In 2015, just before my election, the member for Melton stood in his place and made all sorts of wild accusations about why I sought to represent the good people of South-West Coast. He accused me of improper motives and all sorts of things and made himself out as holier than thou. He alluded that I would not be an effective member to represent my constituents. All the while he was living some 80 kilometres away from his constituents and his electorate and was asking the Victorian taxpayer to fund his beachside lifestyle. The hypocrisy of this man — to accuse me of only joining this place for the money while he was sitting here rorting over $100 000 from the Victorian taxpayer.
I live in my electorate and I fight for my region to get its fair share of money for roads, for schools, for our hospital and for our rail service. For my constituents to learn the member for Melton has been using their hard-earned taxpayer dollars to live by the beach while our needs go unmet is a disgrace — what an insult.
While my constituents have been risking their lives driving on roads that are falling apart and waiting at hospital emergency departments that are overcrowded and while children with special needs have been sitting in cramped buildings, the member for Melton and the member for Tarneit have been lapping it up by the beach, rorting public money. I am proud to represent the people of South-West Coast and even prouder to call the electorate my home. I am not the fake representative of my local constituents the member for Melton made me out to be, but he most certainly is.
