State Election 2019 | Kogarah electorate candidates

The Leader has invited all candidates to submit a short statement on their background and policy platforms.

They are listed below in the order they appear on the ballot paper. 

Phillip is a local candidate who has lived in the area for most of his life and still resides in the electorate and lives in Beverly Hills.

He is a long time St George supporter. He served an apprenticeship as a printer and worked in the printing industry for over 40 years as a machinist and foreman.

During that time he also served in the Australian Army as both a Reservist and in the Regular Army achieving the rank of Warrant Officer.

Roles in the Australian Army also included service in the aftermath of the Victorian fires in 2009.

As your Candidate for One Nation, in addition to our Policies, I will stand up and be a voice for you on local state issues which include but not limited to:

I want to give to Kogarah and the residents’ common sense and realistic solutions to real problems.

Natalie Resman is a young vibrant model, recent graduate of the University of Sydney and the Keep Sydney Open candidate for Kogarah.

Growing up in Western Sydney she moved closer to her university in 2015. She was born to Croatian parents and attended public high schools in Sydney.

In university she was very active in feminist and social equality groups, attending many protests and inspiring women to strive for excellence.

She has experienced what life is like for women in the workforce as a bartender, gaming attendant and receptionist so she understands how undervalued their contributions are.

Women’s issues obviously run very deep for Natalie and she believes that women should have complete autonomy over their own destinies.

The lack of 24 hour public transport make it a dangerous endeavour for women just to be out and enjoy life. Fear of getting home shouldn’t influence the decision whether to live vivaciously.

She wants to see vulnerable people being protected, not moved on by police. Police should be moreactive in the community working on education rather than punitive measures.

Young people don’t deserve to die for making bad decisions, they need to be counselled and referred to health services.

The money currently spent on dealing with hospitalisations would be much better spent on preventive programs such as pill testing.

Corruption runs deep in NSW, she sees the laws continually catering towards the rich and powerful and believes legislation should represent the entire community. Infrastructure should make lives easier not line the pockets of the corporations.

Gambling is destroying lives, she has seen the effects of it on families at her time working in an RSL. Government should be working to reduce, not increase gambling in our community. She believes that small business needs to be fostered in the local community, so that families can spend more time together. Sydney needs to embrace the world standard in waste and recycling, efforts that will save the environment for the next generations to enjoy. An open Sydney means a Sydney that is safe and free for women, men and children.

I'm a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney and a mother of three. My research compares housing markets and social housing solutions in Sydney and Vienna, Austria.

I graduated with first class honours from my degree in social science at the University of Sydney in 2016.

I'm passionate about social and environmental justice and have been active in community-based campaigns for many years, beginning with the successful campaign against the Jabiluka uranium mine in the 1990’s.

I'm currently a spokesperson for Save Barton Park Inc, a group campaigning to prevent a private golf course being built on crown land at Barton Park on West Botany Street, Banksia. I'm also working with a group called F6 Action to highlight health concerns with unfiltered F6 motorway tunnel exhaust stacks in Arncliffe and Rockdale, and a potential traffic nightmare on President Avenue at Kogarah if the motorway goes ahead.

In 2012 I set up the Primary Ethics program at my children’s public school, successfully growing the program to offer ethics classes for all ages of primary school students.

I was awarded the TAFE state medal in 2002 for outstanding performance on completion of the Diploma of Events and Entertainment Design.

Continuing TAFE funding cuts by the LNP government concern me greatly. Since I attended TAFE, fees for my course have increased tenfold and enrollments have dropped dramatically. The Greens’ plan for free education, including TAFE and university, is therefore particularly important to me.

Our plan will solve the skills shortage while making education accessible to those who currently can't afford it. I believe TAFE is particularly well placed to provide a chance for those who may be struggling to learn the skills they need to get on their feet, to make their contribution to our community.

Chris Minns is the Member for Kogarah, representing the area where he grew up and went to school.

He lives in St George with his wife Anna and together they are raising three boys.

As the son of a school principal, Chris has always understood the importance of a good education.

That’s why his priority is to deliver for local schools. As part of his Education Plan for Kogarah, Chris will put air-conditioning in all public school classrooms and replace demountables with permanent classrooms.

Chris fought for and won a commitment that Labor will spend $395 million upgrading St George Hospital as well as increasing the ratio of nurses to patients. That way every resident can be confident they will receive the best of care if they or a loved one needs treatment.

During the last eight years Chris has seen the devastating impact the Liberal’s over-development policies have had on the area. Local residents are now cut out of decisions as planning panels appointed by the Liberal Government approve enormous towers that are changing the neighbourhood forever.

Together with cuts to rail services, residents now face packed trains, strangled roads, crowded schools and parking headaches.

Chris is leading the campaign against this inappropriate over-development, but he knows that if the Liberals win the election, another 9875 dwellings will be built in the St George area. By comparison, the target for Hunters Hill Council is 150.

One thing everyone in St George can agree with is that the area has taken more than its fair share of new development.

Chris and the Labor team will act to stop these spot-rezonings that give developers the power to decided where and what they can build, and require open space and infrastructure be in place before developments get approved.

Like our Premier Gladys Berejiklian, I’m a first generation Australian and my story is like many others in the community. My Dad’s first job after emigrating from Hong Kong to Australia was selling textbooks at Paddy’s Markets Flemington. My mother was from Shanghai and her first job was at a shoe factory, but together they started a small education business in Hurstville that I now run.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to have received a quality public education at Kingsgrove, Bexley North, Hurstville Public School, as well as Sydney Boys High School. That’s why you can trust the NSW Liberals and me to deliver more school upgrades like that at Blakehurst High School, Hurstville and Kingsgrove North public schools, as well as rebuilding a new school, Penshurst Public School.

My father died suddenly when I was 16 at a local hospital, because of this I understand the importance of healthcare. That’s why you can trust the NSW Liberals and me to deliver another $385 million for another round of upgrades to St George Hospital, totalling $700 million since the NSW Liberals were elected.

As a lifelong local I understand the pressures our area faces; the rising costs of living, the growing pressure on our local neighbourhoods and the need for new infrastructure and transport. That is why the NSW Liberal is taking the pressure off families by investing in infrastructure like 5.4 Billion for the new M5 and $40 million to widen King Georges Rd, as well as Increasing Train services by building a new metro system, investing in signal upgrades and purchasing new trains.

As a member of the NSW Liberal Team you can trust me to;