Jessica O’Donnell believes she can provide the Monash electorate with the change they are looking for when she stands as the ALP candidate at the next federal election.
For the second time, Ms O’Donnell will take on incumbent Liberal member Russell Broadbent when voters go to the polls – expected anytime between December and May next year.
But, Ms O’Donnell believes the post-pandemic landscape will be very different to that of May 2019, saying the electorate was ready for change and ready for a representative who was truly listening to the people.
“Russell has been the member for such a long time and what’s changed? Nothing has changed. Are we looking for change? The question is has he been able to achieve anything in the last three years,” she said.
Ms O’Donnell said Mr Broadbent’s stand on COVID vaccination was in “dire contrast” to the community he represented, with 96 per cent of the Monash electorate receiving their first dose vaccination.
“Those rates show people want to move on, open up their businesses, get kids back to school…I think some of the things he has said are quite dangerous.
“We are seeing a similar pattern of behaviour with Russell where you get a strong sense that the overwhelmingly community data shows how people are thinking.
“We saw it with marriage equality and vaccination…(yet) he has gone in the opposite direction to the community.
“It’s admirable Russell has strong values and he sticks to those but at the end of the day they are elected to be representative of the community,” she said.
The Liberal Party has held Monash since 2004 with Mr Broadbent currently holding the seat with a 6.9 per cent margin – a margin Ms O’Donnell said is definitely winnable for the ALP.
A boundary redistribution has favoured the ALP’s position in Monash, removing Cardinia Shire voters from the electorate which now includes Baw Baw, Bass Coast and South Gippsland municipalities plus Moe.
Living in Drouin, Ms O’Donnell is at the heart of the electorate, which she also has represented a large part of as a former Baw Baw Shire councillor.
She said her hairdressing and councillor background gave her a solid foundation for customer service and understanding the community.
This has been strengthened by her work in previous years in marketing, strategic communications and stakeholder consultation which has provided a greater understanding of the business community.
Post-pandemic economic recovery in Monash needs to be largely driven by infrastructure and Ms O’Donnell said she was ready to be heard in Canberra.
“Baw Baw and Bass Coast are in the urban growth zone and so much needs to be delivered to help that growth…its unfathomable that we get so little when we have a member in government.
She said she would be a member that would be “kicking and screaming in Canberra to put Monash on the map and ensure we get funding.”
“We are crying out for funding and not getting anything. It’s not like local government don’t have projects in the pipeline.
“There is opportunity for construction based economic recovery in Monash,” she said.
A federal anti-corruption body to act as a watchdog over federal parliamentarians also is a priority for Ms O’Donnell.
“We continue to see things like the Christian Porter matters that should have gone to the Privileges Committee to be investigated but the government voted not to. Federal politicians need to be held accountable,” she said.
Ms O’Donnell said she learnt a lot when she stood at the 2019 election and believes she is well positioned with a much broader understanding of federal politics, ready to “hit the ground running this time.”