Six #Greens16 contests to watch on #ausvotes election night reports @takvera

As we watch who might form a majority government, or whether we might have a hung parliament, here are the six seats to watch for the Greens on Saturday night: Melbourne, Batman, Wills, Higgins, Melbourne Ports, and Richmond. Another 6 seats of interest where the Greens vote is substantial but may fall short includes: Gellibrand […]

Greens launch bid for #Wills2016 reports @takvera #Ausvotes

Last weekend I attended the Greens campaign launch in Wills. This electorate is one of a very few around Australia where the battle is now between Labor and the Greens. The Greens have pre-selected a high profile local candidate: Samantha Ratnam is a local Greens Councillor and current Mayor of the City of Moreland. A […]

Greens and ALP preselect candidates for #Wills2016 #Ausvotes reports @takvera

The 2016 Federal election is warming up in the seat of Wills, in Melbourne’s inner northern suburbs. Preselection and nomination of candidates for the ALP and Greens has taken place. For some background of the seat see the Wills seat Profile I wrote in 2013. [View the story “Greens and ALP preselect candidates for #Wills2016 […]

Fawkner gives a grilling to #Broadmeadows MP Frank Maguire in safe #vicvotes Labor seat – @Takvera

Broadmeadows is one of the ALP’s safest seats in Victoria with over 20 per cent two party preferred margin to the Liberals. Because it is safe it gets largely ignored by the Liberals when in office, and to a lesser extent, also ignored by the Labor party who direct more funding for projects in their […]

Greens increasing pressure on Thomson in Wills reports @takvera

By John Englart 4 September 2013 I was recruited by Margo to cover the election in the safe Labor seat of Wills (Seat Profile) in mid July. After writing 21 articles I suspect I have put in far more time and work than some of the candidates. We are at the point in Wills where […]

Public transport versus east-west link tollroad issue in Melbourne electorates reports @takvera

By John Englart 30 August 2013 The Victorian Government is proceeding with the East-West link tunnel tollroad which would connect up the Eastern Freeway and Alexandra Parade to Citylink severely impacting Royal Park and Moonee Ponds Creek. It is an $8 billion project with high impacts on the seat of Melbourne, but also traffic and […]

Wills Forum ends with call for compassion and decency to be reclaimed in politics reports @takvera

By John Englart 1 September 2013 The 3rd and final meet the candidates forum for Wills was hosted by the Brunswick Uniting Church on Friday night. Five candidates attended to present their policies and to take questions from a moderator and from the audience. But it was the very last response to the very last […]

Dean O’Callaghan brews beer to save the planet in Wills: Interview by @Takvera

By John Englart 29 August 2013 Meet Dean O’Callaghan, or Deano Goodbrew, as he is known around the streets of Moreland in Melbourne’s inner north. He is standing as the only Independent in the seat of Wills. Dean runs a small sustainable business called the Goodbrew company. “That is my bread and butter. I started […]

Ford Closure and economic transition an issue in Wills reports @takvera

By John Englart 27 August 2013 In May Ford Australia announced closure in 2016 of its car manufacturing plants at Broadmeadows and Geelong which will result in the loss of about 1200 jobs when production stops. Car manufacturers have been subsidised by government handouts to entice them to continue manufacturing in Australia. In 2012 the […]

Most candidates in NBN-connected Wills reckon Labor got it right: @takvera interviews

By John Englart 27 August 2013 The Wills suburb of Brunswick was the first metropolitan pilot site for Labor’s NBN in 2011. The world is changing rapidly with large movements of digital information, requiring faster internet speeds to deliver content to meet our needs (see Steve Jenkins and Lachlan Hinds article on Why is fast, […]