A LYNDHURST by-election will finally put local voters’ needs in the spotlight, the Greens said last week following Tim Holding’s retirement.
The MP announced on 15 February that he was stepping down to “do other things with my life”.
“Since being elected to council at the age of 19 I have been in public life almost continuously for more than 20 years,” he said.
Mr Holding thanked the people of Lyndhurst for electing him four times.
“Representing one of Australia’s multicultural communities has seared in me a fierce belief in the enormous strength that multiculturalism brings to our nation,” he said.
“While a by-election will cause some inconvenience for the people of Lyndhurst, I believe it is better for my electorate to have the services of a new member committed to serving over the long term and able to establish themselves immediately in the community and in the parliament.”
Victorian Greens Leader Greg Barber said the party would preselect “a strong advocated for public transport, education, health and environment”.
“The Liberal party won’t run a candidate. But the Greens are the only alternative anyhow,” he said.
“Some people say by-elections are a drag but this will be one of the few times when the voters in this area will be in the spotlight.”
Mr Barber said the Greens wanted to make the vote a referendum on public transport.
“Certainly it was the biggest vote-changing issue in the last state election,” he said.
“The buses follow long winding routes and don’t connect very well to the trains.
“Some of them finish early in the evening, well before the last train has run, which means a taxi or a long walk home.
“The new housing developments in Keysborough South don’t have buses at all.
“Large parts of the Dandenong South industrial areas don’t either and that means you must have a car if you want to work there.”
Mr Barber said Keysborough South was still waiting for a commitment on a future primary school, “which is desperately needed right now”.
A Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) spokeswoman told the Star it was already seeking polling booth locations but a date for the by-election had not yet been set.
The House of Representatives’ speaker will issue a writ calling for a by-election within one month of receiving Mr Holding’s resignation, and the voting day will be set for between 25 and 58 days from the writ’s issue.
