Policy Priorities
Peninsula Link
Peninsula Link opened in 2013. Just 13 years later, 14 kilometres is being dug up and rebuilt, yet the reports explaining why remain hidden. The government must show whether the road was built and maintained to standard, whether the contract was enforced and who is accountable. I’ll pursue the answers through Parliament, Freedom of Information and independent scrutiny, then publish every answer, and every refusal, in plain English.
Housing & Homelessness
It breaks my heart that the Peninsula is one of the state’s winners of the most rough sleepers “award”. We know that short-stay accommodation exacerbates the supply issue, but what of the revenue from the Air BnB levy, a huge proportion of which is generated here? And when you compare State funding for housing and support services, we are definitely not getting our fair share. The $2.1m promised to fund 2 outreach workers on the Peninsula is a great start but not enough.
Local skills, local jobs
Nepean needs more qualified tradies, care workers and early childhood educators, and many of the courses leading to these jobs are already taught at Chisholm’s Rosebud campus. But costs, transport, workplace conditions and confusing support schemes can stop people starting or finishing. I’m surveying local learners and employers, then bringing them together for a local skills roundtable to shape practical solutions.
A fair classification for the Peninsula
The Peninsula is treated as metropolitan Melbourne despite our spread-out townships, limited public transport, older population and visitor pressures. That leaves us excluded from support available to regional communities. I’ll fight for fair peri-regional treatment and access to funding that reflects our real needs, while protecting the Green Wedge and the metropolitan programs that benefit us. Each year, I’ll publish what the government promised, funded and delivered.
Rosebud Hospital
Rosebud Hospital’s emergency department operates around the clock, but essential diagnostic services don’t. Patients can wait for imaging and urgent blood-test results, while our community fundraises for a replacement CT scanner. I’ll push for these immediate service gaps to be fixed, demand the release of Rosebud’s hidden plans and funding history, and pursue a fully funded redevelopment with a clear scope, budget and timetable.
Small business and the local economy
Our cafes, shops, trades, tourism operators and family businesses keep the Peninsula working, but each faces different costs and barriers. I’ll bring local chambers and business owners together to identify the state taxes, charges, regulations and delays hurting them most, then push for practical changes. I’ll also fight for eligible Peninsula employers to receive the same lower payroll-tax rate available to eligible regional employers.
Community safety
Everyone deserves to feel safe at home, on our streets and in our shopping centres. That requires visible, responsive local policing and early help that prevents further offending. I’ll fight to keep the Peninsula’s High Visibility Community Engagement Team local and properly resourced, and push to bring Victoria Police’s youth outreach program here. This isn’t about excusing crime. It’s about preventing the next offence and reducing the number of victims.
Western Port Bay
A healthy Western Port supports local jobs, businesses, fishing, boating and tourism, as well as wetlands and wildlife. I’ll push the Victorian Government to adopt and fund the community-developed Western Port Bay Framework, creating one plan for the bay and its catchment, shared responsibility and dedicated annual funding. Regular public reporting will show whether water quality, sediment, shorebirds and restoration work are genuinely improving.