Gender quotas need to go: Lowan independent Amanda Mead says

Amanda Mead has announced she is running for November's Victorian election; she previously ran for the seat of Wannon with the Liberal Democrats Party in May.

The independent candidate has targeted issues such as reducing state and federal politicians' wages.

Mrs Mead said she would refuse to take donations from big businesses in the upcoming election.

"I will not accept large donations because there are always strings attached, as we saw with the teal independents in the federal election," she said.

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Mrs Mead said being independent allowed the community a say in what issues were brought to state parliament.

"All parties give you policies to sell. I have done my market research and spoken with the community and they have dictated my policies," she said.

"After the election, I got feedback from the Wannon community and they said when I was myself they trusted me."

Mrs Mead, a Narrapumelap South resident, disapproves of gender quotas in the workforce.

The small business owner said when hiring new staff, she removes applicants' names and photos from their CVs.

Mrs Mead said the renewable energy sector would most likely be negatively affected by gender quotas.

"I think the windfarm industry is where we will see quotas to get female workers. The effect will be a drop in the standard to meet the requirement," she said.

"They need to be highly skilled and have good work ethics. Just look at the police. For example, women get fast-tracked.

"I am for encouraging women to get into the police, but don't let people miss out on a job to just meet a quota."

Mrs Mead said parents should also have the right to decide if their child should be involved in gender studies.

Despite not having children, she expressed concerns about classroom topics such as gender fluidity.

"The parents I have spoken to are not comfortable with their children learning about these topics," Mrs Mead said.

"A lot of people who are from the western district are religious. These topics are basically adult ideologies being pushed onto children, without their parent's consent."

Mrs Mead said high school students should learn about safe sex.

"It could cause more problems for those children later in life if they don't go to these classes. I am not against it, but they need to be mature enough," she said.

The independent candidate said more infrastructure was being built in Melbourne when it was needed in the regions.

Mrs Mead took aim at the Melbourne Suburban Rail Loop project proposed by the Victorian Labor Party, which will be completed in 2035.

The loop will connect every major rail line from Frankston to Werribee via Melbourne Airport and cost between $30 and $ 50 billion.

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The Victorian Liberal-National coalition, meanwhile, intends to build new hospitals in regional areas such as Mildura.

For Mrs Mead, both parties' promises were empty.

"The money is going to metropolitan areas, not to places like Hamilton. There are so many areas that have not received funding," she said.

"If children need medical treatment such as neonatal care, they still need to go to Melbourne. We are not getting our fair share out here."

Mrs Mead said the Nationals had neglected family-owned farms for big agricultural companies.

"I am all about respect, getting stuff done, and helping your neighbour. The Nationals don't support small farmers they only care about ag business," she said.

"There are fewer family-owned farming businesses in the region. International farming companies are buying up land which would have been owned by locals."

Mrs Mead said windfarm transmission lines in the western district made farmers leave the region.

She said farmers felt they were adversely affecting their ability to grow crops.

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Mrs Mead said energy companies might offer money to communities in the region, but Lowan residents were still "unhappy" about the lines.

"They might offer a couple of hundred bucks to the local footy club to make it look like they are helping the local community but they are not," she said.

"People don't believe renewable energy is bad, but they are concerned about their property rights."

Mrs Mead said her views might be contentious, but she wanted to be honest with voters.

"I am not going to pretend to be someone who I am not. I will try to put the community first," she said.

The Victorian election is on Saturday, November 26, 2022.

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