TRADITIONAL state political themes will be the focus of the Liberal Party’s candidate for the seat of Bendigo East.
Dr Michael Langdon will take on incumbent Jacinta Allan and is promising to address the closing of Bendigo schools and poor police numbers and to make a commitment to the new Bendigo Hospital.
Dr Langdon, a former principal of the Australian Technical College, said the Brumby Government was busying itself with paperwork and “glossy advertising” while a serious lack of services continued.
“The myki project is three years overdue and $300 million over budget - that money could have been used to fund half the hospital in Bendigo, or put more police on our streets.”
He identified the closure of schools as the big issue facing the electorate.
“Jacinta Allan has been the minister responsible for maintenance in our schools, and yet with Eaglehawk she has let it fall into disrepair - now they are going to close it.”
Dr Langdon, an education expert, said studies in North America showed that children from lower socio-economic backgrounds performed better in smaller schools.
“The larger the school those students are in, the worse their numeracy and literacy outcomes and retention is.
“And what have we got in Eaglehawk?
“A low socio-economic area and they will shut the local school and send the students to a mega-school at Comet Hill.”
Dr Langdon also said the Brumby Government had not really made a commitment to building the new Bendigo Hospital.
He said as a Liberal member, he would campaign for it.
The fact that on some nights only four police officers were on active duty in a town of 100,000 was a major concern that the Liberal party would address, he said.
Dr Langdon said he was a believer in climate change and that central Victoria had a role to play.
Ms Allan yesterday said large-scale development and redevelopment of schools and school buildings in the Bendigo area was under threat from the Liberals and their new candidate for Bendigo East.
She said their approach threatened the massive investment injected by the Federal and State governments to modernise government and non-government schools in Bendigo and boost jobs and economic growth.
“Mr Langdon has been chosen by the Liberals because he was ideologically opposed to the construction of new schools in Bendigo,” she said.
“He signalled his hostility to new schools with an earlier statement that `new schools are not the answer to increasing the community’s confidence in public schooling’.”
Ms Allan said the “backward-looking attitude echoed the Liberals’ opposition to the construction of new junior secondary colleges at Kangaroo Flat, White Hills, Eaglehawk and Flora Hill.”
Member for Bendigo West Bob Cameron accused Dr Langdon and fellow liberal candidate Anita Donlon as being “fill-in, five-minutes Liberals”.
LIBERAL candidate for Bendigo West Anita Donlon will fight her campaign on a platform based on police numbers, water, education and health.
Ms Donlon has been living in Bendigo since the `80s when her parents moved here to own and operate three hotels.
The mother of two and founder of the Independent Musos Network was officially named by Coalition leader Ted Baillieu as a candidate on Wednesday night.
When asked why she was running for parliament her initial reaction was “why not?”
Ms Donlon said she wanted to be able to concentrate on developing the infrastructure for the future.
“Obviously there are issues such as water and Michael Langdon (the Liberal Candidate for Bendigo East) and myself are going to work hard to push issues of health and education and being there for our community,” she said.
“I know that our party has been working very hard over the years to implement that (water projects), I don’t think anyone has got a magical answer.”
Health and education issues are also a high priority for Ms Donlon.
“There hasn’t actually been any money dedicated to the new hospital so far in the current government,” Ms Donlon said.
Dr Langdon said if elected he would push for funding for the $700 million new hospital.
“Once again, that is something that I cannot really answer right now,” Ms Donlon said.
She is concerned that schools are being closed down in Bendigo, but her main concern is police numbers, which is important given she is running against the Minister for Police, Bob Cameron.
“We do not have enough police, we are so under resourced it’s not funny.
“We have a town of more than 100,000 people, and growing, yet our infrastructure for police and our safe community has not been even looked at so far.
“Bob Cameron has been in for 13 years, he is police minister, what has he done?”
Ms Donlon says she is a believer in climate change and that the community was already doing its
part.
“On a state government level again I’m not going to comment on that, it is too early into my days.
“I think we are all doing our bit, I think as a community you have to look at what the City of Greater Bendigo has done with shopping bags and recycling initiatives.
“Collectively as a community we are doing our bit. Which ultimately is going to have a bit of difference.”
Mr Cameron said under the Labor government crime had dropped in Bendigo and record resources had been allocated to police.
He said Ms Donlon and the Liberal party’s real motive was to demolish the Bendigo Senior Secondary College and he would defend the school with every fibre in his body.
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