Whenever anyone tells you that only the big parties or star candidates have a chance of winning a seat in federal parliament, just say ‘Cathy McGowan’. Running as a community-backed independent candidate, Cathy won the previously safe Liberal seat of Indi in 2013 and again in 2016 and passed Indi on to another independent in 2019 – a first in Australian history. Cathy tells how thousands of ordinary men and women in north-eastern Victoria got together, organised themselves and made their voices heard in Canberra.

An inspiring tale and a primer for other communities looking to create change.