Policy Priorities

When times get tough, government should make life easier, not harder. That's a principle I've tried to live by in everything I've done at Boroondara Council, and it's one I'd take with me to Parliament.

Growing up, I watched my parents establish and run their own restaurants.  I saw firsthand how tough and stressful that life looks like: the late nights, the paperwork load, managing staff, and the anxiety when a slow week threatens to undo everything you've worked for. Small business ownership isn't just an economic category. It's a way of life, and it takes enormous courage and dedication. That experience has stayed with me, and it shapes how I think about the economy to this day.

And it’s not just small businesses but also households across Hawthorn that are feeling the pressure. Energy bills, rent, groceries, fuel: it all adds up. Too often, economic decisions are shaped by those with the loudest voices, not the people feeling the pinch day to day. That has to change.

My Record at Boroondara

I've spent years turning this principle into practice at Council level.

I established and led the Vibrant Shopping Precincts Advisory Committee, giving our local businesses a direct voice in decisions that affect them. Because a thriving high street matters to the whole community, not just shop owners.

I helped introduce a more transparent and consultative budget process, bringing in a draft budget consultation phase before finalisation. Residents now have a real say in how public money is spent, and Council is more accountable for how your rates are spent.

I expanded rebates and support programs to help households electrify, making solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, and EVs genuinely accessible to ordinary families, not just those who can already afford them.

I supported community battery programs so that renters and apartment dwellers can share in the benefits of clean energy, not just homeowners.

And I helped establish Boroondara's first Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, shifting Council's approach from treating housing as purely a state responsibility to taking an active local role, advocating, planning, and contributing practical solutions to a growing community need.

What I'd Fight for in Parliament

The cost of living crisis isn't going to be solved by one-off actions. It needs practical, targeted action and a willingness to hold government to account on how it spends your money.

In Parliament, I'd push for public spending that is transparent, well-targeted, and genuinely accountable. I'd advocate for support that reaches the households and small businesses that need it most. 

For Hawthorn: Hawthorn deserves an economy that works for everyone. Not just a few.

You deserve a government you can trust.

Corruption expert Geoffrey Watson SC estimates that $15 billion of Victorian taxpayers' money has been lost to waste, misconduct, and organised crime on the state's major infrastructure projects. Billions that should have funded schools, hospitals, and local services.

The Allan government's response has been to look the other way. And Victoria's anti-corruption watchdog — IBAC — lacks the powers and resources to compel answers. Independent experts consistently rate it the weakest such body in Australia.

The major parties won't fix this. Anti-corruption commissions scrutinise governments and expose misconduct, which is exactly why both Labor and Liberal governments have not given IBAC real teeth to root out corruption.

As an Independent, I have no such conflict of interest. I'll push hard for:

• A Royal Commission into corruption and criminal activity on Victoria's major projects
• Expanded powers for IBAC, including 'follow the money' investigative powers, the right to hold public hearings, and broader jurisdiction over corruption connected to public funds.  
• Secure, independent funding for our integrity watchdogs:  IBAC, the Ombudsman, and the Auditor-General.

Victorians deserve a robust system of accountability. I'll fight for one.

For Hawthorn: Representation that answers to you—not a party room.

People in the Hawthorn electorate are worried, and they have every right to be. The rise in car thefts, home invasions, and aggravated burglaries is real, it's frightening, and it demands a serious response.

The major parties have had plenty to say about it. Labor introduced ‘Adult Time for Violent Crime’, pushing 14-year-olds into adult courts and adult prisons. The Liberals demanded the same, and more. Both are competing for the toughest-sounding headline. Neither is asking whether any of it actually works.

It doesn't.  At least not on its own. Harsher sentences and tighter bail laws have their place for serious, repeat offenders. But for the broader cohort of at-risk young people, the evidence points clearly in another direction: earlier intervention, better family support, and properly funded youth programs. The Glasgow Violence Reduction Unit proved that in one of Europe's most dangerous cities. Many police experts in Victoria have urged us to pay attention to that model.  

Right now, too many young offenders are cycling through underfunded, privately-run residential care homes. These environments rehabilitate no one, and send young people back to the streets more damaged than before. That's not tough. That's an expensive failure.

