Dominic Wy Kanak (left)
If you didn’t know that Dominic Wy Kanak was the Greens candidate for the upcoming Wentworth byelection, you’d have a hard time picking him out of a crowd. When I meet him outside Bondi Pavilion, he’s surrounded by a group of Indigenous activists, chatting about a rally they were all attending that night in Redfern.
Like many others, he was bemused by Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s decision to make Tony Abbott a special envoy for Indigenous affairs, following the leadership spill which saw the former member for Wentworth, Malcolm Turnbull, ousted as Prime Minister.
“I’ve heard of envoys but more in the sense of foreign affairs, where someone’s an envoy to another country. It might be a positive because it might mean the federal government is recognising the Aboriginal sovereignty of communities, but I don’t think that’s the intent,” he deadpans.
“What I’m hearing on the campaign trail is that people want to see a different standard of politics in Australia, a different level of behaviour. Over the last few years it seems that the community has been abandoned by the Liberal Party.”
Wy Kanak is a Torres Strait Islander, and Indigenous rights are a major part of his election platform, along with action on climate change and more humane treatment of asylum seekers. He also wants to revisit the Indigenous Voice to Parliament — which was previously rejected by the Turnbull government — but would “see where the community wanted to take those debates” first.
The Greens have attracted criticism, a lot of it from within their own party, over what some see as a shift closer to the centre under Richard Di Natale’s leadership. But Wy Kanak is about as grassroots as it gets, opting for Aboriginal flag t-shirts over suits, and protests over press conferences.
While this approach may win him credibility within the party, it doesn’t seem to be doing him any favours with the broader electorate. A recent survey by the Voter Choice Project showed that 40% of Wentworth voters didn’t even know his name. For the frontrunners, independent Kerryn Phelps and the Liberals’ Dave Sharma, these numbers were 3% and 5% respectively.
What local council drama could mean for Wentworth
It’s a surprising figure given Wy Kanak has been serving on local council for nearly 20 years. In that time, he’s witnessed the impacts of a series of unpopular decisions made at local and state levels by Liberal governments.
Wentworth covers the local government areas of Waverley and Woollahra. The Liberals enjoyed comfortable majorities on both councils at the start of 2017, but the State Government’s attempt to amalgamate the two councils with neighbouring Randwick was deeply unpopular with locals.
The amalgamations coincided with Waverley Council’s controversial plans to upgrade Bondi Pavilion, and there were concerns the community space on the top floor would be privatised and possibly converted into a function centre. The community came out in full force to defend the historic building, launching a star-studded campaign that told voters to “Put the Liberals Last” at the upcoming election. Wy Kanak, along with other Labor and Greens councillors, joined the fight, attending rallies and pledging to scrap the existing upgrade plans.
It worked. The Liberals lost their majority in Waverley at the council elections last September, paving the way for a “working relationship” between Labor and Greens councillors.
Climate change front of mind
Part of Turnbull’s appeal was his progressive stances on issues like climate change, which is set to be a defining issue in the byelection.
Wy Kanak wants to encourage more households to invest in solar panels, and would consider offering subsidies for them to do so. His energy policy is focused on “energy independence” and ensuring people aren’t “tied to the poles and wires of price-gouging companies.” He is heavily involved in the campaign against the Adani mega-mine, and intends to continue the fight in parliament.
“I think even people who usually voted Labor voted for him because they saw in him the hope of a Prime Minister who would stand up to corporations and the ultra right wing of his party,” says Wy Kanak.
Despite the Greens’ relatively low polling numbers compared to other progressive candidates, Wy Kanak remains optimistic about the byelection process.
“Byelections are unique opportunities for the community to raise any issue, as minor as it may be. You’re the only federal election happening so you have the focus of the media,” he says.
“I think if candidates are doing their job properly they need to give voice and expression to what they hear coming out of the community.”
“It’s a surprising figure given Wy Kanak has been serving on local council for nearly 20 years.”
Nobody pays attention to local council. I couldn’t name even one member of my local council.
Meanwhile, subheadline “but local candidate Dominic Wy Kanak is playing the long game.” Article- not one word about what this long game IS. Did something get axed in editing?
At least there’s some competition for voters in Wentworth. Wish we had some decent grass roots campaigners in my local state and federal seats which are being vacated by two lazy, Nationals dopes after decades of doing nothing. No doubt a couple of fence posts with Nats logos on will be elected to continue the fine tradition of seat warming to keep the coalition in government.
Greens voters are likely to elect Dave Sharma. Thats the only story worth reporting about what they are up to in Wentworth.
The Greens also do well in affluent areas, and normally score around 17% in Wentworth. From the sound of this story, which suggests they’re not campaigning well enough to gain much traction or visibility, it may be less this time, but their vote won’t collapse either… The likely order next Saturday will be Libs, Phelps, Labor, Greens, then the rest. The Libs will fall short of a majority, perhaps in the low 40s. But the Greens are preferencing Labor over Phelps, so when Greens votes are counted, Labor will leapfrog into second place. Labor’s preferences will not then be distributed, but Phelps’ will comfortably give the seat to the Libs – perhaps even with an increased majority.
I doubt most people voting Phelps will follow her how-to-vote. How-to-votes have become increasingly irrelevant, really, when you scrutineer you realise first hand how much people don’t follow them at all, especially people who aren’t voting either Labor or Liberal 1st.
Despite Phelps changing her preferencing position, most people voting for Phelps aren’t doing it as ardent Phelps fans but as an anti-Liberal vote, and the question is how many of them are a protest where they still want to put the Libs 2nd, and how many of them genuinely want to see the Libs out and put Labor ahead of the Libs.
There is some polling to suggest that EITHER Labor or Phelps in 2nd would win off the back of the other’s preferences.
Holy mackeral!
I wonder, as ‘Arky’ does at “Wy Kanak has been serving on local council for nearly 20 years” yet has 40% of Wentworth voters not recognising him!
Firstly, good luck to any Greens candidate standing in one of Australia’s died-in-the-wool LNP seats, with one of the top income demographics in Australia.
But Hell, if you’ve been in local politics for 20 years, apparently within the Wentworth electorate, and 40% of voters don’t recognise you, well, Wy, it’s time to consider another career.
No media conferences, grassroots involvement is lovely, but mate, time to go and give it to a Greens candidate that can make a mark and relate to the locals. What’s Stan Grant or Geoffrey Cousins doing these days?
I’m stunned that, in such an electorate, only 3 & 5% knew that names, respectively, of Phelps & Sharma.
Is rolling around in big piles of money really so anesthetising?
Those are the percentages which DID NOT know the names. E.g. they both had well over 90% recognition.
Quite correct – careless reading on my part.