I’m honoured to be Labor’s candidate for Black. I love being part of this community – my wife Claire grew up in Marino and we’ve lived in Hallett Cove since 2016 when we bought our family home. Our son Albie is now nearly three, and Claire and I feel fortunate every day to be able to raise him in such a wonderful part of the world. The abundance of nature and open space at our doorstep is one of my family’s favourite things about calling this place home – swimming at Kingston Park, walking in the Hallett Cove Conservation Park and enjoying the local playgrounds.
Throughout my younger years, social justice was a central theme of my life and my education. My parents were very community-focused – my mother ran community centres at Hackham and Clarence Park. Watching the work she did in supporting people and bringing the community together made a deep impression on me. I saw firsthand that people live better and learn better within strong communities. That’s why building strength and spirit within our community is one of my deep passions – and it’s why I’ve spent my working life representing and supporting my community in one way or another.
For the past thirteen years, I’ve had the privilege of being a teacher and holding various school leadership roles at Sacred Heart College, including Deputy Principal. I’m currently the Head of Marcellin Campus, our Senior School – a role in which I’m responsible for the academic and pastoral wellbeing of nearly 1,000 students. I’ve worked in partnership with many hundreds of families within our community to empower our young people to be the best they can be within our community, have a love of learning and be of service to others.
The values that are most important to me are the same as so many South Australians. For example, good health – funding our health system properly is so important. I want all South Australians to be able to access the medical care they need, whenever they need it. This includes everything from Rapid Antigen Tests to elective surgeries to life-saving cancer treatment. It’s unacceptable for any South Australian to have to wait, or to have to fight, to access the medical care that should be an absolute right – not a luxury.
My sister-in-law and my brother-in-law are both frontline nurses – my brother-in-law is in the Emergency Department at Flinders Public Hospital, and my sister-in-law is currently one of the heroes working in COVID testing. I’ve seen in them the tremendous impact that under-funding in our health system is having on our health workforce. We urgently need a government that is committed to properly funding our health system – we cannot afford to let it descend any further into crisis, especially at such a precarious time for our state.
As a teacher and as a parent, I know that the quality of our education system is crucial to our future success. I believe there should be a higher standard for education at every South Australian school – not just our top schools – so that all of our state’s young people can access a high-quality education, regardless of where they live and what their family can afford to pay.
Our whole state benefits when we have strong and well-represented communities. I want to bring my energy, my experience and my passion for my community to the South Australian Parliament. Alongside Peter Malinauskas and the SA Labor team, I ask for your support so that we can build a better future together.
