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RACGP Faculty Council candidates revealed
Members are urged to vote when polls open on Friday, with positions on several state-based, rural, and GPs in training groups up for election.
Voting for contested electorates will open from 12.00 pm AEST, Friday 30 August.
Eligible RACGP members can help shape the future of the college’s advocacy and decision making, as voting opens to elect the next generation of Faculty Council members.
Candidates have now been revealed for six positions with the Victoria faculty, and seven in Queensland.
Members can also vote for the Academic Registrar representative within the GPs in Training faculty, and the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory representative in the Rural faculty.
The voting period for these contested electorates will open from 12.00 pm (AEST), Friday 30 August, until 12.00 pm (AEST), Monday 9 September.
RACGP Victoria Chair Dr Anita Muñoz urged eligible members to cast their vote, saying she ‘cannot overstate how important the faculties are in college life’.
‘It’s a great space for bringing into the college the concerns and the needs of the membership, and it’s also an excellent conduit back out to the college, into the membership, of what the college is doing for its members,’ she told newsGP.
‘The college gets so much of its information and understanding about membership from the people that sit on Council and the communities that they represent.
‘I really encourage people to vote because it’s actually the people that get involved in college life through faculties that then go on to lead the college, and so if you’re wanting things to change, if you’re wanting things to be influenced, it’s the place to begin.’
Several uncontested positions have already been filled, including on state-based faculties, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health faculty, and the Specific Interests faculty.
Upon their election, these Faculty Council members are expected to speak up for GPs and their patients, as well as advocating to state, territory, and federal governments.
Dr Muñoz said these faculty members often bring to the college issues which may otherwise go under the radar.
‘It’s very hard to know what’s happening in every community all around Australia, and so their participation helps us set the agenda for our advocacy and for our strategy,’ she said.
‘We want people on council that represent their communities, and they can only get on to council if their community votes for them.’
Elected Faculty Council members will be announced on 11 September, and new and continuing Faculty Chairs will be announced on 21 October.
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