GREENS candidate for Mallee Nicole Rowan wants voters to consider education, health, childcare and climate change when they head to the polls in May.
The Macedon Ranges-based tax lawyer has thrown their hat in the ring for the Federal election, contesting the electorate they grew up in.
Born in Woomelang and schooled in Sea Lake, Rowan was previously a candidate in Mallee in 2019, where they secured 3.5 per cent of the vote, and came fourth in a 13-candidate contest.
They said they’re standing as a true alternative to the status quo, and not for preference flow reasons.
“That’s what I want to be, a true alternative for those that know we have to right now – not in the future, not in 15 years – we have to right now do something to address the way that the climate is changing,” Rowan said.
“We need to ensure equity on education, health, childcare.
“Equity is not equality, when you look at regional areas, there’s obviously less choice.
“To ensure equity, those kinds of services – high quality public education, choice in healthcare and a full range of healthcare – they have to be properly funded by government, they can’t be left to the for-profit market, because we know that when they’re left to the for-profit market, they just wont exist in regional, rural and remote areas.
“They’re the commitments that the Greens make, to actually act on climate change, from a whole lot of different perspectives, to ensure that education, housing and childcare services are equitably available.”
Rowan is one of two currently-announced candidates for Mallee who were born in, but do not live in the electorate, as One Nation candidate Vaughan Williams lives in Bendigo.
“I appreciate I don’t live there (in Mallee) but I have other strengths,” Rowan said.
“The family and community connections I have from growing up.
“My economic background is a really strong aspect that I bring not just to the Mallee electorate but also to the Greens party.”
They said support for the Greens was on a growth trajectory nationally.
“We’re slowly losing that greenies brand and people are actually starting to understand that Greens policies are actually good for them,” they said.
“They make sense, they’re sensible … they’re not policies for aspiring billionaires, they’re policies for people based on where they’re at, still enabling them to make investments.
“They are economically very sound and provide for a good economically-stable environment, and people are starting to see that.”
Rowan said examples of good policies the Greens were pushing for in Mallee were being able to see the GP for free, ensuring bulk billing is available for everyone, bringing dental fully into Medicare to take pressure off the hospital system, and enacting fairer and more appropriate policies around housing.
“One of the reasons with my background in law, accounting and tax that I’m actually proud to be associated with Greens is because they’re the only party that independently and fully cost all of their federal and state election policies, identifying how much they’ll cost but also identifying where that money will come from,” Rowan said.
“All of that costing work is done independently by the parliamentary budget office and anyone can search for the PBO, search for the policies that have been costed and over time all of the Greens policies will be up there, fully costed.
“I think that’s one of the strengths of the Greens, is that transparency in their policy.”
