Common Endeavour

Writing and Ideas

Exploring, Animating
a Common Endeavour

The core ideas that animate the Common Endeavour project are:

Connecting and Connection

Recognising our connections with each other is at the heart of Common Endeavour.

Recently in Connection: Core Needs.

Nation Building

Rebuilding the promise of a nation.

the Common Good

What happens when we value and take seriously our relationships with each other.

In addition to the recent articles above, you can find more writing on these ideas at the Common Endeavour blog.

The idea of Common Endeavour

Political renewal

Common Endeavour is an idea of a political party premised on the belief that we can do politics better; that our political culture needs to change; and that political parties have a role in that change.

Inspired in the first instance by Simone Weil’s work On the Abolition of All Political Parties and Ted Mack’s career as an elected representative at all three levels of government in Australia (summarised beautifully in his powerful 2013 Parkes Oration), the idea of Common Endeavour involves breaking from the obsession with winning elections at any cost, instead embracing a renewed political purpose dedicated to developing and delivering good public policy; sound public administration; and political integrity.

If you would like to be part of building an organisation with this aspiration, please check out our Next Steps page, email us at Common Endeavour, or contact us on one of the other channels at the bottom of our landing page.

The ideas of Common Endeavour

Connecting and Connection

Our connections with each other are a vital part of who we are. Recognising their importance, and the ways they can be good - or bad - for us, is at the heart of Common Endeavour.

Nation Building

Political stagnation over the past 30 years has led to a country where differences and divisions are amplified. This makes Nation Building fundamental to politcal renewal.

Proposed Nation Building activities include: Tax reform, strengthening respect for our First Nations, and tackling intergenerational trauma.

the Common Good

the Common Good is what happens when we value and take seriously our relationships with each other. What we get can be a physical object (a memorial pool), a service (aged care), or an institution (the legal system).

the Common Good (and the relationships involved) is defined at the community level, whether that is your town or neighbourhood, your state, your nation, or anything in between.

Acknowledgement of Country

Common Endeavour acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the First Peoples of Australia.

We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture.

We pay respect to Elders past and present.

Common Endeavour was inspired by life in Yuggera and Ugarapul Country. The Common Endeavour project is currently based on that Country and in Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country.

We cherish the privlege of living in this extraordinary, beautiful land of mountains and plains; of forests and deserts; of waterways and lakes and seas; tended for so long with such care by Australia's First Nations people.

Photo Credits

All of the images in these pages are pictures of Australian First Nations Country.

Next Steps

Right now we are building the Common Endeavour organisation; developing a constitution, appointing office holders. All the glamorous things to be done before building membership and registering the party!

Get in touch using the channels below if you'd like to be part of this work; or if you'd just like to know more.
And tell us what you think. We'd love to hear from you!
All are welcome.

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