections

Back last August in Time for a New England manifesto I said:
What would you like to see included in a broader New England manifesto? We need a campaign document that will not just guide the independents, but also provide a platform across the broader North.

My post yesterday, NSW Labor, the coalition & the New England interest, looked at the difficulties involved in getting people to focus on New England needs at a time of political polarisation.

New England is very divided, divided on party political lines, divided on local and regional lines. This makes it hard to develop real cooperation.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to feature on this blog a series of questions that, together, might lay the base for a New England manifesto. Necessarily, these questions will focus on areas of potential agreement across New England. By exposing them in this way, readers will have a chance to provide input.

Each question will be followed by a policy backgrounder explaining it's importance.

By the end of February, the questions will be consolidated into a questionnaire that can be sent to every candidate in Northern New South Wales. The answers will then be analysed and presented prior to the elections so that voters can make their own judgements.

Candidates will be given a chance to refine their views.We are interested in ideas as much as positions. Further, the results will be presented objectively, recognising that all candidates will have a range of views.

To do all this, we are going to need your support. It's quite a big job. 

If you would like to participate in the project, email me @ ndarala(at)optusnet(dot)com(dot)au.   

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