Mar y for Monash A fresh and passionate voice

Regardless of when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese chooses to set the date for the next Federal Election anytime between now and next May, the Liberal Party’s preselected candidate for the seat of Monash, Mary Aldred confidently declares she is ready and fully primed to make a successful entry into a career in politics.

“Whether the election is called tomorrow or next year, my preparation will be the same,” she promises.

“You’ll find me out and about, touching base with constituents and organisations across the breadth of the Monash electorate.”

Mary was emphatically endorsed by her party colleagues as the preferred candidate at the preselection contest last November. In the process, she assumed the mantle as the Liberal nominee from long-serving incumbent local member Russell Broadbent, who has subsequently moved to the crossbench and is now representing the constituency as an Independent. Since earning preselection, Mary has devoted every spare hour of her available time towards building momentum in her campaign.

“Preselection is a tough process, and so it should be, as it comes with a big responsibility,” she observes.

“I feel very privileged to have been selected and now my task is 100% focused on putting my best case forward to the community about why I deserve their trust and confidence.”

Mary enjoys taking every opportunity to meet constituents throughout the electorate, which covers a vast area of the western part of the Gippsland regio from Mount Baw Baw in the north to Wilsons Promontory in the south, including the towns of Warragul, Moe, Wonthaggi, Leongatha and Foster.

Often accompanying Mary on her travels is her Jack Russell named Larry, who people love meeting everywhere they go. She is no doubt hoping to match Larry’s popular appeal when election time arrives. People who are introduced to Mary for the first time will find her to be intelligent, articulate, warm and engaging. Passionate is a word she uses regularly, especially when describing her feelings towards Gippsland and her connection to the local community.

Mary’s family background and her well-rounded professional career has equipped her with a strong understanding of politics. Her late father Ken represented the Liberal Party in the Australian House of Representatives between 1975 and 1980 and again from 1983 to 1996.

Ken Aldred’s distinguished political career included many notable achievements; however daughter Mary has proven to be someone who has always shown a determination and capacity to make her own mark in life.

“I’m my own person with my own mind and want to be judged on what I can offer,” she states.

“I consider myself lucky to come from a family that has instilled in me a very strong sense of fairness and justice and work ethic. I’m also very grateful to have had parents who have given me that love and showed me good examples.”

Although she lost her father eight years ago, Mary remains surrounded by an extremely supportive family.

“I loved my dad very much and miss him greatly, but I still have my mum. I also have two brothers and a sister, and am a proud godmother and aunt to my nieces and nephews,” she notes.

“If dad had been here to see me put myself forward, hopefully he’d be pretty proud. I think everyone, no matter what they pursue in life, wants to make their parents proud and I’m probably no different in that respect.”

Mary was raised on a farm in Upper Beaconsfield which her parents operated as a small business as an equestrian centre. Her upbringing provided her with a love of animals, but she also developed a keen interest in current affairs and a desire to eventually broaden her horizons.

Mary Aldred

“I loved everything about growing up on a farm, doing feed runs, carting hay and working with animals. It teaches you a lot about responsibility and sets you up pretty well for life,” she remarks.

“You would still describe Upper Beaconsfield as more like a hamlet than a big town. It was kind of a gateway to Gippsland back then and I discovered a real passion for the region which has only strengthened through my life,” she comments.

Mary has called Warragul home for the past five years and has enjoyed a long association with the town.

“I’ve been coming here since the age of fifteen when I studied for a Certificate in Farm Studies and did my apprenticeship at McMillan Training, or Community College Gippsland as it is now known,” she reveals.

“I went on to work here in my early twenties for Russell Broadbent and also helped out Gary Blackwood who was State Liberal Member for Narracan. Gary has been a real mentor of mine for a very long time and I’m really honoured that he’s chairing my election campaign. I worked hard for both those MPs and that sort of ethos has continued into the many community roles I have performed in the ensuing years.”

Mary also got a taste of international politics whilst studying at Monash University when she was granted a two-month internship in the office of a senator in the US Congress in Washington DC in 2004.

“A speaker talked to us about internships when I was a second-year student, which led to me writing countless letters to senators and members of the House of Representatives,” she recalls.

“I finally got accepted by a senator from Florida, a Democrat called Bill Nelson who is now Head of NASA after being appointed by President Biden. The internship in Washington was an incredibly eye-opening experience. I’ve always been interested in international relations and the idea seemed like an amazing learning opportunity and adventure. It turned out to be one of the best things I’ve ever done and showed me what can be achieved for a community of Florida’s size and helped instill a sense of public service in me.”

