Darebin Progressive Independents Network

What is DPIN?

DPIN is a network of like-minded residents from the City of Darebin whose politics are progressive
and left of centre.The network has no connection to political parties.

Our People

The people who make up the network come from a variety of backgrounds. Some are people currently active in the community and are part of a community group perhaps pursuing a single issue in Darebin. Others are people with a lengthy, past association with Darebin Council via an advisory committees or similar.

DPIN also has people who are former members of a political party who became disillusioned with the structure, internal politics or direction of the party. These people often experienced difficulty with the unnecessary rigidity, factionalism and in-fighting associated with party politics, even at the local level. This rigidity can constrain the adoption of progressive positions that the Darebin community wants. At least at the local government level, people in DPIN feel that ideology and party strictures should not infect Council politics.

All those in the network are people who have experienced a level of dissatisfaction in their dealings with Darebin Council and want Council to better represent the aspirations of the generally progressive Darebin community.

Our Platform

DPIN’s policies arise from a number of broad values shared by those who contribute to the network.

Those values comprise equal support for and commitment to the following:

First Nations People

Recognition and profound respect for First Nations people - arising from, but not limited to, their 65,000 year old continuous culture and their historic affinity with and care for Country - and to increasing their agency in Australian society;

Working with First Nations people towards the elimination of a deeply embedded colonialist/racist mentality that has grossly disadvantaged First Nations people since white settlement and cannot be allowed to continue if reconciliation is to occur;

Working towards reform of the trappings of colonialism through support for an Australian republic, with the abolition of the British monarch as the Australian head of state;

Continuing not to accept a national day that, by implication, at least in part celebrates the beginning of theft of land from First Nations people, the loss of their way of life and culture and the associated, murderous Frontier Wars that spanned more than a century;

Role of Government

Promoting the role governments can play in leading economic and social direction-setting and service provision via its participation in market activity and therefore repudiation of the “small” government ideology of neo-liberalism;

Advocating that all governments exercise their role in helping necessary re-distribution of wealth to build a more cohesive and fair society promoting greater socio-economic equality and inclusion and promoting employment for all, removing barriers to employment and recognising the dignity that fair, legally paid work can deliver;

Promoting positive discrimination favouring people who experience structural disadvantages to address and reconcile past and present inequality, promote fairness and inclusion and encourage equality of opportunity;

Promotion of community well-being as a societal end, rather than endless consumerism and unfettered growth founded on a neo-liberalist, acquisitive, individualistic, market ideology and practices;

Sound longer-term strategic planning as a means to counter short-term opportunism and build a stronger society and community, anticipating, instead of reacting to, global and national challenges and change.

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Governance

DPIN believes there is significant disillusionment in the Darebin community over the functioning of many aspects of Darebin Council, from poor and inadequate consultation processes to an absence of transparency and more.

When elected, Darebin Progressive Independents Network (DPINs) Councillors will:

Remuneration

Seek a review of salary structures based on a view that overly generous salaries have become an excessive impost on Council budgets, especially when compared with many others who hold high office in other government sectors and who bear much higher levels of responsibility and public scrutiny and accountability .

Transparency, Support and Fairness

Ensure, via a review of governance processes, increased transparency in governance to provide greater accountability to Darebin residents and ratepayers.

Ensure the annual budget process provides greater clarity for the Darebin public to be able to trace specific projects to see if funding has been made available and how funding may have changed from the previous year.

Ensure that Council decisions are seen to provide support to Darebin residents and ratepayers and that no decisions are excessively penalise sectors of the community.

Ensure that Council decisions are seen to provide and uphold values of fairness and equity in the distribution of resources across the municipality.