Vic Treasurer's message to new opponent

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas wishes his new opponent at the November election, upper house independent Rachel Carling-Jenkins, "all the best but not too much"

Good luck, but not too much.

That's the message from Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas to his new opponent at the November election, upper house independent Rachel Carling-Jenkins.

She revealed this week her intention to run as an independent in the lower house seat of Werribee at the upcoming state poll.

Mr Pallas, who holds the seat with nearly 57 per cent of the vote on first preferences, told reporters on Wednesday he was not threatened by Dr Carling-Jenkins' competition.

"If you're a politician and you're threatened by the democratic process you're probably in the wrong game," he said.

"I've discussed this issue with Rachel, she'd done me the courtesy of letting me know it was her intention to run in the seat a couple of weeks back and I wished her all the best, but not too much success."

Dr Carling-Jenkins is making a bid for the lower house after sitting as an upper Western Metropolitan Region member with her electorate office based in Werribee.

"It's time there is competition in the west so I'm looking forward to the challenge," she told reporters at parliament.

"There's quite a lot of issues in the west, one of them is everyone takes it for granted because it's safe."

Dr Carling-Jenkins said she would be running on law and order concerns, the lack of schools and hospitals for a rapidly growing population and child protection,

She was elected to the upper house in 2014 as a Democratic Labour Party member before defecting to the Australian Conservatives, but she has since stood aside from that party too.

Last year she revealed she had dobbed in her husband to the police after she discovered he had been watching child exploitation material , leading to his imprisonment.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world