MULGRAVE
Suburbs include: Springvale, Noble Park, Noble Park North, Dandenong North.
Held by Daniel Andrews (ALP) 62.7 2-party preferred.
1. Where do you live and how long have you lived there?
2. Why did you choose to run for the seat?
3. Why are you the best candidate for Mulgrave?
4. Biggest three issues in your electorate and how will you tackle them?
5. How would you tackle the shortage of affordable homes in Greater Dandenong?
6. What’s your view on the proposed rezoning of Sandown racecourse for a 7000-dwelling estate?
Ian Cook (independent)
Age: 62
Occupation: Founder of catering company I Cook Foods.
1. I currently rent in Adelaide Street. I previously owned a home in the middle of the electorate but was forced to sell it when the State Government and the Dandenong Council set up Community Chef, which temporarily distorted the catering market in Victoria.
2. My business, I Cook Foods previously employed 41 locals and had run successfully for decades. However in 2019, the Dandenong City Council and the Department of Health illegally closed I Cook Foods. Since then, I have been fighting this corruption in the courts. Finally, I decided that the best way to fight corruption was to challenge (in this election).
3. I’m against corruption. I’m also already accessible to everyone in the electorate. My campaign office door is open to anyone who needs assistance, and if elected my electorate office will be the same. I strongly believe that the answers to the challenges facing Mulgrave are already known by the people of Mulgrave. As a local member my job is to listen to locals and then do what needs to be done.
4. Corruption is a serious problem that affects everything else in the community. I will tackle corruption by publicly exposing it wherever I find it.
I will also push hard for reforms that return to a proper separation of powers, so that governments no longer control and manipulate the police and the courts.
I will also support proper funding, genuine powers and true independence for our state’s corruption fighting institutions, including the Ombudsman and IBAC.
I will also prioritise proper support for small businesses and the people they employ in Mulgrave.
Small businesses are the backbone of our community. They are vital to the economic wellbeing of us all.
The first way to support small business will be to reverse the recent increases to land tax. Land tax increases drive up the cost of everything we buy. They drive up the cost of living. These tax increases must be reversed in order to make life affordable for the people of Mulgrave.
I am also concerned that the important roles parents play in children’s lives are being deliberately undermined by this government, through school programs and also through legal restrictions on how parents can care for their children.
As loving parents, we must defend the right to raise our children properly and in a way that is consistent with our common values. I will strongly oppose any attempts to degrade the important role that loving and supportive parents play in our children’s lives.
5. You tackle the serious shortage of housing in Dandenong by increasing housing in other areas of the state. This will drive house prices down to affordable levels and reduce pressure in the housing market. By taking a statewide approach you can make things better for the people of Mulgrave and Dandenong.
6. I’m very keen to listen carefully to advocates and opponents or this proposal before I take a position on this important issue.
As a local MP it will be my job to listen to everyone and seek common ground where possible.
xxxx
Joseph Toscano (independent)
Age: 70
Occupation: Semi-retired Medical Practitioner
1. I currently live in Melbourne and have lived in various suburbs throughout Melbourne since 1976.
2. To put Positive Human Focused Reforms back on the state political agenda.
I am sick and tired of the state of Victoria being held to ransom by privately owned construction corporations that are supported by both the Labor state government and the Opposition.
The Victorian government should satisfy basic human needs
F – Food Security
E – Energy Security
H – Housing
H – Health
E – Education
R – Recreation
before continuing with the never-ending construction blitz it has embarked on.
3. The Mulgrave electors will decide who the best candidate is, for them. It is not my role to claim I am the best candidate – it is up to the electorate.
4. The biggest three issues in the Mulgrave electorate include:
Public Housing – to become a priority in Victoria. Public housing should be available to all Victorians who cannot afford to buy a home.
Food Security – Food vouchers ($150 adult / $70 child) per month for every adult on a social security benefit, in Victoria. Food vouchers to be spent at food related micro and small businesses registered with the state government.
Recreation – everybody deserves a holiday. Every four years, every adult earning less than $1,000 per week, will receive a $1,000 accommodation / travel voucher, and every dependent child receives a $500 accommodation / travel voucher, to be used in Victoria.
How Do We Fund These Policies?
50% of stamp duty revenue raised on property sales to be quarantined for a spot purchasing and building program to greatly increase public housing stocks. This would result in 100,000 Victorians being housed in public housing annually.
Money raised by the following new taxes to be used to fund Food, Energy, Health, Education and Recreation policies:
1% super land tax on land holders – individuals, businesses and corporations who own more than 5 million dollars of property in Victoria.
1% rent tax on individuals, businesses and corporations who pay more than 5 million dollars annually.
1% turnover tax on businesses and corporations who use virtual platforms, who pay minimal rent and payroll tax if they have a turnover of more than 5 million dollars annually.
5. Put Public Housing back on the public agenda.
Use 50% of stamp duty revenue raised (approximately 3.5 billion dollars annually) to house 100,000 Victorians in public housing over the next 12 months through an extensive city, regional and rural spot purchasing program.