As your Independent, I'll take a different approach:

• Visible policing to make our homes and neighbourhoods safer now
• Genuine early intervention, funded properly and sustained over time
• Reform of the residential care system so it actually rehabilitates, rather than entrenches criminality
• A direct working relationship with Victoria Police and local communities, because locals know where the gaps are

Real safety requires both enforcement and prevention. I'll fight for both, without the slogans and political point-scoring.

For Hawthorn: Working with Victoria Police and local communities to make our neighbourhoods and homes safe again.

Hawthorn residents care deeply about climate, which is no surprise. The evidence is overwhelming, the costs of inaction are real, and the opportunity in front of us is genuine. Renewable energy means lower bills, warmer homes in winter, cooler homes in summer, lower carbon emissions, and less money flowing to fossil fuel companies.

I've worked hard to turn that opportunity into reality at the local level.

As a Councillor and Deputy Mayor of Boroondara, I helped build a $4 million-a-year climate action plan from the ground up, and then made sure it was actually implemented. Council buildings electrified. The vehicle fleet transitioned off petrol and gas. The Kew Recreation Centre and Boroondara Sports Centre taken off gas. EV charging rolled out. Solar subsidy programs launched, including solutions for residents in heritage precincts who had previously been prevented from putting up solar panels. We’ve added hundreds of trees to the significant tree register to help protect our tree canopy and summer shade.

This isn't a vision. It's a track record.

At the state level, both major parties are falling short. The Allan government has set ambitious targets. But without the ministerial accountability or regulatory rigour to back them up, targets are just words. The Victorian Liberals are worse: they have no coherent long-term plan for the energy transition, while their federal counterparts have proposed taxpayer subsidies to extend the life of coal-fired power stations.

Hawthorn deserves better than that.

As your Independent in Parliament, I'll push for:

• Expanded rebates and support to help households electrify, putting solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, and EVs within reach of ordinary families
• Community battery programs so renters and apartment dwellers share in the benefits, not just homeowners
• Genuine accountability mechanisms for Victoria's emissions targets with transparent reporting and real consequences for failure
• Strong protection for urban green spaces, street trees, and biodiversity, because climate action isn't only about carbon

I'm proud of our climate record in Boroondara. I'm determined to bring that same ambition to Parliament.

For Hawthorn: Action that helps now—and protects the future.

Housing is one of the biggest challenges we face. 

We need more homes—and we need many more affordable homes for first home buyers.

We’ve seen plenty of new medium density housing being built in the Hawthorn electorate, but much of this is priced out of reach for first home buyers.  We need to stop the government from allowing developers to evade their responsibility to provide a proportion of affordable housing in new developments. 

People are right to worry about losing what they love about their neighbourhood.

The answer isn’t overdevelopment or doing nothing—it’s thoughtful, well-designed growth.  It’s development that is done WITH communities not TO communities.

That means more affordable housing near transport, better design standards, and protecting the character and green spaces that make Hawthorn special.

For Hawthorn: More affordable homes, done well—so the community we love is strengthened, not lost.

Reconciliation is about recognising the truth of our shared history, respecting the world's oldest continuing cultures, and building stronger relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and all Australians.

As Chair of Boroondara's Reconciliation Advisory Committee for the past two years, I have been privileged to work alongside passionate community members and representatives from the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation. Through this role, I have gained a deeper understanding of the importance of listening, learning and creating opportunities for genuine partnership.

I support Victoria's Treaty process because it provides a framework for First Peoples to negotiate directly with the government about matters that affect their communities, cultures and futures. Treaty is not about revisiting the past; it is about creating a stronger future built on recognition, self-determination and mutual respect.

Victoria should be proud to be the first state in Australia to advance a Treaty process. It demonstrates leadership, courage and a commitment to addressing long-standing inequities while building a more inclusive and united community. Treaty offers an opportunity to establish clearer relationships, improve outcomes, and ensure that Aboriginal voices are heard in decisions that affect them.

At a local level, reconciliation is something we can all contribute to. It means acknowledging Country, supporting First Nations culture and businesses, learning about our history, and creating spaces where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people feel welcomed, respected and valued.

I am committed to continuing this work and ensuring that reconciliation remains an important part of building a fair, respectful and inclusive Victoria for future generations.

Family violence affects every community, regardless of postcode, income or background. Hawthorn is often seen as a safe and prosperous electorate, but family violence happens behind closed doors here too. In Boroondara, more than 1,000 family violence incidents are reported each year. Behind every one of those numbers is a person whose life has been profoundly affected.

