Candidates for the Federal seat of La Trobe, in ballot order, who responded to questions before deadline.
Jason Wood (Liberal)
Where do you live and how long have you lived there?
I have lived in the Dandenong Ranges for the last 30 years.
Why did you choose to run for the seat of La Trobe?
I was in the police force but found it impossible to achieve change. But as an Member of Parliament you can achieve change, so I thought ‘maybe I could do something’.
Why did you choose to join your party?
As a former police officer, I believed the Liberals were good on matters of community safety and good for small business, but I believed they should have been doing more on matters of climate and wildlife.
Since then, I’ve been proud to have secured a cosmetic testing ban on animals, plus a ban on importing rhino horn, lion trophies and elephant ivory.
Why are you the best candidate for La Trobe?
This is always for the people to judge. I have always been mindful of listening to what the public needs and then fighting for it. I have a clear record
Can you tell us about your life outside of work?
Family is so important to me. Obviously, it is very busy at the moment, but I always find time to take my little one to karate and swimming lessons. There is always time for family, it is so important.
What do you believe are the three biggest issues facing the electorate?
1. Resolving traffic congestion through local projects such as upgrading Clyde road, delivering 36km in additional lanes along the Monash Freeway, completing the Beaconsfield interchange and upgrading Racecourse and McGregor roads.
2. People are doing it very tough at the moment, which is why I am focused on reducing cost of living pressures such as cutting petrol prices, making private health insurance more affordable and reducing energy costs.
3. Making our community safe and liveable with a particular focus on protecting women and children.
What are your three most important policies?
1. Everything stems from good economic management. We need a strong economy to fund our essential services, provide tax relief and keep interest rates low
2. Law enforcement and keeping our communities safe through deporting foreign born criminals, supporting our national anti gang squad and providing community organisations with funding for vital security upgrades
3. National security and protecting our borders, through agreements such as AUKUS which ensure stability in the region, while also supporting other policies such as Operation Sovereign Borders.
Hadden Ervin (Pauline Hanson’s One Nation)
Did not respond before deadline.
Michael Schilling (Australian Greens)
Where do you live and how long have you lived there?
Pakenham since 2007.
Why did you choose to run for the seat of La Trobe?
Following my term on Cardinia Shire Council, I wanted to continue my contribution towards making our community a better place to live, and I felt the current government had failed to care for all Australians and failed to act on climate change.
Why did you choose to join your party?
I joined the Greens in 2009, because of the Greens disability, healthcare, and education policies. The Greens have a solid commitment to tackling the climate crisis and the rising cost of living.
Why are you the best candidate for La Trobe?
Building thriving communities and caring for people is what drives me. As a parent, and former local government councillor, I understand the challenges that our community faces, and the opportunities that lay ahead. I’ve worked towards improving the livability of Cardinia, and I have the experience and the right policies to create a better life for all of us in La Trobe.
Can you tell us about your life outside of work?
Outside of my full time job, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, and hiking.
What do you believe are the three biggest issues facing the electorate?
1. Cost of living (including the housing affordability crisis and insecure work) – everything is going up, except people’s wages and it’s really tough for so many people in our electorate to make ends meet. Childcare and education fees are unaffordable, people are working two or three jobs to make ends meet, and too many people are being locked out of the housing market.
2. Climate change – our communities are on the front line of the climate crisis. We’ve had the 2021 storms in the Hills and the 2019 Bunyip fires. Our communities are still in the recovery process. We need to support our communities in the recovery process, and we must commit to taking action on climate change, and getting to net zero by 2035.
3. Dental and Mental Health – Two million Australians delay or don’t go to the dentist because they can’t afford it, and the average waiting list for a public dentist is 24 months. La Trobe is in need of significantly more funding for mental health services, as mental health care is expensive, hard to find, and appointments can take months to get because of long wait lists.
What are your three most important policies?
Our health, education, and housing policies will tackle the cost of living and provide a better life for all of us. We’ll provide the services everyone needs to live a better life, and we’ll tax billionaires and big corporations to pay for it. Find all our policies: greens.org.au/platform
1. Health: Getting dental and mental health into Medicare. Healthcare is getting more and more expensive, and too many people can’t afford to access dental or mental health care. The Greens will make dental and mental health care part of medicare, and reinvest the private health rebate back into the public system so we can slash wait times and remove out of pocket costs.
