Experience, independence and a strong track record in getting things done
That’s what you can expect from me.
I'm an experienced collaborator, problem solver, decision maker and advocate.
I've spent much of my working life bringing people together around prickly issues and finding better, fairer ways forward.
I'm practised in listening, seeking out different perspectives and making sure people who are too often overlooked have a place at the table. I have form in negotiating compromises while preserving relationships.
Through many senior roles, I’ve been the one asking the hard questions and making the tough decisions.
And Victoria has some tough decisions ahead.
I'm not a career politician. My background is in journalism, community sector leadership, small business and governance. I'm also doing postgraduate research into regional Australia and how we participate in democracy.
I know how to work with government, how to challenge it and how to get things moving.
My three commitments to Northern Victoria
1. A genuine hearing
People right across Northern Victoria are telling me they're tired of decisions being made without their meaningful involvement.
I'm hearing you. And I have a plan.
As your representative in the Upper House, one of my first actions will be to propose a pilot People's Assembly, bringing together a representative group of Northern Victorians to explore an important issue, hear different perspectives, consider the evidence and develop practical recommendations.
I'll also be holding regular Local Hearing Forums across our region, giving people an opportunity to raise concerns, share their experience and work together on possible solutions.
This is not ‘just more consultation’. This is different. This is a structured, good faith process that respects the people who live here and draws on the collective wisdom of our community - your wisdom. It's about giving people a meaningful and genuine role in shaping decisions that affect them. My job will be to advocate for the community’s recommendations and report back on what happens.
And I hope that slowly, bit by bit, I can help restore your faith in the democratic process.
2. A fairer share
Northern Victoria makes an extraordinary contribution to our state and our nation. Yet too many of our communities are struggling with inadequate infrastructure and services, from roads and regional transport to healthcare, housing and education.
These gaps don't just make life harder. They hold back our businesses, our communities and our opportunities for the future.
I promise you a relentless, unwavering pursuit of a fairer share of government investment for Northern Victoria. I promise you that I’ll ask the hard questions about how priorities are set, where the money goes and what we're getting for it. And I won’t be fobbed off with non-answers.
3. A smarter way forward
Victoria faces some difficult choices. Housing, water security, food production, energy, population growth and the services our communities depend on. None comes with a simple answer.
We need better long-term planning (that I, well beyond a single election cycle), sound evidence and a willingness to work across political and community divides.
I'm not interested in political point scoring or promising easy answers to complex problems.
I’m interested in finding solutions that work, making responsible decisions and being prepared to explain them.
That's what you can expect from me.
Where do I stand?
Want to know my thoughts on some of the key issues facing our region?
Ask me anything
Want to know my opinion on something? How I’d approach a particular issue? Whether I share your concerns? What’s my experience? Ask me.
Some previous Q&A
Who will you preference?
As a genuine Independent, my intention is to make no suggestions about preferencing. Smart people like you can make up your own minds about who best aligns with your values, priorities and world views.
How can an Independent make any difference?
There are numerous examples - in both our State and Federal Parliaments - of individual MPs making THE difference to the form of legislation that is actually passed. This is true of Independents acting individually, as well as collectively with minor parties as the ‘cross bench’. This has been especially true in the Upper House - the ‘house of review’. As the ABC’s Casey Briggs said recently:
‘Regardless of which party or parties wins government in the lower house, they are almost certainly going to have to negotiate every bill through a diverse Legislative Council chamber’.
Won’t your People’s Assembly idea cost millions?
No. The pilot I’m initially proposing can be funded from the funds already allocated to MPs for consultation with their constituents. (You might well ask where those funds have been spent in previous terms …).
Do you support the immediate repeal of Treaty?
No. I’m generally supportive of Treaty and of Gellung Warl, with guardrails to ensure that the money invested is actually translating to measurable improvements for First Nations people on the ground. It’s in nobody’s interests to have a process or structure that consumes dollars without making much of a dint on closing the gap.
A little more about me ...
You might reasonably want to know more about my background, what I've done and why I'm putting my hand up. Fair questions. They're questions worth asking of anyone seeking to represent you in Parliament.
I acknowledge that the electoral region of Northern Victoria encompasses the traditional lands of multiple First Nations peoples including the Yorta Yorta Nation, Taungurung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wamba Wemba and Barapa Barapa peoples and other ancestral nations.
I acknowledge their abiding connection to this extraordinary country, and I acknowledge the profound wisdom of their elders.
May we walk together in peace upon this land.