Doctors call Curtin candidates to account (22 Mar 2025)

In the lead-up to the federal election, Doctors for the Environment Australia are co-hosting a public forum in Curtin with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Public Health Association of Australia.

The event, from 6 to 7.30pm next Friday, March 28 in the Shenton Park Community Centre at 240 Onslow Road, aims to address pressing issues such as climate change, energy security, and environmental impacts on public health topics of immense importance for the health and wellbeing of all Australians.

Encouragingly, three candidates have accepted the invitation to engage with the public. Sitting independent MP Kate Chaney, newly announced Labor candidate Dr Viktor Ko, and Greens candidate Kitty Hemsley have confirmed their attendance.

However, Liberal candidate Tom White has declined to participate. Understandably, all candidates have to prioritise their campaign time and there may be valid reasons for absences. But the failure of candidates to engage with voters in an open, unscripted setting ultimately weakens public trust in the political process.

With campaigns now shaped by tightly scripted slogans and media bites, forums serve as a rare space for unscripted dialogue that allows for genuine conversations rather than prepared speeches lacking substance. If candidates increasingly retreat from public debate, democracy risks being reduced to a contest of marketing strategies rather than meaningful representation.

So our invitation remains open to the Liberal candidate and to all within the electorate of Curtin to attend the forum and engage and restore openness and accountability within our political process. Dr Richard Yin Doctors for the Environment Australia Organiser of the Curtin Candidates Forum

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