Join us over the next four weeks for an in-depth look at the candidates, hot-button issues, and a breakdown of the policies and campaign promises in four key Victorian electorates.
Join us over the next four weeks for an in-depth look at the candidates, hot-button issues, and a breakdown of the policies and campaign promises in four key Victorian electorates.
We already knew Amelia Hamer owned a second investment property alongside her $1.2 million London flat.
Hamer, the Liberal candidate for the tightly contested seat of Kooyong, told us as much in the statement she issued on Sunday when we asked about her property holdings.
Hamer has regularly described herself in media appearances as a renter living in Hawthorn, but came under fire today from independent MP Monique Ryan for not disclosing her status as a landlord (see post from 2.59pm).
Now we know what the property is and what it cost. Property records obtained this afternoon show Hamer bought a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in Canberra’s inner-south in August 2021 for $915,000.
The apartment, located in Forrest, comes with two car spaces and a balcony overlooking Parliament House.
It was listed for rent in November last year, according to online real estate ads.
That makes two properties in Hamer’s name – one in Canberra’s most prestigious suburb, and another in London’s NW3 postcode.
Together, the portfolio is worth well over $2 million Australian.
She has declined to offer any further comment today.
Hello, Tom Cowie here. I’m coming off the bench this week to replace Clay Lucas in Wills as he takes a hard-earned break. I’m excited to get into it in the battle for the northern suburbs between Labor and the Greens.
Labor’s Peter Khalil is facing a huge challenge here from Samantha Ratnam, who will become only the second Green to win a lower house seat in Victoria if she is successful, 15 years after Adam Bandt first won Melbourne.
The Greens are campaigning hard to get Ratnam over the line. Her camp told me that the first week of the campaign was one of the biggest in Victorian Greens history: they’ve knocked on 60,000 doors, made 13,000 calls and put up 1000 signs.
They claim Wills is on track to be bigger than Bandt’s 2013 successful re-election pitch in Melbourne, which is considered the high tide for Greens campaigning. Over the weekend, 200 volunteers were out door-knocking across Wills.
As for what the candidates were up to, Ratnam attended the opening of a new cultural arts and community precinct called Balam Balam Place in Brunswick on Saturday. She also spoke at a refugee rally at Brunswick Town Hall, joined a Sri Lankan community event and took part in the Run for the Kids on Sunday.
In between helping out his own door-knocking campaign, Khalil phoned in to the Joy FM studios on Saturday to promise $250,000 in funding to support the LGBTQ community radio station. And in proof that all politics is local, except in Coburg where it has an international twist, he visited the Central Pontian Association on Sydney Road to promise $49,500 to install a new elevator.
As for what’s coming up this week, the big item on the agenda is a joint interview with Raf Epstein on ABC Melbourne on Tuesday morning. I’ll be tuning into that to see what the two candidates have to say.
As always, if you see anything happening on the streets of Wills please get in touch tom.cowie@theage.com.au or via encrypted email tomcowie@protonmail.com.
Plenty of interest from our readers in the Letters to the Editor overnight in Rachael Dexter’s revelation that the Liberal Party’s candidate in Kooyong, Amelia Hamer, owns two properties at the same time as pitching herself as a renter.
There were plenty of critics including Jennifer Quigley of Balwyn who wrote:
The details of their acquisition are her business, but she has misrepresented herself to the electorate as “a renter”. The message being that she, as a real renter, understands the struggle of young people attempting to enter the property market. It would appear that Hamer rents by choice while being ″stuck in Australia″. Hamer is in a position denied to many young people. They would love to be able to take out a mortgage to realise their dreams.
But there were also defenders including Barrie Dempster, also of Balwyn who says:
One can only admire Amelia Hamer. Here we have a wonderful example of a young person who has studied hard and worked hard to be able to own a couple of properties before the age of 40. Congratulations Amelia!
You can read all our letters on this topic (and plenty of others) here:
And if you’d like to send one in email: letters@theage.com.au (remember no more than 200 words and you’ll need to verify your identity and address for us)
The election campaign is a week old and Labor has finally endorsed a candidate to run in Goldstein.
Nildhara Gadani will run for Labor and the party’s website describes her as a “proud migrant and passionate advocate for her community”.
Gadani has worked as an early childhood educator, trainer and founder of a non-profit organisation and has a husband and two children.
Last year she ran for election as a councillor in the City of Whitehorse which takes in Box Hill, Burwood and Vermont, but was unsuccessful.
Labor has never held Goldstein which has been a blue ribbon electorate and the domain of Liberal politicians and their predecessors since federation until Daniel was elected in 2022.
