By Tanya Steele
Liberal candidate for Aston, MANNY CICCHIELLO:
1. What’s one thing you would like Aston residents to know about you as a person or as a leader?
I have lived in the Aston community for 33 years. My wife and I are raising our family in Knox. I have been a local leader in the community, as the mayor, as a teacher, and currently as a deputy school principal. I believe Aston is the best community in Victoria, and it would be a privilege to represent it, and be a strong advocate for it, in parliament in Canberra.
2. What do you believe are the three biggest issues facing the electorate?
The message from voters has been consistent – Labor’s cost of living crisis has been incredibly challenging, and they simply cannot afford three more years of Anthony Albanese and Labor.
They are angry Labor’s wasteful spending has fuelled inflation, causing the cost of electricity, groceries, insurance and health to skyrocket and put significant strain on their household budget.
They are also frustrated by Labor’s soft touch on crime, and Labor’s complete neglect of local infrastructure in our community.
3. What are some of your key policies both locally and nationally that you would like to highlight?
An elected Coalition Government will save Australians $750 a year on fuel, and deliver most Australians up to $1,200 in tax relief. This is a sustainable cost of living plan.
Labor’s 70 cents a day tax cut, that doesn’t come into effect for 14 months, is a gimmick.
Locally, I’m proud to say an elected Coalition Government will deliver $73.5 million to extend Dorset Road from Burwood Highway to connect with Lysterfield Road, to ensure locals in Aston spend less time in traffic, and more time with their families.
We will also deliver $270,000 for lighting and CCTV upgrades to make David Cooper Park in Wantirna South safer for local residents. And we will upgrade the Upper Ferntree Gully Fire Brigade Station, increasing the capacity of the station, improve security, and make the station electrical-blackout resistant.
4. What’s your number one policy to reduce cost of living pressures?
Locals have welcomed the Coalition’s plan to cut petrol tax by 25 cents a litre, saving families with two cars $1,500 a year, and our plan to deliver most Australians up to $1,200 in tax relief when they lodge their tax return for the upcoming 2025-26 financial year.
5. Why should people give you their vote on 3 May? What’s your final elevator pitch if someone is undecided?
Locals in the Aston community were promised a lot by the current Labor MP, but have been delivered nothing but hardship.
If elected, I will fight for our community. I will be a strong voice in Canberra to ensure the people of Aston get what they deserve.
Independent Candidate for Aston: ANDREW WILLIAMS:
1. What’s one thing you would like Aston residents to know about you as a person or as a leader?
I am an evidenced-based person who has lived in Aston for more than 25 years and raised and raising my kids here in Aston. My motivation to stand as a candidate is I want our elected representatives to represent us the voters and not simply focus on their party and party donors.
2. What do you believe are the three biggest issues facing the electorate?
Aston has long been overlooked by the major parties. The three key local areas are:
Public transport which I am proposing feasibility studies for the Burwood Highway Tramline extension and elevated rail line to Rowville.
Aston facilities need to be made fit for purpose
Roads and infrastructure require proper servicing from the State Government. I am proposing a National Infrastructure Maintenance Standard. Where a State or Local Government does not meet the standard, then they are excluded from federal funding for new projects.
We need them to look after the infrastructure they have before building new infrastructure that they will not maintain.
3. What are some of your key policies both locally and nationally that you would like to highlight?
The key policy to support my other policy is to make mining companies pay for the resources they take from Australia by introducing a Norwegian style resources tax and to remove the tax loopholes that allow major corporations and billionaires from paying their fair share of taxes. At the moment the heavy lifting for maintaining Australia’s budget is on workers and this needs to be fairly shared.
From this increased revenue I would like to include dental and full suite of mental health services to Medicare.
Properly fund Domestic Family Violence services to help prevent where possible and mitigate the consequences where prevention has not been able to be achieved.
Fund free Adult Education – The first successfully completed Adult Education, TAFE, Degree and Post Graduate Degree needs to be free.
I am not sure why we think it is good or fair to expect our young people to start their careers owing tens of thousands of dollars to the government.
Focus on the 75,400 Unlawful Non-Citizens that are in Australia. This number has increased by almost 13 % from the previous financial year.
