THE seat of South West Coast has just become a seven-candidate race with Terry Riggs standing for the Victorian Socialists.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Active trade unionists will be nominated for all 11 lower house seats in the Western District for the upcoming Victorian election.
Mr Riggs lives in Carpendeit, is a long-time unionist and has a history of community involvement as a Country Fire Authority captain, community hall president, shop steward and a health and safety officer.
Lead Victorian Socialist candidate for Western Victoria Tim Gooden said that Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union member Mr Riggs would be standing for the seat of South West Coast.
Former CFMEU organiser Brendan Murphy is standing for the seat of Polwarth and Health Workers Union member Trevor Grenfell for the seat of Lowan.
“We’re really very proud to announce that every one of our candidates is a fighter and a campaigner for workers’ rights and a better deal for all working class Victorians," Mr Gooden said.
The other candidates for South West Coast poll on Saturday, November 24, are Roma Britnell (Liberals), Kylie Gaston (Labor), James Purcell (independant), Michael Neoh (independant), Jim Doukas (Country Party), Tom Campbell (The Greens).
Mr Gooden, a former Secretary of Geelong Trades Hall Council, is currently a shop steward for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.
He is joined on the upper house ticket by Nada Iskra, an administrative assistant at GTHC and a member of the Australian Services Union.
Mr Gooden said that if elected he would call for a full wage audit across the state.
"We want bosses to formally report and account for what they are actually paying their workers in Victoria," he said.
"We suspect that potentially tens of thousands of workers are being underpaid. We also want to see an expansion of government services to create jobs.
“Currently in parts of Geelong and other regional centres, as many as 20 percent of people are unemployed or underemployed.
“It’s also time for investment in and the development of renewable energies throughout the state. There can be thousands of jobs in these industries. For example, we could easily make windmills in Victoria or retool closed down factories.”
