Greens candidate Sianan Healy says growing inequality, pressure on local services and concern for the environment have brought her back to the Nepean election campaign.
Healy contested the seat’s May by-election and is preparing to run again at November’s Victorian state election. She told STPL News she had not pursued politics as a career. Her work has been in women’s health, research, education and policy.
When the Greens approached her about nominating, she said she had to think carefully about it. She came to see the campaign as an opportunity to have a greater impact on issues she had worked on throughout her career.
“I’ve seen the growing inequality in our community here and in Victoria. I see people doing it tougher.”
For Healy, the cost of living and the environment are connected. She also believes Nepean voters deserve a representative who will advocate for the issues they care about.
Liberal MP Anthony Marsh won the seat at the May by-election. Healy is one of several candidates seeking to unseat him in November.
‘We’re Here To Replace Them’
Asked what she would say to voters who believed a vote for the Greens would ultimately help Labor, Healy rejected the argument.
“The Greens are not here to get Labor elected. We’re here to replace them.”
She said the party wanted to offer an alternative to Labor, which she accused of failing to act on housing, health care and environmental issues.
Healy also pointed to preferential voting. Voters, she said, could put the Greens first and decide for themselves how to number the remaining candidates.
“They can put Labor last if they don’t want to see Labor get elected.”
Under Victoria’s preferential voting system, a voter’s later preferences are counted if their preferred lower house candidate is excluded. The ballot follows the order marked by the voter.
Rosebud Hospital Must Remain Public
Healy said upgrading Rosebud Hospital would be a priority if elected.
She described the state of the hospital as the result of years of deterioration and underfunding, and said residents should not have to make lengthy trips for the care they need.
“Location shouldn’t decide the quality of health care you get.”
During the by-election campaign, Healy said, she spoke with a Rosebud woman whose elderly mother had recently died. In the weeks and months before her death, the woman had made frequent trips to Frankston. Healy said the travel had taken time she could otherwise have spent with her family.
Healy said she would push the government to fully upgrade Rosebud Hospital and keep it public. She acknowledged that one MP could not commit a government to a project, but argued that more Greens in Parliament would give the party greater ability to press the issue.
Proposals for a Rosebud Hospital redevelopment have been a recurring issue in Nepean politics, including debate over whether a public-private partnership should be considered.
STPL News raised the example of a local parent who said she had to travel to Dandenong to obtain subsidised glasses for her child. Healy said the distance surprised her and broadened the discussion to access to eye care and dentistry.
She said people should be able to obtain basic health care without having to weigh up what else they could afford.
Roads And Crime
Roads were another issue put to Healy. She said the Mornington Peninsula’s reliance on cars made maintenance particularly important, while gaps in public transport frequency and coverage left many residents with little choice but to drive.
Healy argued that roads and other infrastructure had been neglected and said she would push for greater investment.
Asked how that could be paid for when Victoria’s finances were under pressure, she argued that governments should raise more revenue from large corporations, including banks and supermarkets. That was her proposed approach to funding, rather than a specific costed commitment for Peninsula roads.
On crime, Healy said the current approach was not making people feel safer. She called for more attention to prevention alongside policing.
She pointed to mental health care, addiction services, homelessness support and youth services as areas where she believed investment could help address factors that contribute to offending.
“We can’t just keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result.”
Healy said the Greens favoured programs aimed at preventing crime, rather than treating tougher penalties as the only response. She did not set out a Nepean-specific funding commitment during the interview.
Housing Pressure On The Peninsula
Healy said homelessness required action on housing costs, crisis accommodation and support services.
She questioned whether the overall number of properties was the main local problem, pointing instead to unaffordable rents, short-stay accommodation and vacant investment homes.
“I don’t actually think there’s as much of a supply issue as there is a cost issue.”
Healy said the Greens supported ending unlimited rent increases, better enforcement of vacancy taxes and stronger regulation and taxation of short-stay accommodation. She also wanted the Peninsula to receive what she considered a fairer share of funding for housing and homelessness services.
She said local outreach services needed better funding and raised the shortage of crisis accommodation.
At the same time, Healy called for more public and genuinely affordable homes. She pointed to the tourism industry as an example of the pressure caused when people who work locally can no longer afford to live near their jobs.
Mornington Peninsula Shire reported about 168 people sleeping rough on the Peninsula at the end of May, a 32 per cent increase over the preceding six months. STPL News spoke with Mayor Stephen Batty about why the recorded figure could understate the problem.
Returning After The By-Election
The discussion turned to the personal attacks and misinformation raised during the May by-election. Asked how she would handle similar tactics if they arose again, Healy said she would avoid engaging in them.
“The worst thing you can do is give it fuel and give it more attention than it deserves.”
She said people she met while handing out voting cards had disliked negative campaigning. Her approach, she said, would be to keep listening to residents and talking about the issues they raised.
Healy finished the interview by speaking about the Peninsula’s volunteers and community groups. She said residents might disagree about how to solve problems, but shared a desire to look after one another and the place where they lived.
She also returned to the environment that had helped draw her into the campaign.
“That’s why we live down here, isn’t it?”
Healy said she hoped voters would see those shared concerns reflected in her campaign.
