STAWELL\u2019S Maurice Billi has championed those who feel as if their voice has never been heard, over the last 20 years.<\/p>\n
In his work in the health and education sectors, he has supported people at risk, particularly youths disengaging with education, who have mental health concerns, are at risk of homelessness, have experienced family violence or are in out of home care.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my passion, working with young people, where I also get a lot of energy. Our young people are amazing now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes they get a bit of a bad rap, but I see a really different side\u2026 what energises them, what passions they have and what a valuable asset they are to our community and to our future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dedicating multiple aspects of his life to supporting youth, Mr Billi has been a foster carer for 20 years. It\u2019s a major privilege and honour of his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been one of the best things that I\u2019ve ever done. I would honestly say I\u2019ve learnt more from the young people who have been in my care than they\u2019ve learnt from me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have loved being able to provide just something for young people who, for no fault of their own, aren\u2019t able to live with their own families.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Billi said the system desperately needs more foster carers to take the leap, at a time where he walks into a new era of challenge and responsibility.<\/p>\n
Feeling humble and grateful, he was recently selected as Labor\u2019s candidate for the federal seat of Wannon, where there are plenty of local issues to address. Last year, he contested the state seat of Lowan.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s always taken an interest in politics as an observer, but after some advocacy and policy work, joined the Labor Party, finding a way to bring his thoughts forward differently.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of my priorities broadly do associate with providing a voice and an opportunity to people who don\u2019t really feel like they\u2019ve got a seat at the table and haven\u2019t had an opportunity to have their issues canvassed broadly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have areas that are obviously thriving, but we\u2019ve also got pockets of the electorate that are losing population, they\u2019re losing infrastructure, they\u2019re losing resources,\u201d Mr Billi said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to really have a broad rural and regional recruitment and retention strategy to get people and families to come to our area for opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said there are areas of Wannon with high youth unemployment, but those people should be supported to stay and find work rather than move away.<\/p>\n
\u201cLabor\u2019s commitment to TAFE is one that\u2019s been needed for quite a while and I\u2019m so excited about that because having a strong TAFE sector is critical in getting opportunities locally for our young people to be trained and employed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Billi is committed, more than anything, to education.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spend a lot of time in schools in my work and just see our government schools, who have wonderful teachers, kids and families, really struggling sometimes to meet the day to day needs in terms of resources, support, infrastructure and upgrades to the basic stuff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe gap between the haves and the have-nots in the education sector is growing and we need to really look at how we can get better funding, better support, better resources for our government schools that do an amazing job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Securing reliable telecommunications and internet access, and maintaining \u201cfit for purpose\u201d roads is also on the agenda.<\/p>\n
But the campaign isn\u2019t everything, and Mr Billi\u2019s favourite hobby is certainly a calmer change of pace from politics. You\u2019ll often find him bush walking or hiking.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love to travel and explore, but I sort of like to go off the beaten track. My interests are certainly around connecting with the environment and the land,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like the basic stuff, good food, the ocean and the beaches, spending time with people that I really like being with, and unfortunately, also being a cricket and football tragic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moving from Western Australia 25 years ago, he always had an affinity to Victoria and what Wannon had to offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful part of Victoria. I was always attracted to the south coast, the Great Ocean Road and I\u2019ve always had a soft spot for Port Fairy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoving into the Grampians area, the mountain range and the open living\u2026 Just the diversity of what Wannon offers culturally with the food and wine, tourism, agriculture, the changing landscape, I just think it\u2019s got everything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
STAWELL\u2019S Maurice Billi has championed those who feel as if their voice has never been heard, over the last 20 years. In his work in the health and education sectors, he has supported people at risk, particularly youths disengaging with education, who have mental health concerns, are at risk of homelessness, have experienced family violence […]<\/p>\n