AS November\u2019s State election draws closer, candidates for the Animal Justice Party\u2019s tilt at Bendigo\u2019s lower house seats have been announced.<\/p>\n
In Bendigo East the AJP has named Quarry Hill resident Vyonne McLelland-Howe, while endorsed for Bendigo West is Castlemaine\u2019s Victoria Maxwell.<\/p>\n
The two local candidates join current political staffer, and lead on the AJP\u2019s Northern Victoria upper house ticket, Georgie Purcell.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am so proud to be running alongside Vyonne and Vix,\u201d Ms Purcell said. \u201cI know they will make our region a kinder and better place for animals, people and the planet if elected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Standing in Bendigo East, Ms McLelland-Howe is a retired family lawyer and said her work in that space helped form ideas about \u201cthe effects of control and disempowerment.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s also a member of the Bendigo Australian Conservation Foundation and the Wildlife Rescue & Information Network.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people would be surprised by how much of a difference they can make,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople get overwhelmed and think there\u2019s nothing they can do to stop climate change but there is and they have more power than they know.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the ballot in Bendigo West, Ms Maxwell is a recent arrival to the region having relocated from the UK where she lived for 10 years.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s a trained high school English and drama teacher and worked as a specialist autism educator before staring her own business while also writing young adult fiction and non-fiction books.<\/p>\n
A focus for Ms Maxwell is bringing an end to duck shooting and greyhound racing in the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re more aware than ever of the issues around climate change and animal exploitation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we want a better future, we have to create it, and now is the time for us all to both act and vote with compassion and kindness towards all beings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d never given any thought to getting involved in politics until I discovered the Animal Justice Party. At election time it often feels like we are just choosing between the least worst option, but the AJP gives us a third option.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the 2018 State election the AJP didn\u2019t stand a candidate in Bendigo East, while in Bendigo West they captured 6.38 per cent of the primary vote.<\/p>\n
In the upper house for Northern Victoria Region the party received 2.25 per cent of first preference votes.<\/p>\n
The only current State parliamentarian for the AJP is freshman member of the Legislative Council, Andy Meddick, who was elected on preferences to the fifth and last place in Western Victoria region in 2018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AS November\u2019s State election draws closer, candidates for the Animal Justice Party\u2019s tilt at Bendigo\u2019s lower house seats have been announced. In Bendigo East the AJP has named Quarry Hill resident Vyonne McLelland-Howe, while endorsed for Bendigo West is Castlemaine\u2019s Victoria Maxwell. The two local candidates join current political staffer, and lead on the AJP\u2019s […]<\/p>\n