Council
28 February, 2025
Dyson launches Camperdown volunteer callout
INDEPENDENT candidate for Wannon Alex Dyson kicked off his Camperdown volunteer campaign last Thursday.
Around 40 people from Camperdown, Cobden, Terang, Warrnambool and other areas gathered at Excuse Me Katie’s to meet with Mr Dyson and launch his volunteer campaign within the Corangamite Shire.
Mr Dyson spoke about his campaign to attendees, with campaign volunteers Stef Roberts-Thomson and David Cazzulino also speaking on how the Dyson campaign will work and ways community members can volunteer.
“It’s a great place and I am thrilled to be able to launch the Camperdown leg of my campaign,” Mr Dyson said.
“I’m hearing more and more that Corangamite Shire is ready to declare independence from Canberra by voting for a genuine independent representative who’s beholden to local people, not the major parties.
“I really want to incite the power that communities have to control their own political destiny – running as an independent, I really take my lead from the community.
“People can make a difference in their local community by getting engaged and having conversations, and I can then take that voice and really amplify it in Canberra.
“It’s about listening to the community, so I did a listening tour of about six months last year driving around - I did about 18,000 kilometres and heard from the community.”
Volunteer Sara Napier spoke about her experience working on the campaign, sharing her initial thoughts when she first went door-knocking.
Mr Dyson said it was encouraging to see the response to his grassroots campaign by how many people were willing to “roll up their sleeves and volunteer their time to get a better deal for Wannon”.
“We have 500 volunteers helping out wherever they can across the electorate – the response has been amazing,” he said.
“We’re sick of being overlooked by the major parties – ignored by the Labor Party and taken for granted by the Liberal Party, who’ve been in power here for 70 years.
“What’s really come to the surface is the roads in south west Victoria are really not fit for purpose – the government makes sure that you have to pay rego and make sure our cars are roadworthy, but who’s making sure the government makes the roads car worthy.
“It’s a cost-of-living thing – people damaging their cars, insurance premiums going through the roof, injuries that can take place around the roads.
“If elected, I will work with communities and whoever is in government to make sure Wannon gets a better deal - this starts with demanding transparent and regular reporting on how federal road funding is allocated across electorates, and where the funding is spent in Wannon.”
Mr Dyson said he was also keen to work with Corangamite Shire to deliver federal funding for much-needed water infrastructure projects as well as upgrades to Camperdown’s Theatre Royal.
“I’ll also work hard to make sure that families can access childcare – cutting waitlists and ending childcare deserts,” he said.
“I’ve heard horror stories of young parents having to move to access childcare or are relying on generous grandparents because the childcare system simply does not work for rural and regional Australians.
“Childcare has really emerged as a massive issue – I’ve heard it from parents and also grandparents who are forced to look after the kids because their kids can’t find childcare to then go back to work.
“That’s something I’ve really been advocating for, as well as just getting our fair share from Canberra – we’ve been overlooked for a while.
“There are so many things that I feel Canberra hasn’t really listened to or really taken the need seriously for these things – as an independent, it doesn’t matter who’s in power. I’ll fight tooth and nail for it to make sure we’re taken care of.”
Campaign volunteer and local resident Michelle Norton encouraged residents to get on board with the campaign.
“Everyone is welcome,” she said.
“It's been wonderful to see how many people have signed up to help spread the word.
“Locals are getting on board because they want to see Wannon get a better deal.
“Alex is offering a very real alternative to the major parties.
“This time around there’s a real chance we can get over the line and have our community better represented in Canberra.”
The 2025 federal election will be Mr Dyson’s third campaign as an independent in a bid to get a better deal for south west Victoria.
With the current margin at four percent, the likelihood of Wannon changing hands for the first time in 70 years has become a real possibility.
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