Wonthaggi's Brett Tessari kicks off Parliament tilt

WHEN Brett Tessari was voted in as a Bass Coast Shire Councillor at the 2020 council elections, he did so with a whopping 49.91 per cent of the vote.

No other councillor, not the present Mayor Cr Michael Whelan 25.17% or the other most popular candidate, Bruce Kent, with 31.57%, got anywhere near Cr Tessari.

Now the former two-time Mayor of Bass Coast, Brett Tessari, is aiming to take that local popularity all the way to State Parliament as the Nationals' Member for Bass at the November 26, 2022 election.

The Nationals' announced their star recruit as the candidate in Bass, to take on the Liberals' Aaron Brown and the incumbent, Labor's Jordan Crugnale, after confirming Mr Tessari would run for them at the Nationals' recent State Conference.

"Look, there's a long way to go of course, but I've been really encouraged by the support I've received from Peter Walsh (Nationals' leader) and the rest of the team, Melina Bath (Member for Eastern Victoria), Danny O'Brien (Member for Gippsland South) and Darren Chester (Member for Gippsland)," said Mr Tessari this week.

"They're a great group of local members and Leanne (Brett's wife) and I really felt at home with their support for local communities and the way they go about it," Mr Tessari told the Sentinel-Times this week.

"Obviously we've got a lot to do but it's a great region and I wouldn't be running if I didn't think we had a realistic chance of winning the seat," he said.

He also said it was a great chance to further raise the profile of important issues confronting the people of the Bass electorate from Cranbourne South and Koo Wee Rup in the north to Phillip Island, Wonthaggi and Inverloch in the south.

The Nationals put out a media release today announcing that "Bass Coast local Brett Tessari has been officially announced as The Nationals’ candidate for Bass in the 2022 State Election."

They went on to say:

"Mr Tessari’s candidacy got resounding support at the 2022 Nationals State Conference in  Shepparton on Saturday, which was attended by hundreds of grassroots members, and Federal and State Nationals MPs.

"Mr Tessari’s a third generation local who’s been actively involved in the local community his whole life, including with the Wonthaggi Power FNC, serving on Bass Coast Council and with the local Rotary and iconic Relay for Life event.

"He said the current government’s city-centric agenda constantly disadvantages our region, which was why he had decided to run for The Nationals’ team.

“Like all local people I’ve been frustrated to see our key local issues, like mitigating erosion, roads, public transport, constantly under-funded by State Government,” Mr Tessari said.

“The Bass Coast has so much potential to thrive with a strong local representative in Victorian Parliament. I believe the best way to do that is as part of a team of Nationals MPs who are dedicated to secure a fair share for all regional Victorians.

“On my priority list for the Bass electorate are delivering certainty that our communities will never again be put into lockdown and securing more investment in maintaining local roads with a return of the Country Roads and Bridges Program.”

The Nationals’ Member for Eastern Victoria Melina Bath said The Nationals’ 25 per cent Regional Infrastructure Guarantee, also announced over the weekend, would deliver on Mr Tessari’s priorities for new or upgraded hospitals, schools and roads.

“Brett has long championed positive change in the local region, through his work on council and in the community – I’m thrilled to have him running for Bass as part of The Nationals’ team,” Ms Bath said.

The Nationals State President Neil Pankhurst said local people knew their local community best, with Shaun Gilchrist pre-selected in Narracan and sixth-generation Gippslander Melina Bath to stand again in Eastern Victoria.

“Regional Victoria needs our voice heard in the halls of State Parliament, but we don’t even rate a mention by the city-centric Andrews Labor Government,” Mr Pankhurst said.

“I look forward to working with Brett, Shaun and Melina as we continue to fight for a dedicated fair share for regional Victoria.”

The Nationals get the chance to go up against their Liberal coalition partners because Bass is a Labor-held seat.

Considered to be "highly marginal", especially since part of the burgeoning city of Pakenham was cut from the new electorate, it would take less than a 2 per cent swing to unseat the incumbent, Jordan Crugnale.

With Brett Tessari's proven vote-getting ability in play, a win by either of the conservative candidates, Mr Brown or Mr Tessari is on the cards.

Ms Crugnale secured 40.24% of the vote last time (Liberals' Brian Paynter 40.97%) for a two-party win of 52.39% to 47.61% by Ms Crugnale.

If Mr Tessari was able to out-poll the other coalition candidate, he could potentially take the seat.