Couzens on the campaign trail

AFTER this month’s State election, Bannockburn will join the Geelong electorate, and Labor candidate and current member, Christine Couzens, is seeking the growing area’s vote.

Ms Couzens is Geelong born and bred, and said her Shire-based campaigning is focusing on young people and families, aiming to provide spaces for them to use and enjoy.

“We’ve made announcements to support the SES to move to a new location, and to support the 1st Bannockburn Scout group, who would like to renovate their facility,” she said.

“We know often young people miss out, so to have those facilities there is important, and I’ll continue to advocate for youth services, and sporting facilities in Bannockburn.”

In the Geelong electorate more broadly, Ms Couzens said health is a huge focus, and a new Women’s and Children’s Hospital would benefit not only those in the inner-city, but in outlying areas, like the Shire’s south.

“People will be able to get specialised care, which at the moment, they have to go to Melbourne for,” she said.

“The early parenting centre is another important regional facility which construction has started on. That will support families who are being challenged by their little ones, and it will be a residential set up for intensive specialised support with a newborn or toddler.

“For mental health support on a regional level, we have the Moorabool Street community Mental Health Hub that’s under construction.

“In South Geelong, construction will begin on youth beds very soon, and it will enable young people with mental health issues to get treatment here in Geelong, which will make such a difference to so many families.”

The Labor commitment to reinstate a State Electricity Commission, which will be 100 per cent renewable, is something Ms Couzens is particularly energised about.

She’s also excited by the change to the Geelong electorate’s boundaries, which means she gets to work with new communities.

“It’s very different to what it has been; urban Geelong, so there’s a different focus now to some degree,” she said.

Before she was elected in 2014, Ms Couzens worked in community development, the housing and disability sectors, and was also staffer of former Member for Geelong, Ian Trezise.

Having been in office for eight years, she said she’s had some highlights along the way.

“The redevelopment of the Geelong Arts Centre is looking pretty extraordinary with the big theatre curtain hanging over, and the commencement of the convention centre is exciting because that will bring jobs and significant economic benefits to our region,” she said.

“The redevelopment of The Gordon TAFE has been extraordinary. It’s a beautiful world-class facility with a state-of-the-art culinary school and the Aboriginal education centre, the Kitjarra Centre, for example.”

Ms Couzens said she hopes to have the opportunity to serve the “resilient and caring” community of the broader waterfront city for another term.

“I am so proud of the Geelong community. I want to finish what we’ve started, and there’s much more I want to achieve in the electorate,” she said.