CIP CONVENTION 2025
Communities in Action:
Strengthening Democracy Together
Online | 5 & 6 Sept | 30+ Speakers
Convention highlights
Featuring 30+ leaders and experts from across the movement including ALL Community Independent MPs and Senator
An online event featuring 10 Convention panel sessions across 2 days. See Program
Includes full access to small group Break-out sessions following the event to maintain the momentum and help activate your community. See Break-outs
Online networking to connect, share and collaborate with others in the movement
New in 2025 - Watch Party ticket - gather a group in your community to watch the event together. This ticket gives all party attendees full access to the Convention so they can interact with the sessions and networking. See Watch Party
Program Summary
Scroll down to for Session descriptions or click here.
Convention details
WHAT: Communities In Action: Strengthening Democracy Convention is CIP’s fifth annual Convention for the Community Independents movement. It is a national event where people-powered politics takes centre stage. This is where MPs, community leaders, changemakers, volunteers and supporters unite online to share big ideas, practical know-how, and real stories of grassroots action and impact.
Whether you’re new to the movement or ready for the next level, this Convention is where you’ll find inspiration, tools, and connections to help us build the future of Australian democracy together.
WHERE: The CIP Convention is fully online, making it accessible wherever you are in Australia. Your ticket gives you access to all Convention sessions, our interactive online networking, and exclusive entry to post-Convention Break-out sessions - these are small group discussions where you can dive deeper and connect with others.
WHEN: The Convention will run on Friday 5 September, 6:00pm for 6.30–9:00pm AEST and Saturday 6 September, 9:00am–5:00pm AEST.
HOW: Take part on your own with an individual General Admission ticket, or choose a Watch Party ticket to host an event and experience the Convention alongside others in your community. Everyone who attends your Watch Party will have full access to the Convention and networking. See Watch Parties for more information.
General Admission ticket
$60
Watch Party ticket
$180
Please contact us if ticket cost is a barrier to your attendance.
The CIP Team is excited to welcome you to our fifth annual Convention, showcasing the incredible people and communities who are making a difference and putting community at the centre of Australian politics. We hope you can join us.
Here’s what attendees have said about our past Conventions:
“Thank you for organising such an impressive Convention! It was great to share experiences and stories and to learn from other groups across the country.”
“This gig is one of the most awesome, powerful and well organised I’ve ever attended - grateful, thanks you amazing team!”
“Great weekend of sharing knowledge, inspiring hope and harnessing People Power. Congratulations & thank you.”
Convention Program
This Convention centres on building the Community Independents movement. The focus is on empowered communities and what a ‘bottom up’ movement truly looks like in action. Showcasing the full lineup of Community Independent MPs alongside respected community leaders, and influential voices in political change.
Electoral success for the CI movement relies on people. People who understand and know their own community, people who reach out to include everyone, people who listen rather than tell, people who live the values, people who are changemakers, people like YOU.
Attendees will gain inspiration and practical strategies for growing the movement in their electorate, for building localised political action, for collaborating with MPs and for holding them to account.
Strengthening democracy relies on our sustained collective action. Doing the foundational work, developing a strong localised community platform, generating support and volunteers. These are critical success factors for the movement. And this work cannot start soon enough.
Friday 5 Sept 2025, 6pm for 6.30-9pm AEST
Being the Change: Courage in Action
Cathy McGowan AO in discussion with Zoe Daniel and Jessie Price
This session opens the Convention with an insightful reflection on the courage at the heart of the Community Independents movement. From candidates and community leaders to volunteers and supporters, thousands have stepped up - many for the first time - to challenge entrenched political systems and reshape democracy.
The session explores how political courage is being redefined: not as individual dominance, but as collective action grounded in integrity, transparency, and deep community connection. It’s a celebration of courage in action - and a call to keep being the change, together.
Doing Politics Differently: Collaboration that Delivers
Tina Jackson in discussion with Zali Steggall OAM MP and Helen Haines MP
Community Independents recast the relationship between MP and community, forging a collaborative compact that results in better government and better outcomes not only for their electorate but for the nation.
Elected to Parliament in 2019, Zali Steggall and Helen Haines are lighthouses for the Community Independents movement, committed to truly representing their electorates. Zali and Helen will share how they collaborate with their communities to achieve change - from tackling key national issues such climate change and integrity, to shifting the dial for their electorates. What this collaboration looks like in each electorate varies, but at the core of doing politics differently is this critical two-way relationship.
Saturday 6 Sept 2025, 9am-5pm AEST
Rising Together: Building People Powered Politics
Alana Johnson AM and Tina Jackson
In a political landscape historically dominated by party machines, the rise of Community Independents heralds a profound shift. This session explores the essence of the Community Independent movement, the growing interest and participation in people-led politics, the building of a values-led cross bench and the pursuit of genuine representation in the Australian political system.
The session will also look at the role of the Community Independents Project (CIP) in connecting people across the movement and providing a platform for building networks of trust, sharing and collaborating. We will explore what it really means to do politics differently, how communities are rejecting top down ‘old power’ processes and structures, and courageously changing Australian democracy from the ground up.
Beyond the Ballot: Next Steps for Communities Taking Action
Nicolette Boele MP in discussion with Anita Tang, Ellie Smith and Phil Scott
This session explores what it takes to maintain momentum and continue building the Community Independents movement between election cycles. At the heart of any thriving movement are strong, cohesive teams - groups that share values, understand local concerns, and support one another to take action with purpose and resilience.