This needs to be our focus. Once this is under control and once the benefits of not needing skilled migrants through enhanced adult education mentioned above, we then should look at what we can accommodate in terms of immigration.
4. What’s your number one policy to reduce cost of living pressures?
I want (using part of the money from the Resources and Corporations Tax revenue) to rollout batteries to all existing solar generation (panel) systems. This will provide immediate and long-term cost of living support for households and to increase the rollout of rooftop systems including storage (batteries). Not only is this able to offer immediate relief to those households, their should be the ability to reduce power costs with decreased users for others. This also has a positive environmental impact as well.
5. Why should people give you their vote on 3 May? What’s your final elevator pitch if someone is undecided?
I know that people are feeling disillusioned with the major parties. The continued impact of party candidates being elected and to go on an represent their party and not represent us, their constituents, is taking a toll on the major party support. For those that are sick of being put second behind the party and the party donors have a choice – vote 1 Andrew Williams. I am not preferencing any party, you choose the party that you want your votes preference to go to. It’s your vote – your preference. Please make sure you number all boxes on your house of representative ballot paper.
Candidate for Family First, CRAIG MANNERS:
1. What’s one thing you would like Aston residents to know about you as a person or as a leader?
I am greatly concerned that government has grown too unwieldly and have indebted our nation so much (now over one trillion dollars, that’s A$1,000,000,000,000) that it will remain a heavy burden for generations if it is not reduced now, instead of just borrowing more and more just to pay the loan repayments.
2. What do you believe are the three biggest issues facing the electorate?
The first is the cost-of-living crisis. Too many people have had to take second jobs and still cannot make ends meet for their families. Meanwhile government has kept high taxes on fuel which has contributed to the increase in the cost of nearly everything. They also continue to borrow more and more money on our behalf to fund their pet projects and election promises, and to send more and more of our borrowed money overseas to the unelected and unaccountable Paris Climate fund, as well as to fund overseas countries through aid programs which is likewise completely unaccountable. Meanwhile we have to struggle and go without. This increase in borrowings then fuels inflation and interest rates making our cost of living even worse. It is a serious problem which will spiral out of control unless extreme cuts are made to the size of and the cost of government.
The second is infrastructure. Some of the roads in Aston are disgraceful. When they are repaired, they are done so with band-aid measures which cost a fortune but only last a few months if that. There are too many infrastructure needs which have been overlooked by both big parties to mention.
The third could be a number of things but I will put it down as environmental issues. I propose to the government that instead of sending hundreds of millions of dollars borrowed on taxpayers’ behalf to the Paris Climate accord fund, that we instead spend the money buying and planting millions of carbon eating trees on government and council land. This would beautify our country, provide local jobs, purify the air and alleviate the climate concerns of many citizens.
3. What are some of your key policies both locally and nationally that you would like to highlight?
Family First are very big on encouraging and promoting parenthood and healthy families. Our nation’s future depends on it. Government should empower parents and not interfere to make things complicated. So, we have policies which include
reducing the tax burden on families, building up families, encouraging marriage and having children, and providing incentives through the tax system that make it attractive for married couples to have children and develop their families.
4. What’s your number one policy to reduce cost-of-living pressures?
Permanently reduce the fuel excise. This lowers the cost of nearly everything, as transport is involved in most goods. This reduces inflationary pressure. Decreases interest rates and makes it easier for everyone. Revenue losses could be made up by government by reducing government’s pet projects, waste, abuse and fraud and by reducing the overall size of government.
5. Why should people give you their vote on 3 May? What’s your final elevator pitch if someone is undecided?
Basically, because the two major parties and the Greens have had their shot at governing and influencing the direction of our nation. In my assessment they have greatly fallen short.
They have failed! It is time for the minor freedom parties like Family First to be given a shot. Our country is in a mess in so many ways, and none of the major parties have any genuine plan or vision to seriously fix the mess. They just want to keep borrowing more and more and treat us like we are fools dependent on their largess. The Greens are not the party they used to be, and they too should be punished at this election. They seem to care more about sending our taxpayer money overseas to fund ideological foreign wars and militant groups, and no longer really care for our environment. I am not a politician, I care about our environment and community, and am more of an accidental candidate, but if given the opportunity, I would take things seriously and would advocate for dramatic improvements very quickly, before things become unfixable.