In the last election Martyn Abbott ran for Labor and secured 11 per cent of the vote in comparison to Wilson who had 40 per cent of first preference votes and Daniel who had 34 per cent.
A Labor spokesman said the party was proud to have endorsed Gadani.
“A dedicated mum and early childhood educator, Nildhara has stepped forward to represent and fight for the Bayside community,” he said. “Nildhara knows the clear choice at this election: Labor’s plan to build Australia’s future or Peter Dutton’s promise to cut everything.”
Due to an unfortunate weekend run-in between me and a patch of inner-north pavement, this Kooyong correspondent is holed up with an ice pack and a swollen ankle. I, therefore, won’t be pounding the leafy streets of the electorate for a few days.
Thankfully, my excellent colleague Alex Darling from The Age’s breaking news desk has stepped up in my place today, hitting the trail to ask locals what they make of the Amelia Hamer housing saga.
It’s never easy getting people to stop and talk, but Matthew Hendrick, a tech sales rep walking his dog with his partner near Kew Junction, was happy to weigh in.
“I had a bit of a giggle when I saw the story,” he said. “It kind of made me a bit frustrated, because the Liberal Party is out here spruiking all this change. I think it’s a bit of a spit in the face for the community. She’s been going out saying she’s a renter, but having two apartments she owns is kind of contradicting what she says she’s about.”
Hendrick said he had already made up his mind on how he’ll vote and had done some research on Hamer before reaching that decision.
“I think people might do a deeper dive into what Amelia’s about – and maybe make a different choice.”
Also out for a walk was Julie, who didn’t give her last name. She said the revelations wouldn’t sway her – she’s voting for Hamer.
“I’m a Liberal voter. It doesn’t matter who it is,” she said. “I’m a capitalist, and I never vote Labor. I don’t believe in the teals – I believe they’re terribly false. I was a great supporter of Josh Frydenberg; he did so much for Boroondara behind the scenes.”
Julie said she liked that Hamer was a younger candidate. “We don’t need busybody husbands running around stealing signs,” she added, taking a swipe at the husband of teal independent Monique Ryan.
Just a friendly but important reminder that today is the last day to enrol to vote in the federal election.
If you haven’t enrolled yet, the deadline is 8 o’clock tonight.
You might need to update your electoral details if you have moved house or you might need to complete a new enrolment if you have turned 18 in the past three years.
To do this visit aec.gov.au. It only takes a few minutes.
Well, it’s proving to never be a dull day in Kooyong.
Independent MP Monique Ryan has taken a swipe at her main rival, Amelia Hamer, after we revealed today that Hamer owns two investment properties — including a million-dollar flat in London —despite publicly presenting herself as a renter.
“It’s disappointing that Ms Hamer tried to deceive the people of Kooyong,” Ryan said in a statement this afternoon. “The issue here isn’t that she owns two properties; it’s that by painting herself as a millennial renter, she misled people by not disclosing she was also a property owner and landlord.”
I contacted Hamer for a response but haven’t heard back. However, a Liberal Party spokesman said: “Monique should spend less time moralising others and more time explaining why she voted with the Greens 77 per cent of the time.”
Adding fuel to the fire online today: a resurfaced podcast appearance in which Hamer discusses the housing crisis and the struggles of apartment living – again, with no mention of her property portfolio.
On Madame Speaker, a podcast hosted by Liberal staffer Charlotte Mortlock, Hamer said:
“And you have all these like, weird conversations about housing … things like, ‘Oh well, we’re all just gonna have to learn to live in apartments.’
“And you go, ‘I don’t want to raise a family in an apartment.’ I think most Australians actually don’t, and I don’t think the discussion should be, ‘Oh, you just have to.’” In another clip shared to Instagram, Hamer described her own one-bedroom flat
“I live in a one-bed apartment — I did a TikTok … it was [about] five reasons why Australians aren’t having kids. And I turn around and one reason is I’m looking around my flat and going, ‘Well, I don’t actually know where the kids would go? In that corner where the dog bed is?’”
She also pitched decentralisation as a fix, over higher density in the inner city being pursued by the state government:
It’s an absolute no-brainer. If you think about Melbourne, we’ve got all these historic cities around it — places like Bendigo, places like Ballarat.
If you could get from Bendigo to the CBD in about an hour … it doesn’t have to be the shinkansen [Japanese bullet train]. It can just be reasonably fast, very reliable, gets you from A to B.
You can live in Bendigo, in your detached house with the Hills Hoist out the back … verandah out the front.
Reminder to Kooyong voters – if you have a tip, drop me a line at rachael.dexter@theage.com.au, my Proton mail rachaeldexter@protonmail.com, or add me on Signal by clicking this link.