6. I do not support the rezoning of the Sandown Raceway.
xxxxx
Robert Lim (Greens)
Age: 23
Occupation: Sample Receipt Officer (I accept deliveries to a food analysis lab and move stuff around.)
1. I recently moved into the CBD, and have been there for 2 months. Before that, I lived in Noble Park for 22 years.
2. I am running because I can no longer tolerate Labor. I was disgusted when Labor decided to side with the logging industry, and criminalize the protests. Our old growth forests are the heritage of future generations and shouldn’t be treated as an exploitable resource for loggers to make a quick buck. Climate Change has always been a terrifying disaster in the back of my mind, but this was the event that made me decide I had to run.
3. I believe that out of the field, I have a strong capacity to learn from and empathize with my constituents, and have a proven policy platform to draw from. I believe that if I were elected, Mulgrave would be better represented.
4. Affordable Housing: A home is a human right. Rents and house prices are skyrocketing. We need to cap rent rises and build extensive public housing so that nobody has to go homeless. The Greens will build 200,000 new public housing units within the next 20 years.
An unusable bus network. Our buses are infrequent, take indirect routes, and don’t run when people need them. Bus routes like the 800 and 816 are some of the most used buses in Melbourne, but haven’t received any investment in decades. The Greens will evaluate our bus routes, and make sure that routes that need upgrades get them.
Lack of bicycle infrastructure. Investment in active transport just makes sense. It is cost-effective, climate-friendly, and has benefits for health and the community. Everyone should feel safe cycling to their nearest train station or shopping centre, but the infrastructure just isn’t good enough. A route from Noble Park station to Waverley Gardens shopping centre to the Eastlink Trail would connect many residents with a useful active transport route.
5. A shortage of affordable homes means we need to build more. We should upzone and densify areas within 800m of train stations to allow for dense, walkable neighbourhoods. This will introduce more housing stock, while minimizing traffic congestion. Train station precincts are also hosts of small businesses, and will see a business boost from a higher local population.
6. I support it. A development here follows the principles of Transit Oriented Development – residents will be able to walk or bike to the station. Sandown Park station has always been wasted on the racecourse. However, the development must be closely regulated. Housing must be built for the residents, not for profit. New developments are often barren of infrastructure and amenities like schools and public open space, so that the property developers can make more money.
xxxx
Jane Foreman (Family First Australia)
Age: 62
Occupation: Wife, mother, grandmother and Registered Nurse
1. I have lived in Narre Warren for the past 3 years, having lived in the South Eastern suburbs for the past 7 years.
2. Mulgrave needs a grass roots representative that cares and advocates for its people. With all the investigations that have been done and continue to be called for, any other leader would have resigned or have been forced to resign but Daniel Andrews continues to stay in his position. This has inspired me to run for this seat. I want to protect the Mulgrave families from the threat of radical political correctness.
3. It’s time for a woman to be elected in Mulgrave to bring a needed balance. I am a strong, honest and integral voice to represent the people of Mulgrave, going into bat for the needs of the Electorate, working closely with the Councils to achieve positive outcomes for the communities within the electorate. Having served on a City Council, I understand the importance of working closely with the Councils. I believe a politician is elected to serve the people they are representing, and that the answers to a community lies within the community. This needs to be activated and facilitated for communities to flourish. One of my mantras is the famous quote……government is “of the people, for the people, by the people.”
4. Children being taught radical gender fluid ideology at school without parental consent. This needs to be banned in schools and children experiencing gender dysphoria, along with their families, need to be given every support possible to assist them in their confusion.
The cost of living including the huge hike in utilities, making it increasingly difficult make ends meet. I will be supporting and advocating for sensible energy supply and prices and doing all that can be done to assist in bringing down the cost of living. One cost that could be eliminated is hospital parking fees, they need to be abolished.
More access to needed affordable mental health support especially for children and teens. Two years of lockdown has had a huge toll on the mental health on so many, especially the children. Waiting times have blown out and are far too long.
5. Family First supports increasing land supply and appropriate in-fill development which does not impact on local amenity. There are always “out of the box” ideas for any problem within a community and lets look at what has been done in other countries around the world to tackle the same situation and see if what has worked in other places can be implemented as a solution here.
6. As far as I know, this is on hold as the Melbourne Racing Club Board are not in a hurry to sell this land, having just elected board members that oppose the sale of the racecourse. If it does come up for sale, I would independently consult the Springvale/ Noble Park community and represent the wishes of the local citizens.
xxxx
Andrew King (independent)
Retired
1. I’ve lived in St Kilda for more than thirty years.
2. I’ve had a gutful of Andrews’ diabolical government, so I’ve been driven to stand up to him by standing against him.
3. I’m not the best candidate for Mulgrave. That’s Ian Cook.
4. I don’t claim to know the issues of most concern to the residents of Mulgrave. What I do know is that all Victorians will benefit from the defeat of Andrews.
