Voices of Wannon group launch in Port Fairy this weekend

Voices of Wannon secretary Shelly Murrell said the group met through a shared interest in developing participatory democracy in their local electoral division.

She said the group was created in February with "an enthusiasm for speaking to people and sharing what they believe are their priorities for living in the Wannon community".

The group plans to hold up to 50 kitchen table-styled conversations in the coming months with groups of six-to-eight people.

"We are a non-partisan community group, not a political party," Ms Murrell said.

"We want to engage people in the issues that affect us all and create a more meaningful connection between the people of Wannon and our political representatives. We want to talk to people of all different ages, backgrounds and interests."

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The 'Kitchen Table Conversation' process follows a simple model where small groups meet and discuss what's important to them.

"It doesn't need to be around a kitchen table, we are quite happy to meet people after their yoga class, in a café, a restaurant or any public area," Ms Murell said.

"We can meet wherever they are comfortable."

The Voices of Wannon group will be launched at Port Fairy's Fiddlers Green on Saturday.

Ms Murell said she and other members would be at the community space at 1pm to meet new people and answer any questions.

"We hope people can approach us and have a chat about the Voices of Wannon and their views on federal politics in the area," she said.

The event will be followed by a workshop featuring Catherine McGowan, the independent MP for the rural seat of Indi.

Voices of Wannon member David McIntyre said he initially wrote a Facebook post about the group, which later attracted comments from a few interested people.

"After getting in contact with those people, we've started to meet on a more regular basis and we now have people on all corners of the electorate contributing," he said.

You can find out more information about Voices of Wannon here.

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