After trying for days to secure details of the campaign launch of Bruce’s Liberal candidate, Zahid Safi, I arrived at the event at Narre Warren North Public Hall on Sunday around 3.45pm.
It had been impossible to get any information about Safi’s whereabouts from official sources, but I managed to find out the launch location.
It was cold and windy upon arrival, but I was told to “stand back” and wait outside until someone called “Andrew” came to see me. I waited and waited, but no one came.
When I tried to introduce myself as a journalist to volunteers, they refused to engage. “I know who you are,” said one before walking away.
The Australian Federal Police had been asked to attend for the protection of Liberal MP Jason Wood after he and Safi were heckled at a Doveton mosque last Monday. Even one officer said it was an unusual approach to block journalists from entering a launch event. “I would’ve thought if there’s no one to cover it, it didn’t happen,” the officer said with a smile.
Young Liberals wearing blue T-shirts brought boxes of pizza through the entrance. The smell of coffee wafted from the quiet suburban hall. Men wearing suits and traditional clothes trickled in. Some smoked cigarettes in the carpark.
Wood eventually arrived at 4.15pm, and rushed into the safety of the hall without stopping for a chat. By that point, it was raining heavily. The volunteer who had told me to wait outside returned to say the AFP wanted me to leave. I explained they had given me different information and I was here to meet the candidate. “This is my event, and I’m telling you to leave,” the female volunteer said. “You need to leave.”
Afterwards, I called Liberal HQ for an explanation. I was told there was no directive to ban media attending the event from higher up, and was given an apology. They would look into it, I was told.
We got a peek inside after the event, when the Menzies Young Liberals uploaded happy snaps from inside the vault later in the night, tagging Liberal Senate candidate for Victoria Kyle Hoppitt who was also in attendance.
Safi, who has never held public office, needs a significant swing against Labor, which holds the seat by a margin of more than 5 per cent, to have a chance at entering parliament.
I’m still waiting for a response to emails and phone calls. Let’s hope Safi’s campaign changes its approach, or it’s going to be a long four weeks until the May 3 poll date.
Eye of the Tiger blasted out of the speakers at a packed Kingston Town Hall as independent teal MP Zoe Daniel took the stage on Sunday night for her campaign launch.
More than 1000 of Daniel’s supporters turned out for the launch, which at times, had the atmosphere of a music festival rather than a political event.
Many attendees were dressed in teal T-shirts, which were for sale for $20 each at the entrance and held signs saying: “Independence fights. Independence acts. Independence works.”
The merch stand, which was doing brisk trade, also had hoodies for $60, hats for $20, and teal- coloured Zoe Daniel statement earrings for $25.
MC for the night, comedian Dan Ilic, got the most laughs when he joked that his most recent acting gig had been playing “a tradie struggling with fringe benefits tax” in a dig at Liberal opponent Tim Wilson using campaign volunteers in high-vis vests and hard hats in a Facebook ad.
Ilic also had a go at Opposition Leader Peter Dutton for accidentally hitting a cameraman with a football. “For someone who wants to get Australia back on track, he can barely kick a ball straight,” he quipped.
After a Welcome to Country and some songs, Daniel was introduced by two “Gen Zoe” volunteers – a group of Daniel’s volunteers all under the age of 35. She took to the stage wearing a suffragette white blazer and jeans while her children and husband sat in the front row.
“What you did at the ballot box in 2022 by electing me shook the foundation of Australian politics,” Daniel said. “Your bravery in electing me as an independent community MP was unheard of in Goldstein. I have never taken for granted the enormous trust you placed in me.”
Daniel didn’t bother with an origin story, instead she laid out her achievements in the last parliamentary term and the key policies she is focused on. She pointed to achievements including a legislative climate emissions reduction target, a national anti-corruption commission, having early childhood education as a declared government priority, an in-home program for eating disorders, and more bulk-billing GP clinics in Goldstein.
Outlining the policies she is focused on, the biggest cheers were reserved for her policies on income tax and calls for a cohesive climate policy. “The days of income taxpayers carrying the load while multinationals and big corporations dodge their fair share are over,” Daniel told the crowd.
Daniel called out the “relentless reflexive negativity and Trumpian mind of Peter Dutton” and the “unimaginative unambitious timidity of Anthony Albanese”.
“What sort of country do you want to live in?” she asked. “I’d say it is one that values integrity, honesty and transparency, one that values science and evidence-based policies, one that values women and everyone’s contribution, one that values proper debate and collaboration, one that values prosperity for all, and one that puts the future of our young people at the centre of everything.”
