Christina Zigouras & Voices of Malvern - Campaign Diary
Sunday
The Age published a doozie of an article on the Liberals’ candidate Amelia Hamer and her campaign to take the Malvern electorate (which they seem to think is in the bag – I disagree!). Unfortunately, I can’t link to external sites from this newsletter but you can find it if you Google “Hamer hammers her Liberal stake into Malvern’s blue-ribbon heartland”.
The sense of entitlement to win the Malvern electorate, the absolute lack of any policy or opinion on what will make life better for residents or the businesses, and the unwillingness of the candidate to speak about local issues was disappointing to say the least. One would’ve thought Jeff Kennett was running for the seat based on how much he spoke to the reporter.
Here was a letter to the editor I sent to The Age in response:
The Age, Sunday 19th September 2026, Hamer hammers her Liberal stake into Malvern’s blue-ribbon heartland, Christine Lacy.
I am so pleased that Ms Hamer is listening to her elders; Jeff Kennetts and Jane Humes who consider her quite a good communicator for a ‘young person’. Kennett praises her for taking advice well and says she has earned the respect of those who have gone before.
The article repeatedly constructs Ms Hamer’s political legitimacy through older, powerful men who approve of her, advise her, introduce her and display their support with corflutes on their Toorak homes. The article is like reading an excerpt from the social pages or Forbes.
But what does Hamer say she believes Malvern needs? There was no policy position, other than a disdain for potholes, and yet no opinion on how to fix that problem, or any other problem. No wonder voters are looking for alternatives to the major parties.
I am running as the Community Independent for Malvern. Us independents bring our life experiences, an ability to listen to our communities, not parties, and an ambition to improve political discourse beyond a 30 second grab.
A frustrated vote is a safe vote with me. I will not waste time winding back a woman’s right to choose, or handing taxpayer money to Transurban.
Christina Zigouras, Independent Candidate for Malvern 2026, Toorak
Monday
Monday is known as “Mahjong Monday”. In addition to campaign tasks and hitting the streets, I spend Monday mornings playing mahjong. It is not-negotiable “downtime” for me. We need to make time in our lives for friends and fun among all the terrible news in the world. “Mahjong Monday” is this for me.
Tuesday
One of the chats that really stood out to me on Tuesday was one with a local mechanic about how the workforce has changed in his time. He started an apprenticeship in 1987, when cars were obviously very different. We spoke of a media report I heard this week explaining how it’s cheaper to replace a vehicle than wait for the parts to come in and repair it. Heavily computerised cars and EVs require software updates, not the same type of mechanical repairs. This means he is continually upskilling so that he can serve his customers.
I spoke to a lot of “gen x-ers” out on the streets. They are a group which is particularly disenchanted with politics. Part of this, based on the conversations I’ve had (and being a gen x-er myself!), is that they have seen so much change over their working life and are also dealing with the challenges of having young adult kids as well as aging parents.
Everyone has their frustrations with the world right now and we need to listen and understand the nuances of those frustrations. A lot of them are linked to how fast the world is changing and where the money is going – it’s not going to your average person on the street or your average small business, that’s for sure. Everyone is feeling squeezed.
I also went to a lot of shopkeepers and many of them spoke about feeling uneasy. This is obviously a big subject, but it speaks to the broader feeling of instability, lack of safety and how hard it is for people to earn a living.
Wednesday
More street chats and shop visits. When I’m out, I notice so many “for lease" signs. A lot of this is due to cost of living and people having less money to spend, along with online retail dollars going to the big guys like Amazon, and things like increasing rents, which are making running a shop, café or the like so difficult. One of my policies is a review of commercial land tax, which is forcing up the cost of doing business for many who either own or rent their places of business.
My campaign has produced a “Backing small business” poster for local businesses to display to encourage people to shop and eat local, get out and about and put their money behind local small businesses. If you run a small business or know someone who does, get in touch and we’ll get one to them.
It’s so hard to make a living and without our support, our beloved high streets will die. If you’re spending money, try and spend it with the smaller, local outlets and give Jeff Bezos a miss. He’s got more than enough.
Thursday
More time out on the street, speaking to residents, mailboxing and writing to supporters. We're happy to be getting a really positive response from the people we're speaking to. It is obvious there's an appetite for an alternative to the major parties of all political stripes. Let's hope this translates into votes in November... we just need to work really hard to get the word out!
Enjoy your weekend and thanks for your ongoing support!
Christina
Christina Zigouras & Voices of Malvern