No. Voices of Bean is simply a community organisation consulting the people of Bean about the issues that are important to them and the qualities they seek in an elected representative. We aim to use this information and community support to endorse an independent candidate who can embody those qualities and champion those issues.

We do not have a candidate. When we have consulted the community, we will try to find an appropriate candidate and endorse their campaign. At that point, Voices of Bean intends to go dormant, allowing our members and supporters to choose whether they want to campaign for the candidate we endorse.

We don’t have one, we’re listening to what is important to the people of Bean. This listening process will culminate in a report, which we expect will inform the eventual candidate’s policy platform. It is clear already early in this listening process that climate action and integrity in politics are two key issues for the electorate, but there are many other issues too.

Yes, we believe you can. Please see Section 6 of the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct for guidance, but we have roles that can involve different levels of exposure, and our work is principally to listen, rather than to express opinions or positions. Please discuss it with us if you are unsure. You could also refer to similar advice from our friends at proACT.

Voices of Bean is a group of passionate Canberrans who want better representation for our community in the federal parliament. Our goal is to foster public involvement in democracy in Bean.  We are politically independent and know it is time for change. We will listen to the diverse voices of the Bean community and find the ideal community backed candidate to represent us in the next federal election.

Voices of Bean holds these values:

• Positivity. We’re not here to knock anyone, we want to do things better and be our best selves.
• Honesty and Integrity. Lets be the change we want to see.
• Generous and Active Listening. Every opinion starts from a good place and every voice needs to be heard. We’re here to listen not to judge.
• Mutual Respect. We show respect to others and ask to be respected in turn.
• Compromise to succeed. Trust in team work; not everything will be perfect.
• Commit and follow through. We’re realistic about our individual capacities.

Yes! Anyone who agrees with our purpose and values is welcome to be involved.

We’re a group of volunteers and we run on the smell of an oily rag. But we do have expenses for venue hire, printing, website hosting and the like, that we are currently funding ourselves. We are working hard to get the mechanisms in place to accept donations; in the meantime it is possible to do so when you register for one of our events. Voices of Bean Inc is not-for-profit and is an association incorporated in the ACT. We are not a charity and do not have deductible gift recipient status, so donations are not tax-deductible.