Maggie Jane

I am endorsed by the Greens and while I am still not sure where my preferences will go, I know they will go towards people who are running with similar values and policies.

It is important that my preferences, as well as those in my own personal vote, go to those who will similarly fight for human rights for all.

My preferences will go to those I believe will listen to the community, and fight for getting those who live in Sydenham the services, support and infrastructure we need to have happy, healthy lives.

I definitely think we need a moratorium on data centres, and I have been working with locals to advocate for this. I think the west has been a dumping ground for too long and we are ready to stop those who can’t see the beauty of our area from destroying it.

I also do not think that AI should be used as broadly and ungoverned as it is. It’s harming the development of our young people. It’s being used to monitor employees, and to upsell to consumers. It’s being used in weaponry and warfare.

These are not causes that are worth the detrimental impacts of AI data centres, no matter how they are powered.

Where I live in Fraser Rise, the closest bus stop is about an hour’s walk away. I believe we all deserve access to public transport, whether it be a bus, better parking at train stations, the electrification of the Melton line and increased services; we would like to see services running every 10 minutes on all lines, all day.

With the cost of living skyrocketing, the price of fuel, the congestion on our roads and the environmental and health impacts of our lack of public transport, we need action.

The Greens believe that public transport should be owned and operated by the government on behalf of the public, with consultation with local communities to ensure needs are met. Because free and reduced cost public transport can only benefit our community if we have public transport in the first place.

The Greens have committed $270 million to improve the bus network across Victoria, to ensure we all have a way to get out and about.

The Greens care about our environment, and we want everyone to have fresh air to breathe. We want to stop all new coal and gas, which will help us reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 235.

By increasing public transport options, we will get cars off our (neglected) roads, and helping support people to buy electric vehicles will also reduce pollution from exhausts.

We will protect and increase our green spaces, ensuring we all have a nice place for a walk with lots of trees and greenery to refresh our air.

We will call for a moratorium on data centres, and other developments that will pollute our local areas while providing little to no value to our communities.

As a social worker working in the disability space, and previously in family violence, I have seen all too closely the impact that lack of affordable housing has on people who are already marginalised. Even as someone working full time in a well paying job, as a single income household, I am feeling the rental stress.

Housing is a human right, and no one should ever be forced to go without it. The Greens plan to more than double the number of public homes by building 88,000 new homes that meet the minimum standards that a rental should. We will cap rent rises in line with wage increases, making all rentals more affordable and preventing people from getting to the point of needing public housing.

We will crack down on dodgy landlords, and force them to have a licence, so that we can stop people from having to choose between mould poisoning and a roof over their heads. We will invest in support services to help break the cycles of homelessness. We were able to just about end homelessness during COVID, so we know it is possible.

And finally we will make things easier for first home buyers, by cutting stamp duty to save people around $60,000 on their first home. Housing is important for all of us, and a priority for me if elected. So many other support needs are unable to be met for people (mental health, addiction, disability, family violence, etc) without a solid foundation of housing.

While I find it frustrating that what a person does with their own body is a topic for political debate, I acknowledge that without supporters of bodily autonomy, people’s personal rights to choose will be taken away.

I firmly believe that all people, but especially those with uteruses, should have the freedom to make their own medical decisions, with the input of no-one else but their chosen medical team.

Abortions are healthcare and healthcare is a human right.

The Greens support free and comprehensive access to abortion and contraception.

No one should have the power to make healthcare decisions on behalf of anyone else, especially not politicians who are usually not medical professionals.

Too often these days we focus on responding to crime after it has been committed. We talk about how to punish offenders and how to address violence that has already occurred.

The Greens want to bring some of that focus into prevention. Rather than punishing offenders, stopping them from ever offending in the first place.

We have a statewide $1 billion commitment to crime prevention, establishing the Office of Community Safety and Crime Prevention, and offering crisis outreach and frontline support services, including mental health, alcohol and other drugs, homelessness and youth services.

This includes practical, community-led prevention and support, including a 24/7 non-police crisis outreach pilot, where trained health and social workers respond to non-violent crises. It will be their job to support and connect people to appropriate, ongoing and well-funded support services, including supported housing and wraparound services.

They will support young people, people at risk of homelessness, people experiencing mental health crises. We will also provide de-escalation training for traders, librarians and frontline community workers, as well as resources they can provide to the community.

We will also support the inclusion of respectful relationships education for students, to instill respect, friendship and kindness into our young people, while supporting them to end family violence before it begins.

We live in a violent, scary world, and our response should not be one of punishment, but one of kindness and prevention.

If people have their basic needs met, they are less likely to engage in crime, making the community safer for us all.