Over the ensuing two decades Mary has compiled an impressive curriculum vitae which highlights her proven leadership credentials and a very strong and close connection to Gippsland.

Her service to the local community across a wide spectrum includes tenures as Chair of both the Gippsland United Basketball League and the Gippsland Water Community Advisory Committee. She has also served as a board member of Lifeline Gippsland, Latrobe Regional Hospital, Australian Sustainable Hardwoods, Woorayl Lodge Community Aged Care.

Mary was also founding CEO of the Committee for Gippsland, the region’s peak body representing businesses, industry and community which makes regular representations to government, and later took up the role of CEO at the Franchise Council of Australia where she continued to support small business.

Amongst many achievements to date, Mary has helped secure funding for a new West Gippsland hospital and for local roads, infrastructure upgrades and better NBN services. She has worked to improve market access for agribusiness, along with also helping to establish an energy transition plan for the Latrobe Valley.

“I fought my hardest for vital improvements such as a new hospital for West Gippsland and am still really passionate about getting those things ticked off,” she insists.

“Some of my previous roles have given me a very solid awareness and understanding of how government works. I’ve advocated strongly on behalf of small business people and for regional communities directly to government. I’ve been successful in securing outcomes for those people and that is something that if I have the great privilege of being elected as the Member for Monash that I want to continue to fight for.”

When Mary made the decision in the middle of last year that she was going to pursue a career in politics and stand for preselection as the Liberal candidate for Monash, she viewed it as a natural progression.

“As a kid, I saw my dad have a really strong commitment to helping people and working with the local community, which is something I have tried to carry into my working life in my own way,” she says.

“Putting my hand up to seek preselection was something I decided within myself and from talking with my friends. It was also influenced by the very strong encouragement of people in this community. In the end it wasn’t a tough decision because I’m particularly passionate about our region, and so from that point of view I had a really clear answer about why I was putting myself forward.”

Having prevailed as the preferred Liberal candidate in the preselection contest, Mary acknowledges the significant contribution Russell Broadbent has made to the community in the Monash electorate.

“I’ve known Russell for over twenty years. He’s a very good person and has been a dedicated local Member of Parliament here. I wish him the very best,” she says.

At present, Mary is working as Head of Corporate Affairs at Fujitsu, a position she will relinquish closer to the time of the election as a full-time career in politics beckons.

“As a candidate there’s no remuneration, so I am fortunate to have a supportive employer to maintain an income while I’m balancing work with campaigning,” she comments.

Whenever out talking to local constituents, Mary listens to their concerns and values the feedback they provide.

“Monash is a very diverse electorate, but there are certain priorities that I consider to be the pillars of my campaign,” she says.

“The issue that is top of mind for most people right now relates to cost of living pressures, which are affecting everyone and having a flow-on impact across a number of areas including crime rates. The best way to address cost of living is through making our economy as strong, efficient and effective as possible, which I believe a Coalition government can deliver.”

Mary’s other key priorities revolve primarily around healthcare, infrastructure and roads, digital connectivity, and fixing mobile phone blackspots.

“Our health services are stretched to the seams, including in community aged care as well as childcare places. We’re a growing community and need to keep pace with that growth,” she observes.

“These are the kind of immediate things that I want to address very quickly if I’m elected.”

Mary also emphasises her intention to champion the vital role performed by sporting clubs and volunteer groups.

“Sporting clubs are so important to regional communities for a variety of reasons, and I want to work very closely in ensuring that they get the support they need to continue to do what they do so well. Equally so with the volunteer groups. We would be lost without them,” she states.

Mary also continues to be a tireless advocate for small business.

“I consider small business people are working people as well. They need support and recognition for the huge effort they put in. It’s a very tough time right now to be a small business owner,” she observes.

In terms of the energy debate in Australia, Mary summarises the ongoing key challenges as being a question of how our nation reconciles its sustainability targets internationally, whilst also ensuring affordability and reliability.

“At the moment we have got to be able to meet our international obligations around sustainability,” she notes.

“Meanwhile, energy affordability has become a very real problem. There are thousands of families in this electorate right now that are staring at a utilities bill stuck to their fridge and wondering how they’re going to pay it. Small businesses are also really suffering under the pressure of energy price increases.”

Mary also understands the critical importance of energy reliability.

“Many major employers that I talk to explain how impactful potential brown outs can be to them, even if only for a matter of seconds. Unreliability around energy supply inevitably leads to wasted product, job insecurity and a range of other challenges,” she comments.

Mary is supportive of the Coalition’s recently announced nuclear ambitions as part of the longer-term solution and agrees that the way forward is not just about picking one technology.

“The Coalition’s policy is for a variety of fuels and technologies,” she notes.