Meet the Candidates events in Southbank

Southbankers will have the option of meeting their federal candidates for the seat of Macnamara at two different events in Southbank ahead of the next Federal Election.

This election, which is expected to be called for May 14, will see incumbent Federal Labor Member Josh Burns recontest the seat against Greens candidate Steph Hodgins-May, who is standing for a third consecutive election.

Colleen Harkin will run for the Liberal Party, having replaced new candidate Christopher Ride who pulled out of the race recently due to personal reasons.

Both local resident groups Southbank Residents’ Association (SRA) and Southbank3006 will host events at the Boyd Community Hub, offering Southbankers multiple opportunities to meet their candidates face-to-face.

The first event, sponsored by Southbank News, will be hosted by Southbank3006 in Boyd’s Assembly Hall on Sunday, April 24 at 2pm, which will be attended by all three major candidates. A moderator is yet to be announced.

Spaces are limited and registration for the event is essential. For more information, please refer to Southbank3006’s advert on page 13 of this edition or visit southbank3006.com.

SRA will host its event, also featuring all three candidates at Boyd, on Tuesday, May 3, with a moderator also yet to be announced.

Bookings for this event are also essential, and can be made by visiting southbankresidents.org.au

Meanwhile, if your vote in this election hinges on the issue of climate action, not-for-profit environmental group Port Phillip Emergency Climate Action Network (PECAN) will host its own meet the candidates event focused squarely on climate change and energy.

To be held at St Kilda Town Hall on Tuesday, April 26, the event will again feature the three main candidates and hear a guest presentation from local resident and University of Melbourne Prof Kathryn Bowen, who is a lead author of reporting for the global Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Organiser Peter Moraitis said, “We filled St Kilda Town Hall in the 2019 federal election for our first candidates climate change and energy forum, and so people want us to do it again this election.”

“As we’ve handed out flyers promoting this forum the response from people on the street is strong and enthusiastic. It reinforces that climate change is an issue that people in Macnamara care about and it is important for them this election.”

Tickets are free and registrations can be made at pecan.org.au, where you can also find details for watching it at home via livestreaming.

A comprehensive overview of all candidates and the Macnamara election race will be published in the May edition of Southbank News •