2. Education: Free education for life and free childcare. The Greens plan includes free, high quality early childhood education and public schools that meet everyone’s needs. We’ll deliver free Uni and TAFE, and we’ll wipe student debt. Nearly three million people owed an average of $23,685 in study debt in 2020-21 and if we don’t make a big investment in public schools, 99 per cent won’t have the funding they need by 2023. The Greens are committed to investing in education.
3. Housing: Building one million new affordable homes. Homelessness is on the rise, and today people face decade-long waits for access to affordable housing. Building one million new homes will ensure there is a home for all. These homes will be sustainable, accessible and affordable
Merryn Mott (United Australia Party)
Where do you live and how long have you lived there?
I live in Pakenham which is in the heart of the La Trobe electorate. I have lived there for six years and love it!
Why did you choose to run for the seat of La Trobe?
Owning a business in Pakenham has been a struggle for many.I own a barbershop/ hairsalon with a business partner and After each lockdown I became more frustrated. This gave me the motivation to want to represent and stand up for people in our electorate.
Why did you choose to join your party?
I love the philosophies of UAP such as freedom and putting Australians first. We can’t share our cup if it is empty. We need to fill Aussies cups and then we can help others. Locking interest rates for homes and paying pensioners $180 extra per fortnight as well as other policies will achieve this.
Why are you the best candidate for La Trobe?
I’m in the community and privy to having conversations about people’s needs. I am also very hardworking and ready to represent people’s requirements. People would say that I am an honest and genuine person.
Can you tell us about your life outside of work?
I love my life. I have the best husband and daughters. I like to go camping, the beach, painting with oil paints, I love the great outdoors and spending time with friends and family.
What do you believe are the three biggest issues facing the electorate?
1. There’s a huge amount of people in La Trobe electorate that still cannot work due to mandates.
2. La Trobe has a critical problem with the cost of housing including mortgage holders and also renters.
3. Health care availability – having access to mental health resources which has been exacerbated by the last two years.
What are your three most important policies?
1. Ending mandates to get peoples jobs back. Businesses are still suffering.
2. La Trobe electorate is second listed electorate for mortgage stress. United Australia Party will make the first $30,000 of home mortgage payments each year tax deductable. We will also lock interest rates at three per cent so that Aussies don’t lose their homes. This will put more spending money in circulation which will also help businesses.
3. We will provide $40 billion additional funding for health going directly to hospitals.
Abhimanyu Kumar (Australian Labor Party)
Where do you live and how long have you lived there?
I live in Melbourne’s South-East with my wife Rajni and our two daughters. I’ve lived here for nearly six years and love our region.
Why did you choose to run for the seat of La Trobe?
I chose to run for the seat of La Trobe because our community needs real representation. La Trobe is being left behind – and only Labor will make the investments we need in cheaper childcare, fixing aged care, strengthening Medicare, local manufacturing and more to give our region a better future. Our community is experiencing rapid growth and has so much potential – so it’s only right that we have a government that will back us in every step of the way. To do that, we need a Labor government.
Why did you choose to join your party?
I joined the Labor Party because I believe in Labor values – a fair wage for a fair day’s work, inclusivity, and working together to build an economy that delivers for Australians, not the other way around.
Why are you the best candidate for La Trobe?
One of my proudest moments was becoming an Australian citizen. And I am committed to giving back to our country.
For many years, I’ve successfully run a small construction business. I understand the pressures on small businesses and working families. And the challenges of balancing work and family life.
After growing up in India, I lectured in chemical engineering and studied Information Technology. I later worked for IBM, and the Australian government in Canberra.
I believe that I am the best candidate for La Trobe because I’ve experienced the Australian dream. And I want to be part of a government that ensures those opportunities stay available to every one of us.
Can you tell us about your life outside of work?
I spend a lot of time with my wife and two daughters. My family is my everything.
I also enjoy playing sport – the Officer Tennis Club were quite surprised that I wasn’t half bad when I visited!
Volunteering is another one of my passions. During Covid, I played a small role, alongside community organisations, in helping to facilitate repatriation flights for Australians stranded overseas because of border closures. It’s so important that we all give back to our community in any way we can, and that’s a principle I’ve always tried to live.
What do you believe are the three biggest issues facing the electorate?
Service provision, infrastructure needs and health.