Each sentence was met with a round of applause, and then, while posing for a selfie with her family on stage, the crowd erupted into chants of “Zoe, Zoe, Zoe”.
While Dutton and Albanese spent the weekend criss-crossing the country, Julian Hill spent it criss-crossing Bruce.
It was a jam-packed Saturday for the Labor candidate and MP, who started with an Easter egg hunt in Dandenong, then whizzed to a Sri Lankan community event before we met up in Hampton Park for some community football.
It was Doves versus Redbacks, and Hill, a loyal Doves supporter, dodged a photo with the winning team, the Redbacks from Hampton Park, which just happens to be outside of his electorate. “I’m Doveton all the way!”
Also in tow was Casey Mayor Stefan Koomen, who was in a precarious position as his council area spans both teams. “I’m considering getting a scarf of both teams knitted together,” he said, smiling but serious.
Hill spoke with locals about AFL history, and caught up with Doveton Soccer Club president Daniel McMinimee – whose club benefited recently from about $200,000 in federal funding to upgrade facilities.
“First time we’ve had lights on our ground since it’s been built,” he said. “I’m a fan of Julian’s.”
Hill says political comments don’t go down well on weekends, but he makes one “evidence-based” exception: “Basically for 10 years, the whole city of greater Dandenong got literally nothing from the feds, literally nothing, because every grants program was pork-barrelled and rorted.”
Hill points to $7.5 million given to Doveton pool by the current government, which was allocated after he encouraged the community to make a grant application with a business case. “I haven’t delivered everything the community wants, but I can say we’ve delivered programs, everything according to need.”
After a quick pat with Dusty the puppy ridgeback, and pop into the changerooms for a photo with the Doveton players, he’s back on the road.
Next stop is a 10-minute drive away.
The stubbie-holders and sausages are replaced by charcoal-grilled meats and hennaed hands at the Narwoz festival, also known as the Afghan new year, held in a Hallam park.
Hill was asked to make a speech at the last minute so took a seat and started tapping away at his phone. Politicians of all persuasions sat in the front row, including Victorian Liberal MP Ann-Marie Hermans, state Labor MP Lee Tarlamis and Greens candidate for Bruce Rhonda Garad.
“It must be election year, with all the politicians here,” the MC told the crowd.
In his speech, Hill said Narwoz was an ancient celebration and time for renewal.
“Narwoz mubarak everyone!” he said. “Eid mubarak to our Muslim brothers and sisters!”
Hill praised Australia’s democracy and said the upcoming federal election was a reminder of “how lucky we are to live in a democracy where we do have the great privilege to vote and choose our governments.
“The majority of people in the world do not,” he said.
“I get asked this in my role – what’s an Australian? An Australian, to me, is anyone committed to our country and to the principle of mutual respect for their fellow Australians.
“When you come to this country, no one expects you to leave your culture at the door. Quite the opposite. Australia encourages people to celebrate their culture, to cherish the traditions and pass them onto their kids.
“While we can celebrate our freedom, spare a thought for the people in Afghanistan right now where Narwoz is banned. And the women and girls who are not even allowed to show their faces or be seen in society.”
Bruce is home to Victoria’s largest Afghan community, and will be an influential voter base this election.
Afghan-born Liberal candidate Zahid Safi could not be seen at the event. Victorian Liberal Opposition Leader Brad Battin was the party’s representative on the speaker list.
“Julian, we keep meeting at events. It’s good to see you here again. It’s great to be out with you,” Battin told the crowd, before praising the event and community.
“We get to have events like this, where people from all colours of our persuasion in our democracy come here together.”
Sitting next to me in the crowd was Pashto teacher Bahanita Danish. She said Safi might be nervous to attend after being heckled earlier in the week at the Doveton mosque. Danish will be voting for Safi this election, she said, after he visited her school in recent months.
“He’s very kind,” she said. “I think change is coming.”
Elsewhere in the crowd, a young man named Ahmed Ahmedi said “for now” he will vote Labor over what he said was a better record on immigration. “Because it’s good for people from overseas,” he said. “Good for immigration.”
But he said he had to learn more, as there was a bad “court decision” that he had heard about, but could not elaborate further.
Labor’s response to the High Court ruling that found indefinite detention was illegal, including fewer rights for detainees and tougher deportation laws, has been criticised by human rights groups as draconian.
Saturday on the hustings wouldn’t be complete without a baby’s head being kissed. Hill was chatting to a young mother on the sidelines of the cultural event, who excitedly passed her baby to the politician for a cuddle.
“I love babies,” he said, to smiles all around. “She’s so cute.”
