Community Development The Future For All

Today I got to follow along my partner as she met with the local Sikh community, for me I just tend to tag along and take pictures for her along the campaign trail and during her non official duties. I avoid getting involved in anything official as it's not my place. We've been together since we were 11 and 12 so we're quite in tune with each other and have similar views and opinions on most things.

Similarly we have both come from quite poor backgrounds but have always worked to progress and taken steps to move forward, I think when you're on the bottom you know no one is coming to save you and have to try to make ends meet. It's why we chose the careers we did, her a nurse and I went into community development and social work.

Those fields are quite important to both of us, during our times of hardship the government never showed up to help it was always our friends, family and community members. We both chose to get involved in politics and my partner has been elected with a massive lead once again.

She often get's questioned a lot about her successes and how she has done it, she always struggles to answer that question but I think someone really laid it out for her today.

You're One Of Us

Like the 99% she doesn't see colour, creed or differences we're all human at the end of the day and she's always been active and engaged. Lately a lot of people have been reaching out to her because in their words "you do politics differently". I don't particularly think she does, I think she does it how it should be done and that's listening and doing your job.

Coming from a poor background where I remember we once had to sell our T.V to buy food for the night really humbles a person and put's life into perspective and what people are going through. Let's be honest in a rich country like Australia if people are having to sell their T.V to buy food something is wrong.

One conversation she had she asked how she could help, the community leaders responded there is not much we can ask from you that you aren't already doing. We have been watching you and you first started and learned and then fought, they came for you, tried to get rid of you but you kept fighting and you're not trying to be better you're leading with us not for us, we want to help.

Community Development

There's a whole back story to that but it is for another time. It did get me thinking as this community group also made points on how her fight has already impacted and made others change how they do things. So it is working.

It brings me back to my educational background in community development and how it spoke about empowering communities to lead, politician's are not really the best thing in a community development approach. Not that they aren't needed but politics isn't a career in a community development model as it encompasses change and growth and meeting the need of the community at the time. So there is no real "conservative" aspect to it, although conservative is not a real concept it is misleading because if it was real we'd all still be living in the dark ages. Conservatism itself changes with it's community needs.

People misuse conservativism, but it did get me thinking about much of the current issues facing cost of living, communities and the whole DEI thing. DEI constantly gets rorted by people and the money set aside for communities that are marginalised never gets there.

While Elon Musk is being an idiot about it, he's got a few points and full disclosure I do not like Elon Musk. Not because he is a "rich white dude", I don't like how he operates. Just as I am sure if he knew I existed he probably wouldn't like how I operate and that's ok. But, he is doing some things right.

We're All Equal Here

The thing I really enjoyed today was the entire element around the cultural beliefs systems around everyone being equal, meals are shared where eats together on the floor to symbolize equality. This is something the current political system needs to be humbled on.

Currently we have the business elites vs the political elites battling it out in the U.S and we're just following along on the entertainment. Nothing they do will actually have much of an impact in our lives, well. Trump's latest Tariff battle has brought down inflation and interest rates but that is just general economic management.

Raise taxes and tariffs it makes everything expensive and then interest rates come down because there is less money. The broader issue comes down to the borrowing of money and how it continues to go to the select elites and not grow GDP, when GDP isn't growing the dollar weakens etc. There are a lot more complexities to it than that but its a broad thing.

Again back to my point, here the entire Sikh community offer FREE food (obviously community members donate funds which are pooled) as well as music classes, sports and many more things and this is where the DEI fails and Community Development takes over.

Currently there are a lot of "inclusion" funds and grants but they don't tend to go to where they are needed while some dispute they are the data and community issues like youth crime and poverty increase proves that they are not. Where as this community group is self funding entire programs and services which goes back to my initial point and lived experience.

When I was in need, it wasn't the government that came and helped me. It was my friends, family and community.

Perhaps the bureaucracy needs to focus on more compliance and performance management to cut the groups that aren't delivering and fund the ones that are. I mean, how can you argue with the fact many services aren't delivering but getting paid while others are delivering and not getting paid.

Again, community development focuses on empowering communities not governments. I guess that's the issue. Community Development puts politicians out of a job, but hey. I guess my family aren't politicians and perhaps more mums and dads and non politicians need to get rid of the career politicians.

Just some food for thought.

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