We have recently started working with Kerryn Phelps to help her and her team better incorporate their political platform into the social media environment. Phelps’ historic by-election win in the traditionally blue-ribbon seat of Wentworth, held by the Liberal Party and its predecessors since Federation 118 years ago, shows that there is a growing number of people that are discontent with the pervasive control that the large political parties have on the dialogue around local, state, national and international issues. Through our work with them, and our existing portfolios, we are a part of that growing number.
“We align with Kerryn because she’s a renegade: she’s Purple, not Green, Blue or Red. She is highly attuned to local, national and global issues and as institutions fail us we need someone who can open cracks in the system and initiate much-needed change.”
Clive Burcham, CEO of The Conscience Organisation
We’re excited to work with Kerryn due to her resilience and dedication to educating the public on social and human rights issues. Despite the public pressure against her being a vocal openly-gay public figure since she went on Australian Story in 1998, she has had immense professional success. Before politics, she was President of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), and has also been a Sydney City Councillor and a Member of the Order of Australia; all positions that she has used as a platform to further educate the public about important issues.
This diverse career puts her in a good position to work at some of the cracks in the system:
“I’ve taken on a number of big challenges in the past, and this is certainly one of the biggest, it certainly feels like a big challenge, but I think that everything I’ve done in my life before now has prepared me for the role.”
Kerryn Phelps, Member for Wentworth
While she has been involved in the public dialogue for decades, we’ve come in to elevate Phelps’ profile through social media, promote her progressive political platform and make sure any anger, held by many in the electorate, at the way Turnbull was ousted from Federal politics, is not unfairly directed at Phelps, who we believe is the dynamic public figure that can shake up the current political landscape. Much of our recent work is indicative of the commitment we’ve made to join in the fight to address global issues: our work with Global Citizen, which operates on a grassroots level, and which recently held one of their most successful festivals to date, is an organisation committed to the fight to end extreme poverty globally by 2030; we are also involved with UNICEF and the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children; specifically, the Safe to Learn campaign.
Our involvement with Phelps will be communication strategy; we won’t be involved in content creation but in advising the team on how to best apply their political platform to a social media environment. We will be liaising with Darrin Barnett, Phelps’ campaign strategist, who will guide us on which topics they want elevated. We’ll then advise on the best ways to shape their message for socials. When there isn’t a political hot topic in the news cycle, we’ll be working on various policy positions for issues relevant to the people of Wentworth and prominent in the national dialogue. These positions will reinforce the progressive, grassroots nature of the Phelps brand.
Kerryn Phelps has already shown political clout in the two months she’s been in parliament. We align philosophically with her platform and have the expertise to bring their message to a wide audience.