This issue is personal to me. Through my work with vulnerable women at Neighbourhood Houses, I saw firsthand the courage it takes to leave a violent relationship and the practical barriers that stand in the way: finding somewhere safe to live, accessing counselling, supporting children through trauma, rebuilding a life from nothing. 

I also helped establish You Matter, auspicing the organisation and providing governance support until it became independent, supporting women and children rebuilding their lives after family violence. More recently, as one of Boroondara Council's representatives on the Family Violence Network, I've continued working alongside local organisations that support victim survivors and advocate for prevention.

Those experiences taught me one thing: we cannot simply respond after violence occurs. We have to prevent it, support victim survivors to rebuild, and hold perpetrators to account.

What I Will Do

Support victim survivors

No one should have to choose between violence and homelessness.

• Advocate for greater investment in crisis accommodation, transitional housing and affordable housing, so women and children can leave unsafe homes safely

• Push for faster access to specialist family violence services, trauma counselling and mental health support

• Advocate for better support for children who witness family violence, recognising its lifelong impacts

• Support simpler, better coordinated services, so victim survivors aren't left navigating multiple agencies during the hardest period of their lives

Hold perpetrators accountable

Intervention orders must mean something.

• Push for strong enforcement of Family Violence Intervention Orders and meaningful consequences for repeat breaches

• Advocate for better information sharing and risk assessment across police, courts and support services, to identify high-risk perpetrators earlier

• Support greater investment in specialist family violence policing and early intervention where warning signs are identified

Prevent violence before it starts

If we want fewer victims in the future, we need to change the behaviours and attitudes that lead to violence.

• Support the expansion of men's behaviour change programs that help perpetrators take responsibility and reduce reoffending

• Strengthen Respectful Relationships education in schools, so young people learn about healthy relationships, consent, respect and equality

• Support parenting and relationship programs for fathers and families that model positive, non-violent behaviour

• Invest in community education that challenges coercive control, promotes gender equality and empowers bystanders to speak up

• Work with sporting clubs, workplaces, schools and community organisations to promote respectful relationships and positive male leadership

Most men are not violent, and many are already playing an important role in preventing violence against women and children. We need to support those positive role models while holding accountable those who choose violence.

How I Will Deliver

• Work with frontline organisations, police, educators and the community to pursue practical, evidence-based reforms

• Advocate for stable, long-term funding for the frontline services that support victim survivors every day

• Use my experience on Boroondara's Family Violence Network to bring a working knowledge of what local services actually need

Why It Matters for Hawthorn

Ending family violence isn't something that the government can do alone. It takes leadership from schools, workplaces, sporting clubs, community organisations, families and individuals, backed by governments willing to properly fund the services that support victim survivors. As your Independent, I'll bring both the lived experience of this work and a genuine commitment to getting it right, but because every woman deserves to feel safe in her own home, and every child deserves to grow up free from fear.

A strong community is one where everyone has a genuine place in it, regardless of background, culture, gender, sexuality or ability. Too often, the people most affected by a decision are the last to be consulted on it.

What I Will Do

• Support genuine, ongoing engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities on Treaty and reconciliation

• Advocate for stronger investment in services that support women and families experiencing disadvantage or violence

• Push for multicultural communities to be properly represented and heard in local and state decision-making

• Support accessible services and public spaces for people with disability and older residents

• Stand up for the safety, dignity and equal treatment of LGBTQI Victorians, including access to appropriate health services and inclusive schools

How I Will Deliver

• Draw on my experience chairing Boroondara's Reconciliation Advisory Committee and founding You Matter, an organisation supporting people through hardship

• Work directly with community organisations rather than relying on top-down consultation

• Represent the lived experience of the residents of Hawthorn, not a generic equity framework

Why It Matters for Hawthorn

Hawthorn is home to a genuinely diverse and caring community.  Our community deserves a representative who respects the diversity of our community and promotes inclusion.

Q: What is your position on AI and Data centers?

AI and data centres are coming to Victoria whether we plan for them or not. I want Victoria to be part of this future, but on our terms, not the terms of the global tech giants. That means binding environmental standards, not voluntary guidelines. It means planning decisions made with communities, not around them. And it means insisting that Australians can actually access and benefit from infrastructure built on our land, with our water, and our electricity. The Victorian Government is welcoming this investment with open arms and no conditions. That's how you end up carrying all of the cost with none of the benefits.