5. The issue of affordable housing in Greater Dandenong is stark and debilitating – as it across all of Victoria. I would look with great scepticism at a candidate who can answer such a complex question in a sentence or two. There’s no simple answer.
6. On the face of it, it seems to me to be a good idea (see answer 5.) provided proven up-to-date planning procedures are followed, with state-of-the-art infrastructure and community facilities, especially schools, day-care, sports grounds and medical centres.
xxxx
Fotini Theodossopoulou (independent)
Age: 44
Occupation: Currently involved working in our family business Structural Landscaping.
Previously have worked in Media and Hospitality.
1. I am a resident of Mulgrave currently, and have been here for 7 years.
2. The reason that I decided to run for this seat is because I am greatly concerned about the morale of my community. People seem exasperated and full of despair; from business owners to young families, everyone seems unhappy and unheard.
I wanted to help change that in any small or significant way.
3. I believe that I am the best candidate for Mulgrave, because I am passionate about helping people and believe that I represent a very big portion of the local demograhic.
4. Big issues include: Morale, mental health, small business struggles.
I believe many of the social issues that currently exist in our community stem from a sense of not being adequately heard. Having immediate feedback facility for the Mulgrave District will help attend to people’s concerns more rapidly.
Outdoor undercover recreational and sporting / entertainment facilities for when the weather is horrid and you want to step outside for some fresh air!
More local social events to help locals feel part of the community and not isolated which compounds mental health issues.
More marketing initiatives for local businesses.
5. Affordable housing is a problem across Melbourne, not just an issue that is isolated to the Greater Dandenong region. I have a few ideas on how we can combat this issue, and happy to propose a variety solutions for locals to vote on – directly, if I am elected.
6. I’m not across all the details of the Sandown racecourse proposal at this stage.
Although we do desperately require more housing, we must simultaneously be respectful to open space facilities that go toward the character of the region and our city at large.
xxxx
Howard Lee (independent)
Provided a media release, and a link to his campaign website https://www.supremeleader.me
5. If I win I would build public housing for the state like the ones they have in Singapore called the HDB.
xxxx
Name: Daniel Andrews
Age: 50
Occupation: Premier of Victoria
1. I live in Mulgrave with my wife Cath and three kids, Noah, Grace and Joseph. We’ve lived in Mulgrave for more than 20 years, and I’ve represented our community in Parliament since 2002 – it’s a fantastic place to build a life and raise a family.
2. It’s home. My kids have gone to kinder and school here, our friends are nearby, our family doctor is in Mulgrave.
My constituents in Mulgrave are my neighbours – it’s a community I’m proud to live in and proud to serve every day, both as the local member and as Premier.
3. I have served our community as Member for Mulgrave for 20 years, and I have worked hard to do what matters for locals every day.
Only Labor will deliver for the Mulgrave community – we’ve upgraded and improved schools and kinders right across our community, removed level crossings and upgraded roads and delivered more than 70 Free TAFE courses.
We’ll keep building the state-shaping infrastructure that gets families home sooner and creates thousands of good local jobs.
4. Cost of living:
We know it’s getting harder for Victorian families to make ends meet. That’s why we’re providing real solutions that ease the cost of living both now and in the future.
We’ll bring back the State Electricity Commission to take greedy profiteering power companies out of the mix and replace their offshore profits with offshore renewable energy, creating thousands of good jobs while doing it.
After delivering the Power Saving Bonus to 1.6 million households across the state, we’ll do it again ahead of next winter – with an extra $250 to every Victorian household through the Energy Compare website, saving families an average of $330 per year on their bills when they find a better deal.
We’re also saving families a $2,500 per year, per child with Free Kinder, rewarding safe drivers with discounted licences, and L- and P-Plates will be free for our newest drivers.
Health:
The pandemic has put more pressure on our healthcare workers than ever before, and we can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done to keep Victorians safe.
That’s why we’re boosting our healthcare workforce by more than 24,000 extra workers. We’re making studying nursing and midwifery free, and we’re delivering a sign-on bonus to the graduate nurses and midwives who choose a career in the public health system.
We’re building and upgrading hospitals right across the state, like our local Monash Medical Centre, we’re making it easier for patients to recover in the comfort of their own homes, and we’re investing more than ever before to make sure Victorians get the emergency healthcare they need as soon as they need it.
Transport:
Victorians know it’s only Labor that delivers the transport infrastructure our communities need, opening up opportunities for education, better healthcare, improved social connections – and thousands of critical jobs.
We’re getting on and delivering the Suburban Rail Loop, opening up our suburbs and making it easier, faster and more convenient to access our fastest-growing employment, health, education and retail centres in areas like Mulgrave.
6. Decisions to change the planning scheme are made by the Minister for Planning – who would consider any proposal on its merits, with input from the local community.
No response: McLINDON, Aidan (Freedom Party of Victoria), MOULD, David (Animal Justice Party), PIASTRINO, Michael (Liberal), WOOD, Maree (Labour DLP), ISMA, Ezra J. D., MOODY, Anne
