Photo Credit: Gay Alcorn // The Guardian Newspaper

In 2013, Cathy McGowan broke the Liberal/National Coalition’s hold on the seat of Indi, becoming the first independent member for the north-east Victorian electorate and the first female independent to sit on the crossbench. During her two terms as a politician, Cathy worked in Federal Parliament to develop policy around regional development, a code of conduct for politicians, and drought policy. Cathy was awarded The Accountability Round Table award for political integrity in 2019, and is also an Officer of the Order of Australia and a Churchill fellow.

In 2014, we were fortunate enough to have Cathy read An absolutely Ordinary Rainbow, a poem by Les Murray.