Mary is focused on South Gippsland challenges

MARY Aldred won  Liberal Party preselection for the federal seat of Monash from Russell Broadbent earlier this month and has part of her focus on the issues faced by communities of South Gippsland.  
Three weeks into the candidacy Mary has been meeting with and listening to local community and business groups, tourism operators, families and individuals in the region about the issues that are important to them. 

“I think South Gippsland has got so many opportunities in front of it but we’ve got some big challenges as well,” said Mary.  

Mary grew up in a small family run business with cattle, horses and riding lessons, and left school at 15 to work in the business; later going back to school to complete a Masters in Agri Business. 

This previous personal experience and her professional work on a variety of Gippsland based boards, and most recently as government relations executive at Fujitsu, has given Mary an understanding and insight into sectors such as business, education, sport and aged care. 

Investment and support to upgrade roads and local infrastructure, such as the South Gippsland Highway, creating town bypasses and good freight routes is on top of Mary’s agenda.

This is to better support Gippsland’s Agri businesses and food producers and to create more efficient routes to market to create a more competitive industry stemming from the region. 

Mobile black spots and reliable connectivity is also a big issue across the community and is something that Mary is planning to put a spotlight on as it impacts individuals and businesses in work, study and leisure. 

Having good sporting facilities and resources for young people to participate and gain personal life skills and having the opportunity to develop to an Olympic level if desired, is also important to Mary.

Additionally, aged care and aged care workers need to gain better support and investment and securing funding across the region is going to be a priority as well as targeted funding for health care. 

Working to increase exemptions on everyday living expenses to help ease the cost of living, maintaining nature trails and supporting Landcare groups, increasing cybersecurity for small businesses, and adding innovative practice to Agri businesses are also on Mary’s list during this preselection period. 

“It is a big challenge and I think that’s where you need to be a really vocal local advocate,” said Mary and with her laser like focus said that she is up for the challenge.