Jewish candidates to square off in Caulfield
TWO Jewish candidates will go head-to-head in a battle for the seat of Caulfield in the November 27 Victorian election.
TWO Jewish candidates will go head-to-head in a battle for the seat of Caulfield in the November 27 Victorian election.
Educator Heather Abramson, who  has been preselected as the ALP candidate, will face Liberal contender David Southwick. The Liberal candidate is no stranger to Jewish-versus-Jewish political battles, after an unsuccessful 2004 bid to oust Michael Danby from the federal seat of Melbourne Ports.
Southwick, who aims to take over the mantle when Caulfield Liberal MLA Helen Shardey retires after 14 years representing the Caulfield electorate, launched his campaign on Sunday at the Florian Convention Centre in Elsternwick, where he was introduced by Victorian Liberal leader Ted Baillieu.
A businessman who lectures in business studies at RMIT, Southwick briefly outlined his policies to The AJN this week, with a strong emphasis on education, and a pledge to carry on Shardey’s pursuit of public safety issues. He said he is determined to combat hate crimes against minorities, including the Jewish community, in an electorate that — with 28 per cent of voters being Jewish — has the highest proportion of Jews in Victoria.
Southwick also said he wants to work towards ensuring “that the legal system provides for a due process in dealing with racial vilification”.
Abramson, who has 30 years experience in the education sector, has served on the board of Sinai College in Brisbane and was a union representative at her most recent school, The King David School’s Armadale campus.
She said she would foster the Brumby Government’s initiatives for “an education system that provides opportunities for young people to participate and prosper in our economy”.
Abramson said she and Jennifer Huppert, who is also Jewish, will run as a team. Huppert is seeking re-election in the Legislative Council (Upper House) for Southern Metropolitan Region. “Jennifer has a law degree and I have one in education. Our joint education and life experience make us quite a team,” she said.
Asked if she was concerned about running against a Jewish candidate, she said: “I feel we are representing two different parties, we represent two different policy platforms and I just don’t think it’s really an issue.
Southwick is unfazed at his second electoral face-off with a co-religionist. “I find it quite interesting that the Labor Party attacked me for standing against Michael [Danby], and has now looked at doing the same with me. But again, I personally don’t see any issue with that.”
PETER KOHN
comments