Mat Morgan - The Greens

Mat Morgan has been handing out how-to-vote cards since he was a teenager - it seemed natural he would one day stand for election himself. The Foster philosophy student grew up in a politically aware household and wants to stamp his mark on the Monash electorate as The Greens candidate.

At the last election, The Greens attracted seven per cent of the primary vote. Mr Morgan is confident he can make it 12 per cent.

But the bottom line is, Mr Morgan believes he can make a difference.

Addressing climate change and turning government’s attention to renewable energy is Mr Morgan’s top priority.

“If we can’t get climate change right then there’s no point. Having us hold the balance of power could be a successful way of going forward on climate.

He said The Greens were committed to building a 100 per cent renewable economy by 2030 - “it’s better for our farmers, it’s better for our waters, it’s better for the people and it’s better for the planet.”

Mr Morgan said The Greens had a $19 billion transition package that would leave no worker behind and it would target coal dependent communities. He said the package would provide a 10 year guarantee for coal workers to transition to employment outside the coal, oil and gas sectors; provide support for early retirement; and assist with re-training

But, he said, renewable energy targets had to be a national approach, not local.

For young voters, Mr Morgan believes the main concern is “climate, climate, climate” while older voters are turning their focus to integrity issues.

He said he supported an independent review of corruption at a federal level.

“If Labor can put up a ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) proposal with teeth and retrospective public hearings, we will fast track it through Parliament before Christmas,” he said.

Affordable housing is another national focus point of The Greens and its policy is to provide build one million new homes to provide sustainable, accessible and affordable housing to the people who need it most.

Mr Morgan said The Greens’ one million homes plan would be funded through higher taxes on those who could afford it most and deliver affordable owner-occupied homes for people with a small deposit. “Everyone should be able to have a roof over their head.”

Mr Morgan said he would advocate strongly for a new hospital in Warragul and it was “time aged care facilities were running for care not profit.”

Mr Morgan previously stood for South Gippsland Council which he says was a good “warm-up” for the federal election.

“I want to make Monash marginal, we have to at least get pork barrelling for the electorate.

“I have got energy to burn. In 2019 I watched that acceptance speech (of Scott Morrison) and thought we should have done more. This time I’m leaving nothing in the tank,” he said.

Mr Morgan is a co-founder of the Bass Coast Climate Action Network and volunteers for the Victorian Farm Alliance, Bob Brown Foundation and Landcare.