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      "Let's  work together"     

BY ELECTION           
FEBRUARY 8TH         

for Prahran

 Independent  candidate

BUZZ BILLMAN

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With Labor choosing to not run a candidate, and with The Greens and Liberals infighting within their own parties resulting in member resignations, voters in the Prahran District have a unique & powerful opportunity to vote for a progressive Independent voice away from party politics. Someone who is dedicated to serving the interests and needs of the Prahran community, not a particular political party.

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Hi, I'm Buzz.

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"I'm a seasoned campaigner.  I will engage with the local community and take on their issues.   I will stand up and fight for Prahran.  

When a community gets together  and works for common goals,  we can achieve great results.  

Let's turn the page on the political parties in Prahran,  let's put Prahran first,  and let's put Prahran back on the map."

 

- Buzz Billman

"I let my Greens membership lapse in 2011 because I felt the party was moving in a different direction.

The Greens suddenly became more centralised and local branches began losing some decision-making powers in favour of decisions being made by a central hierarchy.

The environment within the party began to feel unwelcoming from the top down.

Their recent infighting of party insiders, preselection disputes, and member resignations tells me this hasn't changed much."

 

- Buzz Billman

I am standing as an Independent candidate for Prahran to help put Prahran back on the map. 

 

Prahran needs a representative who will stand up, be seen, be vocal, and be a champion for this great part of Melbourne. You haven't been getting that local respect from any political party for a long time.

The Greens have sat in the seat of Prahran for the past 10 years, but they have failed to negotiate improvements to infrastructure, services, and safety in Prahran due to the hostile relations between the political parties.

Have a look around the Prahran District right now with 10 years of The Greens here.

  • South Yarra Station is about to lose hundreds of daily train services into the City and along the Cranbourne & Pakenham lines once the new Metro Tunnel opens;

  • There are still no low-floor accessible trams on Route 78 along Chapel St nor any accessible tram stops surrounding the precinct. 

  • ​An increase in need for help with family violence, addiction, and homeless services.

  • Vacant shop fronts, small businesses in the Chapel St Precinct needing support to continue thriving.

  • An increase in crime, with people feeling less safe walking through their community.


Prahran is a unique, progressive electorate, where the vote count at recent elections has been shared pretty evenly between The Greens, Liberal, and Labor political parties. With the district of Prahran so evenly split, we need a new way forward in dealing with our needs here.


As an Independent MP,  I will not be making unrealistic promises. I will do my best to be approachable to the whole of the Prahran community, to work through the issues affecting us.

 

I have progressive values. I understand we live in an electorate with diverse opinions. I will keep the dialogue open with everyone, listen, and find the common ground we can work together on to try solve our problems.

I grew up in Malvern and have spent much of my life on the Southside, including living and working in the Prahran District.

I work as a train driver and an actor. In my spare time, I enjoy playing basketball; reading; going to see theatre; Melbourne's live music scene; the Western Bulldogs; and I'm a firm believer in random acts of kindness.

I have been involved around politics since I was a child: from standing on the picket lines with my Dad, a tram driver, during the 1990 Melbourne tram strike, to helping him hand out how-to-vote cards at Federal elections in the state seat of Higgins.

I attended Malvern Primary School and Murrumbeena Secondary College. At the end of 1996, Murrumbeena was closed due to the Kennett Liberal government school closures, merging the school with the old Prahran High School and Caulfield Secondary College to form Glen Eira College on the Caulfield campus.

This school closure lit a political flame inside of me, and I joined the Labor Party in 1997 as soon as I turned 16. I left Labor at 20, due to their lack of support for asylum seekers during the Tampa affair in 2001.

I joined The Greens at 22, during the time of the Iraq War protests in 2003, and I stood as a Greens candidate at four elections:


• State 2006, Oakleigh • Federal 2007, Hotham • Council 2008, Monash • State 2010, Clayton

 

In 2009, I lost a Greens preselection contest against academic, Clive Hamilton, for the Higgins by-election. In 2010, I was the campaign manager for the Hotham Greens campaign.

After eight years inside The Greens, I let my membership lapse in 2011 because I felt the party was moving in a different direction when some local branches began losing decision-making powers in favour of decisions being made by a central hierarchy. I felt the top down approach made the environment within the party feel unwelcoming.

I have been a campaigner for various progressive issues throughout my life: helping the homeless; advocating for asylum seekers and assisting them to settle within the community; campaigning for marriage equality; climate action; public transport policy; gambling reforms; justice for First Nations people; and more.

I am ready to serve Prahran, dedicated to the community, not a particular political party.

Let's work together to put Prahran back on the map.

Contact Me.

E-mail: campaign@buzz4prahran.com

Phone: 0400 245 195

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These are my priorities for Prahran.
 
I will be seeking to have a positive working relationship with all levels of government across the political spectrum to help put Prahran back on the map.


Please contact me for clarification on any other policy issues.

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What I Stand For

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Eliminating Family & Gendered Violence

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When the former member for Prahran resigned from state parliament on November 22nd, I began considering standing as an Independent candidate at the Prahran by-election. At that point, nine women and one child had been murdered across Australia in November alone. It was also three days after a man had been charged with the murder of Isla Bell. Isla was murdered in St Kilda East, within the community of the Prahran District. By the time I had decided and organised to stand as a candidate on December 9th, a further seven women had been murdered across Australia, including three in Victoria. 

Ten years ago in 2015, the Victorian Labor state government established a Royal Commission into Family Violence. In 2016, after a 13-month inquiry, the Commission's report listed 227 recommendations the state government should implement to improve its response to family violence. The state government committed to implementing all 227 recommendations. In January 2023, the state government announced it had implemented all 227 recommendations.

In 2024, 101 women and 16 children were murdered across Australia. In Victoria, 16 women and 2 children were murdered.

To their credit, the state government did respond to all of the recommendations and have invested over $4 billion to put the various agencies and services in place. I understand social change doesn't happen overnight, and realistically, it may take a generation or more for these reforms and t but with the need for help increasing, we need to ensure future state governments take 

I was disappointed when the state government stopped funding in 2023 for the role of Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor. The role was established in 2017 to review how the state government and agencies were implementing the family violence reforms

I believe

 

I believe