Voters are set to have their say on the federal election on Saturday 18 May.
To help your decision, Star Journal sent surveys to the six candidates in Hotham, which covers parts of Springvale and Springvale South.
Five candidates responded.
Peter Dorian (Rise Up Australia)
Age: 56
Profession: Truck driver
Residence: Moe because it’s so expensive in the area of Hotham where I work.
What’s your electorate’s best asset?
The high amount of work, and the education facilities in the area.
What would you do to fix transport congestion in the electorate?
If we make the trains better and buses smaller and more often, we could increase the people working in the area by 20%.
The bike lanes need to be removed from the heavy vehicle areas as they are causing more accidents. We simply put in a string of bike bridges and extra high rise bike lanes.
How can you address cost-of-living pressures?
Nuclear power is the most affordable energy with zero emissions.
How would you increase the supply of affordable housing/rentals in Hotham?
If you think housing affordability is something that can happen, you probably are already ignorant enough to vote for the ALP. We can encourage more high-rise development around the universities areas for the students and professionals. Rather than offering government subsidies to students, we should give loans for part of the rent.
Jin Luan (United Australia Party)
Age: 63
Suburb: Springvale South
Profession(s): Machine Operator
What’s your electorate’s best asset?
Multiculturalism.
Identify your three top concerns.
[1]Create more good pay jobs for our residents.
[2] Make the interest on self-occupied home loans tax deductible to encourage home ownership.
[3]Reduce power prices. We’ll start by ordering a state by state review of power company infrastructure loans we’re all paying for.
Jess Gonsalvez (Greens)
Age: 27
Suburb: Oakleigh East
Profession(s): Customer service co-ordinator and performance artist
What’s your electorate’s best asset?
Our diversity! We’re all different, but what we have in common is that we make this place our home, and we want to feel safe, financially secure, and connected.
How would you increase the supply of affordable housing/rentals in Hotham? What other means can you address cost-of-living pressures?
Our housing plan includes building 500,000 public or community homes, and increasing renters rights and tenancy advocacy services. Our policies also include raising Newstart and Austudy by $75 per week and increasing Rent Assistance, legislating to set the minimum wage at 60% of the median wage, and working to protect penalty rates.
What would you do to fix transport congestion in the electorate?
Get less cars on the road by giving people useful and reliable alternatives to car travel. The Greens have pledged an extra $25 billion into rail and bus improvements, as well as $250 million per year towards infrastructure such as footpaths, tracks (for walkers, joggers and cyclists) and dedicated bike lanes on our roads.
Identify your three top concerns on behalf of Hotham constituents.
1. The cost of living is going up, and our incomes aren’t keeping up with it.
2. We’ve been told a lot about how we should be afraid of “African gangs“ and Muslims, but honestly I think we’re all after some peace and quiet. Our community is strongest when we welcome and look after each other; and our leadership is strongest when it actually looks like our community.
3. We need to act on climate change!
Clare O’Neil (Labor)
Age: 39
Profession(s): Management Consultant
What’s your electorate’s best asset?
Without a doubt it has to be our incredible multicultural community.
How would you increase the supply of affordable housing/rentals in Hotham? What other means can you address cost-of-living pressures?
Labor will restore Penalty rates, provide two years of pre-school, give workers a tax break, cap private health insurance premiums, end the Medicare freeze and better regulate power prices
Labor has a 10-year plan for affordable housing, to help Australians with the cost of rent and to turbocharge housing construction, building 250,000 houses – Australia’s biggest ever investment.
Our plan includes revamping the Build to Rent scheme, giving institutional investors better tax concessions, encouraging more construction and stimulating the housing market; reforming negative gearing.
What would you do to fix transport congestion in the electorate? (Feel free to identify hot-spots and provide costings, if possible.)
Federal Labor has pledged to back important projects, such as the Melbourne Rail Loop and Airport rail link. We’ve announced $850million to upgrade congested roads, create new jobs and slash travel times in the South East.
Identify your three top concerns on behalf of Hotham constituents.
Education, Health and the cost of living.
Dennis Bilic (Sustainable Australia)
Age: 41
Suburb: Melbourne
Profession(s): Management consultant in an engineering firm
What’s your electorate’s best asset?
Community spirit and quiet suburban life.
How would you increase the supply of affordable housing/rentals in Hotham? What other means can you address cost-of-living pressures?
Removing negative gearing and capital tax concessions incentives for investors.
Reducing population pressures by returning Australia’s permanent immigration rate from 190,000 back to 70,000 people a year (the historical average pre-2004).
What would you do to fix transport congestion in the electorate?
Better planning to stop overdevelopment and reducing population pressures by lowering immigration would allow our current infrastructure projects to catch up. I would also push for a fleet of battery electric buses (reducing pollution) to support popular commuter routes. Building too many roads will only invite more cars and create more bottlenecks.
Identify your three top concerns.
1. Better planning to stop overdevelopment.
2. Unsustainable population growth affecting quality of life.
3. Environmental conservation and the protection of natural surrounds and green space from overdevelopment.
George Hua (Liberals)
Declined to respond
