About Us
Hunter Community Alliance is a broad based collaboration and is inclusive of community, environmental, ethnic and cultural groups, unions, and religious organisations. Its purpose is to build the power and influence of community organisations that share similar values and motivations.
The Alliance strengthens organisations, and the connectivity between them, through story, training and advocacy – for social and economic progress in the Hunter Region.
The Alliance was born out of a need identified by several local, experienced community leaders and organisers who had seen the model work for Sydney Alliance and Queensland Community Alliance. Many conversations happened over 18 months during 2018-2019 with community leaders throughout the region to tap the enthusiasm for starting the Alliance.
A core group of diverse local organisations then raised funds to employ an organiser. Those organisations were: Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, Community Disability Alliance Hunter, Hunter Presbytery of the Uniting Church in Australia and The Wilderness Society Newcastle.
The Hunter Region has a tradition of action. Many gains have been made to improve the social, economic and natural environment. The challenge remains to transform activism that rises and falls around particular issues to a long-term broad-based community organising structure that continues beyond passing issues for the long-term pursuit of justice.
That is the role of Hunter Community Alliance.
Media Mentions 2024
50 groups call on region MPs to stop 'short changing' Hunter, Michael Parris March 16 2024
HCA Launches in Newcastle, Newsroom April 10 2024
Fresh hope for Hamilton South, Jade Lazarevic April 12th 2024
What Ministers Promised, Jamison Murphy April 15 2024
Hunter Community Alliance a bold experiment in grassroots democracy, Opinion, Fmr Liberal Senator Dr John Tierney AM, April 16th 2024
More to follow
Steering Committee
Teresa Brierley, Catholic Diocese, Maitland-Newcastle
Tom Stuart, Charlestown-Garden Suburbs Uniting Church, member of NSWCA Board
Dave Belcher, Community Disability Alliance Hunter
Peter Coughlan, Treasurer, Hunter Renewal, member of NSWCA Board
Lou Johnston, Friend of the Alliance
Michael Gilray, Hunter Workers Union
Deb Dunning, Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (Newcastle & Northern)
Teresa Hetherington, Hunter Workers Union
The Steering Committee meets every month. It performed a Board oversight function until the Hunter Community Alliance was founded in 2024. They continue to support member organisations to keep the organising cycle on track.
MODEL, PURPOSE
Hunter Community Alliance uses an effective organising model first developed by the Industrial Areas Foundation - an alliance of interfaith groups and labour unions in the U.S. It is used by organisations for change globally and has been refined over 70 years and contextualised for Australia and the Hunter Region. Read more about the model.
The purpose of our alliance is to strengthen civil society organisations through focused conversations, training and advocacy so that the common good is advanced.
Collaboration builds power. Collaboration is difficult to maintain which is why there is a strong emphasis on building and maintaining relationships between organisational leaders. Relationships come before the discernment of issues.
The strategic direction, the actions we undertake, is steered by a council of representatives from the Alliance's Financial Members which is cupported by a steering committee.
PRINCIPLES
We believe in a fair, just and sustainable Hunter.
We are grounded in the world as it is and working towards the world as it should be.
We believe in the richness of diverse cultures, beliefs and relationships and in the importance of human dignity.
We believe that individuals need groups, groups need co-operation and co-operation needs relationships based on reciprocity of respect, understanding and trust.
We believe in the consequent interdependence of enlightened individual interests and our common good.
We believe that a democratic society benefits from having strong communities and strong civic organisations.
We believe that all people have the potential to speak and act with others on their own behalf, to grow and develop as leaders and to participate fully in our democracy
We focus on our shared values and interests
We learn, educate and grow in strength, wisdom, action and power together
We gain consensus through considered discernment
We never do for others what they can do for themselves
We implement effective actions informed by the preceding principles