JUST when it seemed the Monash electorate would be subjected to the same old stale party politicians spouting the same old party lines along comes a genuine independent voice who is basing policies on the concerns of the community around her.
I refer of course to Deb Leonard, a community candidate whose message has been developed from the hard yards she has put in pounding the pavement to get as accurate an assessment as possible of what her community really wants from their politicians.
While other candidates advertise for people to hand out for them and knock on doors, Deb Leonard already has several hundred volunteers who have responded to her message.
That she has become a genuine threat to the major parties there can be no doubt. The lies and misinformation merchants are already hard at it.
It is true that funds for her campaign are pouring in. But unlike the political duopoly that fashion their policies around the requirements of their billionaire donors, Deb has developed policies around the requirements of her community and the money flows in from people and organisations who support those policies.
It is unlikely that billionaire miners or the gambling industry will be supporting Deb Leonard.
But people who are demanding urgent action on climate change, and those concerned at the way the major parties’ neoliberal policies have wrecked the economy for working families and young people are Deb Leonard’s main supporters.
Noel Maud, Inverloch
