CPAC Insider

Meet Melissa Thompson – Leading CPAC Events in NSW

Last week we announced our new State Event Managers - the first step in building CPAC into a truly national movement. Each state organising committee is made up of committed volunteers whose leadership has been elected by Club CPAC members. These are people who stand ready to engage their communities, unite like-minded Australians in their state, and act boldly to protect liberty and opportunity for all. In case you missed last week's announcement, here are the three new State Event Managers: New South Wales Melissa Thompson nsw@cpac.network Queensland Railene Turner qld@cpac.network Victoria Greg Cheesman vic@cpac.network This is how we build a real grassroots movement - from the ground up. We shared Greg Cheesman's mission statement last week. This week, the spotlight is on Railene Turner who shares her motivation for getting involved with CPAC.

Here at CPAC, we're pumped to announce that CPAC has officially formed our first three state-based organising committees in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. This is a major step forward in making CPAC a truly national and uncancelable force.  Each committee is led by a new State Events Manager who will work with the other committee members to articulate our values through grassroots local events, speaker tours, rallies, and more - all the things we know conservatives across Australia are calling for. Expanding our footprint is how we engage our communities and unite our voices to defend liberty and opportunity for all. Given the prospect of six more years of a hard-left political agenda, we believe now is the time to act . Keeping with our values, belief in liberal democracy and grassroots culture, Club CPAC members and volunteers voted to select their new committee representatives in each state. We're proud to introduce three outstanding individuals chosen to lead the charge: New South Wales Melissa Thompson nsw@cpac.network Queensland Railene Turner qld@cpac.network Victoria Greg Cheesman vic@cpac.network Congratulations to each of them and the team elected to work with them! We're confident they'll help engage more Australians, unite our grassroots networks and act boldly to advance CPAC's mission of protecting liberty and opportunity for all. If you'd like to help bring a CPAC event to your state, I encourage you to use the contact emails above to reach out to your local State Events Manager. These committees are the vanguard of our nationwide expansion, and we will plan to start committees in South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania. We will introduce you to a new team member each week. This week, the spotlight is on Greg Cheesman, who shares his motivation for getting involved with CPAC.

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CPAC US Recap: What Our Explorers Took Away

Guest Post by Global Explorer Joel Jammal The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC); is host to the most well-known names and accredited brains within conservatism globally. With thanks to the CPAC Australia organisation and entrepreneur Steve Baxter, I was fortunate to be a sponsored guest at the 2025 CPAC USA conference in Washington DC. As a political commentator and analyst this gave me the opportunity to step out of the figurative lecture hall and into the arena of US politics. With speakers such as Nigel Farage, Elon Musk, Vice President JD Vance, all the way up to the standing President of the United States; Donald J Trump, any conservative would be blown away by the proximity to this living wisdom, as was I. However, as I left the conference after hearing so many incredible words; an unexpected statement from a speaker rang in my ears.

After an unforgettable week at CPAC US, I’m heading home with our CPAC Australia delegation, and let me tell you—this trip was something else. From the moment we landed, it was non-stop action, networking, and learning, and I couldn’t be prouder of the young Australians who came along as part of our CPAC Global Explorers Program. We kicked things off with a private tour of the US Capitol. Walking the halls of American democracy, seeing where history is made—it was an amazing experience. But that was just the beginning. Before CPAC officially kicked off, United International members of CPAC gathered, including Liz Truss, to discuss the global conservative movement. It was a powerful reminder that we’re part of something much bigger than just Australia—conservatives everywhere are fighting the same battles, and we’re winning ground. Before we knew it, CPAC was in full swing.