General News
24 April, 2026
Faith leaders come together
MEMBER for Polwarth Richard Riordan opened his doors last Thursday for his annual Faith Leaders Lunch in Colac, with a number of Corangamite faith leaders in attendance.
Camperdown and Holy Apostles Rector Reverend Matthew Jones and Superior of the Benedictine Abbey Sister Raphael Stone were among faith leaders from across the Polwarth electorate to enjoy the lunch, sharing the concerns of their communities as a united front.
Rev Jones said this year was his second year attending and he was pleased to see representatives from other faiths, including the Muslim community.
“It was a great privilege to share lunch hearing different stories from different faith groups about how they connect with the community – things like the Salvation Army and their connection with families who are struggling and the fact they can offer food and other types of assistance,” he said.
“There was a lot of discussion over concerns about what we would call modern day slavery – where people are working in conditions were they’re not treated well or paid fair wages – and how that is regulated.
“They talked about all sorts of other issues that impact on the community that churches and other faith groups can be involved in to try and have a voice for people who might not have a voice.
“One of the issues I raised was our concerns with the Rodney Grove indoor pool being closed and a committee trying to raise awareness and funds to get it restarted.
“It was an opportunity for people from across different faiths to come together and say what the needs and concerns in the community are and how we can help to support them – a lot of it was around people who are struggling with the current cost of living and being able to get food for their families and pay their bills.”
Rev Jones said it was a privilege to be able to come together as a united group to speak to Mr Riordan.
“I found that really exciting because in Camperdown I haven’t met anyone from the Muslim or Hindu communities, and it was lovely to sit at the table with people from different faiths,” he said.
“I thought it was an exciting time to focus on what we share, not on what is different about us.
“To be able to sit there and talk about important issues that affect the whole community regardless of faith, it was really lovely to be able to sit there on what I would call a level playing field.
“There was nothing to divide us and everything to unite us.
“I think it’s great these opportunities come up because it’s hard to instigate something like this – how would I go about getting such a diverse group together?”
Mr Riordan said another issue raised was the lack of access to health and welfare services in regional areas, with many residents having to travel to Geelong or Warrnambool to access services.
“Advocating to continue to have services coming into Camperdown, Cobden and Timboon is really important – these communities at times can feel quite isolated from some of these services, particularly counselling services,” he said.
“Faith leaders are keen to make sure the government continues to look after people, particularly around the drug and alcohol abuse services – there are no respite care services at all in our region, and very few and limited counselling spots for people to get help.
“That was a really strong topic of conversation – how we can continue to support communities with these issues because they’re not going away.
“Often, when it’s hard economic times, these problems often get worse.”
Other issues raised were the increased need for food relief and cost of living support in communities, the ongoing drought conditions impacting farming areas and the continuing recovery from the January 2026 fires.
Mr Riordan said the lunch wasn’t just about raising issues – it provided an opportunity to celebrate the work faith groups do for their communities as well as to enable networking between different faiths.
“We talked about the community work involved and what a great job some of the chaplaincy groups have done helping to look after everyone in the community,” he said.
“I think it speaks to the fact people in the communities don’t often get a lot of opportunities to come together and network.
“What I find is people doing faith-based work really appreciate the opportunity to come together and network with people across the region.
“As a result, we always get a good turn-up – we had around 20 people attend this year to share their ideas and experiences and connect with each other.
“There’s often a turnover of people in these areas – people stay four-five years in that job, so they’re often new to the area, so it’s a great opportunity for them to catch up with other people and learn about their region as well.”
Rev Jones said Mr Riordan proved to be a good listener over the meal, indicating his willingness to help find solutions to the issues raised.
“He wanted to know what the concerns are – we went around the table and introduced ourselves, said which group we were from and the ministries we were involved in,” he said.
“There were issues such as vaping, where there are very few places where you can buy tobacco legally these days but talking about how those things don’t really have regulation people can act on.
“Because he’s in opposition, he’s trying to put pressure on the government saying these are important issues.”