'Safe seat’ of Cook Missing Out

Voices of Cook has recently commissioned a study which has found that Cook has been missing out on significant grant money from successive governments over many years.

At the 2022 election, a record number of Independents won previously safe seats, in a sign of their communities’ frustration with business-as-usual politics. Independents push for the change demanded by their communities, and fight for their community’s fair share. Now, for the first time, we can see that difference in concrete financial terms.  

When there is an effective Independent who represents their community, the government coffers open up (Figure 1). The community gets more funding for childcare centres, aged care, mental health, the local environment, the energy transition, business opportunities, and volunteering support.  In a nutshell, more funding for the things that matter.

In Warringah, which has been represented by Zali Steggall, Independent since 2019, funding has increased by 320% since 2018-19. Similar growth has occurred in Wentworth and North Sydney (both up 240%) and Mackellar (up 110%), which all turned Independent at the last election in 2022.

But no such luck for Cook, where funding grew by 9%, barely above inflation.

Except for three years in the 1970s, Cook has been in Liberal hands since it was created in 1969. And what have we got to show for 50 years of loyalty? When compared to similar beachside electorates in Sydney, we’ve missed out. People living in the Eastern Suburbs and Northern Beaches get at least three times more funding than the people of Cook (Figure 2). This amounts to $50-$60 million per year, which equates to an extra 12 childcare centres1 or 200 additional aged care places2.  

This indicates that the people of Cook are being ripped off.  Our loyalty is costing us.  This analysis shows it costs us in terms of the government spending  that’s going to other electorates and not to us.  Just as we might switch our energy provider or mortgage company to get a better deal, we also need to do this at election time.  Otherwise we get a fly-in candidate rather than a genuine community independent candidate who understands the people of Cook, pushes for policies that benefit us and who doesn’t just toe the party line.

It’s time for us to give the major parties a scare and get our fair share.  It’s time for us to be represented by someone who actually cares about our community because they are from the community.  

It’s time to support a genuine community Independent in Cook.

(Thanks to a VoC supporter for this analysis and report which was submitted by VoC to The Leader as a media release on 10 February 2025.  An article written by Murray Trembath was subsequently published in The Leader on 12 February 2025:  https://www.theleader.com.au/story/8890301/cook-misses-out-on-funding-as-independents-bloom/)