Michelle Slater
The daughter of a former Hazelwood worker is having her second crack at taking on incumbent Liberal MP Russell Broadbent as the endorsed Labor candidate for Monash.
Jessica O’Donnell said she had “unfinished business” after running for the seat in the 2019 Federal Election.
Mr Broadbent has held the seat since 2004.
The next federal election is yet to be called, but is expected sometime early next year.
Ms O’Donnell said she was “in a good position to hold Mr Broadbent to account” with concerns over comments the long standing MP had made over rejecting the COVID vaccination.
“Some of his points of view when it comes to the vaccine has been in dire contrast to the majority of people in the electorate,” Ms O’Donnell said.
“Our vaccine rates show there’s a strong desire to get back to business, get the kids back to school and find a semblance of normality in the community.
“It’s a pattern of behaviour we continue to see from Russell, his disregard for the views of the community. We saw this with Marriage Equality where he voted against the will of his electorate.”
Sections of the Monash electorate take in parts of the Latrobe Valley including Moe and Yallourn, while stretching across to the Bass Coast and Wilsons Promontory.
Ms O’Donnell said jobs and transition were key issues towards the east of the electorate, including completing major projects in and around Moe.
“The party is yet to make policy announcements in the broader sense, but we are looking at new technologies and I would fight to make sure Gippsland was a part of the conversation,” she said.
“This includes jobs and the economic benefits of these new technologies. I would be fighting for a piece of the pie.”
The former Baw Baw Shire councillor grew up in Traralgon and Boolarra and is now a self-employed project manager living in Drouin.
“I’m the granddaughter and daughter of Hazelwood workers in the Latrobe Valley, I was the beneficiary of the coal industry as were many members of my family,” she said.
“I’ve always had strong political views growing up, but the privatisation of Hazelwood was impactful and to see the heartbreak over this was difficult.”
