Justin Seddon Labor
An attitude of “if you want something done or changed put yourself forward to do it” convinced Justin Seddon to accept Australian Labor Party nomination for Narracan.
His endorsement by the party to stand for election came only a week before last Friday’s closing of nominations and was not something he had contemplated over a long period of time.
However, Mr Seddon said he decided to put his hand up because of things he saw the electorate needed.
A change in electoral boundaries this year put his residence at Pakenham East just outside the Narracan electorate but said most of his interests and much of his work as a medical sales representative was in Narracan.
Currently captain of the Nar Nar Goon fire brigade, he initially joined a Country Fire Authority brigade in the Yarra Valley, where he then lived, as a junior at 11 years of age..
Mr Seddon has also served on school councils - Nar Nar Goon primary and Koo wee rup secondary including as president and vice-president - getting what he said was close knowledge of the challenges students, teachers and parents face, describing the present pressures on teachers as a “crisis”.
He joined recent celebrations when the Liberal Party announced it would build a new fire station at Nar Nar Goon if it won government and said he was hoping the Labor Party would do the same, although he had no promises of that, and said the CFA volunteer ethos of “do what needs to be done when it’s needed” did not conflict with the professional arm of firefighting, Fire Service Victoria, that has a base nearby at Pakenham.
Mr Seddon also has construction of a new West Gippsland Hospital as the area’s number one priority including improvements to support services such as those for outpatients.
An early start on the project was essential, he said, with Labor promising to fully fund it at more than $600 million, including the cost of a public aged care section, a contrast to the Coaltion promise that he claimed required the federal government to contribute $200 million for the aged facility.
Mr Seddon said he would also push for major repairs to deteriorating roads throughout the electorate, something he experienced daily in his work, as well as a southern by-pass of Drouin where he had also suffered major delays travelling through the town.
He sees Labor’s commitment to re-establish the State Electricity Commission and transition plans for workers employed in the region’s coal-generated power and timber industries as positives.
Better sporting facilities for young people are also high on Mr Seddon’s agenda and he welcomed ALP policy to discount registration fees for cars, caravans and trailers of defence force veterans.