Interview with Liz Mumby, independent candidate in Australian by-election for the Victorian state electorate of Altona

February 4, 2010

With a state by-election coming up in Victoria, Australia, many minor parties and independent candidates will be looking to gain a seat in the Legislative Assembly. Liz Mumby is one of the independents.

"I am a medical sales professional, a wife and mother and a small business owner," says Mumby, the Division of Altona. "I don't come from a political background, I live in the real world." She argues that "we should not limit the debate to public transport issues just because the retiring member was the Minister for Public Transport."

Wikinews reporter Patrick Gillett held an exclusive email interview with Mrs. Mumby.

Interview
Why do you want to get into parliament?

Liz Mumby: I see this election as an opportunity for our community to have real say in our future. Community issues that we raise are not being addressed, and the current government needs to see that the Electorate cannot be taken for granted.

What do you do "in real life"?

LM: I am a medical sales professional, a wife and mother and a small business owner.

What are your three main policies?

LM: We have many issues in this area that need to be fixed; to look at three main policies by themselves would be to ignore the main issue, which is that our politicians have not acted on the communities concerns.

How would you address these policies?

LM: Imagine if our politicians actually took a wider look at the community they represent and then started to address the issues, how much happier would we all be? We will be spelling out what we mean by this at www.lizmumby.ozecommunity.com.au over the next [nine] days.



'''Last year, I interviewed Eastern Victorian MLC Peter Hall about trains from his region not going all the way to Southern Cross Station. Is that a problem where you are?'''

LM: Whilst Public Transport is an issue, we should not limit the debate to public transport issues just because the retiring member was the Minister for Public Transport. Why hasn't the debate also been about creating more local jobs with greater diversity, so that long-term, people have the choice to avoid the road/rail nightmare?

How would you go about creating said jobs?

LM: I would lobby to make the Altona electorate attractive to businesses by questioning their needs when deciding on a location, then acting upon that information to provide for those needs. Improvements to broadband, road and transport infrastructure and access to leisure facilities are some of the areas that need to be examined.

'''Do you agree with some of the points made by Mr Hall in the previously mentioned interview? (Needs of traveller, the elderly, etc)'''

LM: It is important for the needs of everyone who uses public transport that there is an efficient and effective public transport system, that is easily accessible no matter what age the traveller is. I have elderly parents and a toddler daughter so I can relate to the issues that affect a wide range of age groups.

Why should the electorate vote for you?

LM: I'm not a politician, I don't come from a political background, I live in the real world, as part of a community where we raise our children and live our lives. Our electorate has been a safe seat for far too long to the detriment of our community. As the saying goes 'the squeaky wheel gets the oil'. 'Squeak.'