Christina Zigouras & Voices of Malvern - Campaign Diary

Happy Sunday!

Welcome to our weekly Christina Zigouras and Voices of Malvern newsletter. 

Can’t believe it’s already October! 

We celebrated our first Volunteer Pizza Night in the new office we are calling “HQ”. The office is staffed from 10am–2pm and is available for the public to drop in for a chat, and for volunteers to meet, pick up flyer bundles and corflutes, and meet with members of the campaign team. 

Collegial Conversations - Amelia Hamer is not up for a conversation at all! 

After watching an episode of Four Corners this past week, I was so incensed at the deception of One Nation that I felt compelled to knock on the door of the Liberal Party’s Malvern candidate, Amelia Hamer, to seek the Liberals’ preferences. 

Unfortunately, the people I spoke to “don’t watch Four Corners”, and Ms Hamer was busy, first on a call and then “in a meeting”. It was disappointing that she simply would not give me the time of day for a quick hello. 

It is so important in the current political climate that people can come together and discuss issues, and it’s OK not to always agree. That’s what shapes democracy. If elected, I would see that as being one of my primary functions. I will talk to anyone who comes through my door in good faith. 

Stonnington Council Meeting

Off the back of the Stonnington Council Advocacy Paper, I met with Jen Church, who is the Public Affairs Officer at Stonnington Council.

The State Government has set a target of 50,000 new dwellings in Stonnington by 2051. Stonnington Council’s Housing Strategy has identified capacity for around 67,000 additional dwellings, exceeding the State Government target. Increased density means the Council needs to look at a range of issues and challenges.

Three issues I raised with Jen were:

• Accessible tram stops – the location of which needs to consider retailers and commuters alike.
• Open spaces and tree canopies – difficult to achieve due to the nature of housing in Malvern.
• Public schools – there are no secondary schools, and we discussed how this could affect the liveability of the municipality down the track as the population grows.

“Stonnington is one of Melbourne's most vibrant and important municipalities, but our community is facing increasing pressures from rapid population growth, rising costs, ageing infrastructure and growing community safety concerns,” Mayor Cr Sehr said.

The Mood:

Despite it being “a long way out”, according to residents, people are generally keen to receive a flyer and have a conversation.

The mood is still: “I don’t want to vote Liberal and Labor needs to go.” Rarely have I heard, “I’m voting Liberal, but thanks anyway.”

With your help, we can turn this openness into an election win!

We're out and about in the community every day, and we'd love to see as much purple out there as possible! Keep an eye on our website to sign up for upcoming street chat shifts and attend our events. 

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for your ongoing support!

Christina
Christina Zigouras & Voices of Malvern