What are your three most important policies?
1. Health – Labor built Medicare. And only Labor will strengthen Medicare with a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in La Trobe, as part of our $135 million nationwide commitment.
The Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will take the pressure off our busy Casey Hospital emergency department by providing an alternative option for families needing urgent care from a doctor or nurse. The clinic will treat sprains and broken bones, cuts, wounds, insect bites, minor ear and eye problems and minor burns.
It’ll be open at least 8am to 10pm, seven days a week. Best of all, all treatments will be bulk-billed – so all you’ll need is your Medicare card.
2. Skills and Manufacturing – Labor knows that the only way to build a better future is with a future made in Australia. More Aussie jobs, and more Aussie manufacturing.
That’s why Labor will establish a $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund. Partnering with the private sector to support local manufacturing projects and to build more things here – from trains, trams, ferries, clean energy projects and more. And it’s why we’ll fund 400,000 fee-free TAFE places and properly fund public TAFE. So more Australians can access TAFE without worrying about how they’ll afford it.
3. Federal ICAC – Scott Morrison and the Liberals think that voters don’t care about corruption in government.
I am immensely proud to be a running with a Labor Party that has committed to establishing a National Anti-Corruption Commission by the end of 2022.
The commission will be transparent, independent, and powerful. It’ll have retrospective powers and be able to hold public hearings. Because dodgy politicians should be held to the same standard as every Australian. Only Labor will end the rorts, waste and corruption.
Rebecca Skinner (Australian Federation Party)
Did not respond before deadline.
Michael Abelman (Liberal Democrats)
Where do you live and how long have you lived there?
I have live in South Gippsland since July last year.
Why did you choose to run for the seat of La Trobe?
In my previous role I have worked with local GP clinics and pharmacies facilitating a drug dependence program, I have assisted a broad spectrum of the community in an area few like to think about or talk about.
Why did you choose to join your party?
The Rudd Gillard Rudd Abbot Turnbull ScoMo fiasco squashed any idea that the two big parties know or care about their constituents. LDP is all about smaller government and more freedom of personal choice.
Why are you the best candidate for La Trobe?
I am the only candidate that advocates recall elections, no tax under $40,000, voluntary super, decentralised education and an end to media censorship agreements
Can you tell us about your life outside of work?
I have been a registered pharmacist for 40 years. I am a long time supporter of drug policy reform and currently studying and creating a sustainable living space at my home.
What do you believe are the three biggest issues facing the electorate?
Cost of living, education and media censorship.
What are your three most important policies?
No tax under $40,000, funding students instead of schools, allowing free speech and more personal freedom speech and more personal freedom.
Helen Jeges (Animal Justice Party)
Where do you live and how long have you lived there?
I live on beautiful Gunaikurnai land in the temperate rainforest of the Tarra Valley in Gippsland. Our family relocated around five years ago, leaving the southeast suburbs of Melbourne to make a tree-change in Regional Victoria.
Why did you choose to run for the seat of La Trobe?
La Trobe has a special significance for me, as my father, a veterinarian, grew up on a farm in Garfield. I believe that the voters of La Trobe do not support animal cruelty and want politicians who will work towards a better world for animals, people, and the planet we share.
Why did you choose to join your party?
In 2011, I saw the Four Corners documentary ‘A Bloody Business’, which exposed the indefensible cruelty inflicted on Australian cattle exported to the slaughterhouses of Indonesia. It highlighted to me the absence of political representation for animals in our parliamentary systems.
Why are you the best candidate for La Trobe?
By voting #1 for the Animal Justice Party on your ballot paper, followed by the major party of your choice, you send a powerful message that animal cruelty will no longer be tolerated.
Can you tell us about your life outside of work?
Outside my work at Latrobe Regional Hospital, as a Doctor of Paediatric Neuropsychology, I help run our family business, a dog-friendly holiday park. I’m also involved in wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, our local Primary School Council and Gippsland Dance Eisteddfods.
What do you believe are the three biggest issues facing the electorate?
La Trobe is a rapidly expanding growth corridor. As such, current issues facing the electorate relate to inadequate infrastructure, an under-resourced public health system and overcrowded schools.
What are your three most important policies?
The Animal Justice Party will: end live animal export, phase out factory farming by 2027, and advocate for nationally consistent laws that ban the practice of puppy and kitten farming.
