Policies – Vote Nomi 4 Caulfield

What I stand for

INTEGRITY AND HONESTY

Cap on electoral spending | Controls over electoral advertising

There are too many scandals in politics. Parliament should reflect the best in our community, not the worst. The priority of major parties is to maintain their power. And this comes with a seemingly perpetual branch stacking problem. This has infected both the Liberal and Labor parties.

Only a strong cross bench will implement systems to drive real integrity in our political system. We need robust checks and balances to ensure our politicians serve the people they are supposed to represent: you!

Policies:

• Ban paid staffers from working on campaigns – if you work in a political office, there should be no campaigning even in your free time
• Establish a cap on electoral spending
• Create a ban on using electoral funds for advertising 6 months before election
• Extend powers of IBAC to investigate misuse of public funds
• Establish more robust structures to end pork barrelling

CLIMATE ACTION

 Harness and support renewable energy  | Reduce emissions further

Climate action has to be at the centre of everything we do. The renewables revolution is already here. We should be harnessing it and take our rightful place as a renewables superpower. Solar panels, wind, batteries: there is a constant stream of new technology that is coming online that can turbo charge our economy and turn us into world leaders in this area.

The government needs to implement rules to rein in the largest emitters. We also need rules to encourage and promote market-based solutions to transition to a renewable future.

Policies:

• Repeal the Electric Vehicle Tax – we need to encourage people to embrace new technologies, not stunt the industry’s growth with new taxes.
• Increase interest free loans for solar panels and battery storage. There is enough roof space in Caulfield to make us an important part of the energy grid, helping to drive down electricity costs.
• End offshore gas exploration
• Bring the R+D and manufacturing of the renewables revolution to Victoria.
• Now that the major parties have agreed to a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, it is time to push them to increase their ambitions to at least 60%.
• Outlaw political donations from people involved in the fossil fuel industry.
• We need to protect our old growth forests from the logging industry.

HEALTHCARE

Improve Pay & Conditions For Workers |Caulfield Hospital Upgrades | Expand Staffing

Spending on healthcare has to be more targeted to ensure that all Victorians get a better level of service, not just those lucky enough to live in the right postcode.

We need policies that will attract more people into healthcare, and we need incentives to help retain people in the industry. No one is served well with staff burnout that leads to high attrition rates. Buildings are not worth anything if we are unable to fill the shifts to keep the buildings running.

We have to improve pay and conditions so that our teachers and nurses stay in these professions. It doesn’t matter how many new teachers and nurses are being trained if current staff are burning out and leaving the profession every day.
These jobs should return to being well-paid, middle-class occupations. A nurse or teacher should be able to afford a house and general cost of living expenses. Increasingly this is a dream that is becoming harder to fulfill.

Training and staffing issues are not like a tap where things can be easily turned on or off. The current issues have been decades in the making. We must put in the work now to avert future crises.

I support spending to improve our hospitals. Both parties have neglected our hospitals as our city has doubled in size, both geographically and in terms of population. Our current system isn’t markedly different from when my parents were born: we urgently need to bring our hospital system into the 21st century.

Policies:

•  Caulfield Hospital is a liability in its current state. It needs significant upgrades so that it serves the local community.
• Ensure that any mandatory retraining requirements cause a minimum of disruption to the current functioning of institutions and at no cost to existing staff in frontline work.
• Find ways to ease the tax burden on key frontline workers.
• Increase mental health support for frontline workers.
• Expand staffing numbers so the burden on individuals is lifted.
• Improve pay and conditions for frontline workers.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Represent the community | Bring decision-making back to the community

Political parties stand for party over people. Only an independent can truly put community first. As recently as 1999, the major parties captured over 90% of the primary vote at the Victorian election. Today, that figure is just 68%. This highlights the rapid decline in public trust for the major parties.

The path to making a difference no longer goes through the major parties, it flows through the local communities who work collaboratively with their MP to make a difference.

The term “teal” has come to represent a group of community independents who won a series of seats at the federal election. The main reason for voting independent is to bring the decision-making process back to the community, and away from backroom deals done between parties and corporate donors.

Policies:

• The people of Caulfield will always have a direct line to me and I will represent the interests of people in my community before anything else.
• Regular open forums should be conducted by Members of Parliament to bring local issues to the halls of parliament.
• My primary consideration when voting will be the needs of the local community, rather than voting on party lines.

TRANSPORT

Increased services | Integrate transport

The transport system needs to be better organised. This includes increased frequency for services, better integration between the whole network and a wider range of options.

In Caulfield, as an inner-city district, we are lucky to have so many services. But using the transport system is still a struggle. For any trip, the time spent waiting for a service can be longer than the travel time. If the system runs better, more people will use it, therefore taking pressure off our congested road networks.

Policies:

• Ensure that the various modes of transport are fully integrated to cut out wait times, so people can get to their destinations faster.
• Increase services at peak times.
• Encourage and incentivise local trips that can be done by foot or bike to ease local congestion.

POKIES AND GAMBLING

Betting limits | Limits on advertising

One of the greatest harms to our society is the proliferation of gambling. Almost everyone in our state would know someone who is affected by a gambling addiction. Yet the major parties are addicted to the money from these businesses and put in place only the flimsiest of regulations. The time has come to properly regulate this industry and stop casinos and pokies profiting from the misery and destruction of our friends and family members.

Policies:

• Establish betting limits on all pokies machines.
• Limit gambling ads, including on local sports league websites and at games where minors are likely to be watching.
• Modify pokies machines to remove some of their most addictive features.

DRUGS POLICY

Legalise cannabis | Allow more medical research

We need a common-sense approach to ‘illicit’ drugs. Australia’s drug laws are currently more draconian than some of the most conservative Republican states in the USA. We should not be criminalising relatively safe substances, such as cannabis, which also have the potential to be life-changing medicines.

Policies:

• Legalise and tax cannabis use. The revenue raised can be used to offset revenue losses from restricting the pokies.
• In the short term, ensure that the process of obtaining medicinal cannabis is easier than it currently is.
• Allow more research into other currently illegal compounds that have been shown potential for medicinal value, such as psilocybin. Allow these to be prescribed by doctors for their patients.

HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS

Increase in housing availability | Support for domestic violence victims

We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Homelessness is not a necessary evil: it is a policy choice.

So many of our homeless are not actually on the streets. Many are single, middle-aged women who are forced to couch surf or live in their cars because they do not have the funds to rent a house. Homelessness is not just an economic issue; it is also an issue of equality.

Policies:

• Encourage an expansion of housing stock.
• Expand social housing for women, especially those who are fleeing domestic violence situations.
• Issue a system of rent control subsidies and tax breaks to encourage landlords to offer more affordable rental accommodation.

GENDER EQUALITY

Encourage women in male-dominated roles | Affirmative action in Government

Women are not well represented by any major parties. We need policies that encourage women to join the workforce and take up positions of leadership in business and Government.

Policies:

• Implement affirmative action measures in Parliament and Government appointed Board
• Increase funding for domestic violence programs
• Fund programmes promoting women in STEM, encouraging women to join male-dominated professions.

Vote Nomi 4 Caulfield