Through practical insights and real-world examples, we’ll examine how community teams sustain energy, navigate challenges, and deepen engagement over time. From decentralised leadership and volunteer wellbeing to civic participation and creative grassroots organising, this session offers ideas for continuing the work in meaningful and lasting ways.
Participants will hear from experienced community organisers and have the opportunity to connect with others in an interactive networking activity designed to share approaches and inspire ongoing collaboration.
Leveraging Parliament: Tools for Impact
Cathy McGowan AO in conversation with Cade Smith, Fiona Scott and Peter George MP
By rethinking ‘old power’ paradigms, communities can leverage policy and government programs to drive real change.
Discover how any community, with or without a Community Independent MP, can get organised, be heard, and help shape the future of Australian politics. This session explores the tools communities communities can use to turn local priorities into national action, from traditional media and online strategies, to delegations to Parliament, letter writing, MP speeches, Parliamentary Friends Groups, Standing Committees, events, petitions, and more. Hear practical tips, what works, and what doesn’t, and be inspired by the impact of grassroots activism.
All In: People Powered Politics is for Everyone
Alana Johnson AM in discussion with Caz Heise, Brent Hodgson and Michelle Lim
A conversation about the Community Independents movement proactively outreaching and including Australia’s vastly diverse communities. This session will highlight the challenges of ensuring our democracy belongs to and works for everyone. Australian citizens have very different cultural, gendered, religious, historical and lived experience of politics which influence how they trust, engage with and participate in the political system.
It is in local community that safety, belonging and empowerment can be built; that political literacy can be nurtured; and people can feel truly heard. This session will share ideas and highlight community actions already happening.
Gen Z Leads: Young Voices Reshaping Our Democracy
Sophie Scamps MP in discussion with Ella Finlay, Katya Zheluk and Vivienne Paduch
Meet the next generation of changemakers driving political engagement and action. This session spotlights Gen Z leaders including Ella Finlay (Community Engagement Officer for Allegra Spender), Katya Zheluk (C200 Future Leader), Viv Paduch (CIP and GenZali in Warringah).
Hear how young voices are stepping up - organising campaigns, leading community conversations, and redefining what political participation looks like. Join the discussion on the challenges and opportunities facing Gen Z as they take a leading role in shaping Australia’s democracy.
Pushback: Communities Combatting Disinformation
Disinformation is damaging trust and undermining our democracy. Michael Pascoe joins CI MP Kate Chaney and Richard Denniss, Executive Director of the Australia Institute, to discuss how communities can pushback, discussing practical on-the-ground actions, policy reforms, and strategies to protect the integrity of our elections.
The discussion will also spotlight the media’s role in amplifying mis and disinformation and providing disproportionate coverage to opposition voices while sidelining the crossbench and the diverse community representatives Australians have actually elected.
Michael Pascoe in discussion with Kate Chaney MP and Richard Denniss
The New News: The Changing Media Landscape
Angela Pippos in conversation with Monique Ryan MP and Hannah Ferguson
New media is how Australians, especially younger and previously unengaged voters, access information, engage with politics, and build civic awareness. In this session, Angela Pippos speaks with Kooyong MP Monique Ryan who successfully harnesses new media and Hannah Ferguson (Cheek Media), a leading voice in independent media.
The session will highlight how bold, accessible, and independent platforms are challenging traditional narratives, strengthening political and media literacy, and enabling more people to actively participate in democracy. The panel will unpack what’s working, what’s next, and how a new generation is transforming both journalism and civic engagement.
The 48th Parliament: Shifting Power
Kylea Tink, Allegra Spender MP and Senator David Pocock
The new Parliament brings a shift in power, with Community Independents now operating in a landscape dominated by a single party majority. In this important closing session, Kylea Tink, Allegra Spender MP and Senator David Pocock will explore how CIs are adapting, innovating, and continuing to represent their communities.
They’ll share how to keep issues on the agenda, hold the government to account, forge alliances across the chambers, and mobilise grassroots support when traditional power has shifted. Join us to discover what’s changing for community-led politics, where CIs can make a real impact, and how people on the ground can help drive results in this new era.
Watch Party
Watching alone is informative; but watching together is transformative!
Watch parties are local gatherings of likeminded community members who come together to view the livestreamed sessions together as a group.
Rather than tuning in alone, participants meet in homes, halls, library meeting rooms, theatres, cafes, pub function rooms, or any other sort of venue to create a shared experience that is both social and strategic.
They help transform passive viewing into active participation. When people come together to listen, learn and reflect in real time, it sparks energy, deeper discussion and a sense of collective purpose. Participants can share reactions, discuss key insights, ask questions, and brainstorm how national themes - like integrity in politics, climate action, the fight against misinformation and disinformation, or community-led leadership - apply to their local context.
It’s a fun way to bring BIG conversations into the heart of local communities, where ideas can be discussed and turned into action on the spot - and it leverages our greatest asset: our ability to build social connections that are at the heart of the Community Independents movement.
Watch Party in Perth, 2024
Convention Break-outs
To maintain the momentum and help communities and groups build their action plans, a series of smaller Break-out sessions will be available to Convention attendees following the event. They will run in September and October, in evenings starting at 7pm AEST/AEDT. These sessions will feature experienced community leaders from across the country and a deep dive on topics and skills, as well as opportunities for participants to share and network. We hope you can join us!
