For a long time, I believed I could help create change through research, advocacy, journalism and human rights work. But after years of being active in this community, more and more people encouraged me to step forward.

I have listened to people who feel tired of being promised change and then let down. Across Western Victoria, people are concerned about growing inequality, from housing to education, health, wages and opportunity. People who are worried that our political system is increasingly shaped by entrenched power, vested interests and lobby groups, rather than the needs of ordinary communities.

They are worried about polarisation, populism and a broader democratic decline, where too often the rules no longer seem to apply equally. And they are tired of regional communities being treated as an afterthought, with lower investment, poorer infrastructure, worse education outcomes and fewer opportunities.

I share those concerns. But I also believe a better future is possible. I can see a fairer, kinder and more hopeful Victoria, one where communities are listened to, public services are properly funded, one where people matter, and the next generation has a genuine chance to thrive.

I am not motivated by power or politics for its own sake. I am motivated by change: stronger communities, greater opportunity, and a future people can believe in again.

At some point, I realised I could no longer be a bystander. Western Victoria deserves better. The next generation deserves better.