By Mikayla van Loon
Labor has nominated Sorina Grasso for the seat of Croydon heading into the November State election, vying for the marginal seat currently held by Liberal MP David Hodgett.
Although formally qualified as a secondary school teacher and adult educator at both Swinburne TAFE and Monash University’s English Language Centre, Ms Grasso said she has always had an interest in politics.
“I have had a particular interest in politics since listening to my parents’ dinner conversations,” she said.
“Particularly after I started my working life and saw first-hand how important it was for everyone to have decent and safe working conditions, reasonable incomes and a good standard of living.”
Deciding to run for the second time in a State election, having been nominated as the Caulfield candidate in 2018, Ms Grasso said she wanted to run this time to put her Labor values into practice.
“[I want to give] the voters of Croydon a voice in Parliament to do what matters for the electorate and improve the lives of the people of Croydon,” she said.
“My priorities are to fight for everyone to have access to good quality education, decent job opportunities and a good standard of living. If I could achieve one thing as an MP I would continue the massive investment of the State Labor Government in mental health.”
Ms Grasso said she was also “thrilled to witness the $1 billion complete redevelopment of Maroondah hospital” announced by Premier Daniel Andrews just two weeks ago should Labor be re-elected.
With strong ties to the area through work, friends, local shops and parks, although not currently living in the district, Ms Grasso said she felt the protection of treed environments and green spaces to be the thing challenging Croydon district residents the most.
“As more vegetation is being lost to development, we need to make sure that any vegetation that is lost is replaced.
“We [need to] maintain the green canopy of the area, reduce the impact of climate change and avoid the risk of heat banks forming and people suffering heat stress and having to spend more on cooling their homes in summer.
“We need to make sure we meet housing needs, but only through appropriate development.”
These green spaces, the fresh air, views of the hills and the native vegetation are all reasons Ms Grasso loves the area and is why she really values keeping it that way.
“One thing is certain, there are areas closer to the city that do not enjoy the abundant access to green spaces that we have right here in the Outer Eastern suburbs.”
Heading into the election, Ms Grasso knows it will be a challenge but the seat is only marginal by 0.6 per cent.
“It’s had a redistribution so that it now includes Bayswater North and parts of Kilsyth both of which belonged to Labor-held seats prior to the redistribution, so I think it is absolutely winnable and I will approach the election as ‘working as hard as I can to win it’.”
As one of five female Labor candidates announced as running in the local outer eastern districts, Ms Grasso said she will find strength in numbers and is something that will help set her apart.
“I am also an Australian of culturally diverse background and there is virtually no cultural diversity in the Liberal shadow cabinet.”
Having begun speaking to residents via phone, door knocking and meet-and-greets at local events, Ms Grasso said she feels confident that people are leaning towards Labor.
“I’d like people to know that I will work as hard as I can to win the seat and if I win, I will listen to their concerns and represent them in Parliament every single day and that I will actively do what matters.”
