Election 2025: Round-up

As the dust settles on the 2025 Federal Election, we thank all those who contributed to another strong campaign advocating for the Merri catchment. Together with Friends of Edwardes Lake, we made sure candidates understood the importance of nature protection to voters along the Creek, continuing the great legacy of environmental advocacy in our community. The campaign was a collaborative effort, involving many volunteer hours to determine effective questions, collate candidate contact details, make follow-up contact to ensure they all had the opportunity to respond, coordinate and install our placards and score responses to publish our candidate guide. We also thank the many candidates who took the time to respond to our questionnaire and demonstrate their understanding of, and commitment to, waterway protection and restoration.

Now the hard work is over, let’s take a look at how things went in each of the federal electorates along the creek.

Calwell

As of writing, the Labor Party looks likely to retain this seat with new candidate Basem Abdo, although there has been an overall swing away from the party. We did not receive responses from any candidates in Calwell, perhaps indicating a lack of engagement with Merri Creek in the local community. Although the Creek itself does not run through the electorate, Calwell covers a significant part of the Merri catchment, including the tributaries of Aitken, Merlynston, Malcolm and Kalkallo Creeks. These creeks all carry stormwater and any associated rubbish, pollutants and sediment from urban areas into Merri Creek, affecting flood levels and water quality downstream. Stronger engagement and advocacy in this community is therefore a priority of the Friends. We welcome any suggestions, or support, from members to help us achieve this.

Cooper

Ged Kearney has retained the seat of Cooper for Labor, with a swing in her favour. Ged has committed her personal support for reforms to the EPBC Act, the establishment of a Federal EPA and federal investment in local restoration projects. More on federal Labor’s commitments below. Additionally, we thank Tara Burnett, of the Greens, and Kath Larkin, of Victorian Socialists, for their responses that also well-align with our vision.

McEwen

Rob Mitchell has retained his seat for Labor, with a small swing in his favour. Rob did not respond to our questionnaire. Of the nine candidates in McEwen, we only heard back from Chloe Nicolosi, from the Animal Justice Party and Erin McGrath, from FUSION, both of whom were aligned with our priorities. McEwen covers the headwaters of Merri Creek, including large swathes of rapidly urbanising areas around Wallan and Whittlesea. These have the potential to negatively impact the hydrology and ecology of the catchment. Further advocacy for healthy waterways in this community, and supporting the work of Wallan Environment Group, will be essential to protect the southern reaches of the Merri. If you have connections or ideas, please reach out.

Melbourne

A swing away from the Greens saw Adam Bandt lose his seat to Sarah Witty, of the Labor Party. We did not receive responses from either Adam or Sarah but thank independent Tim Smith, and FUSION candidate, Helen Huang, for their responses that aligned with our vision. A redistribution of electoral boundaries has meant that this electorate now only covers a very small length of Merri Creek at its confluence with the Yarra. As water quality and flows in the Merri directly influence those of the Yarra (which flows around and through the electorate), we will continue to advocate in this area, as part of our whole-catchment approach.

Scullin

Andrew Giles retained his seat for the Labor Party, with a small swing against him, but did not respond to our questionnaire. Of the eight candidates, we only heard from Arthur Tsoutsoulis, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, and Loki Sangarya, from the Greens. We thank them both for their time. Scullin includes large areas of precious natural vegetation along Merri Creek, as well as sections of the tributaries Central, Curly Sedge and Edgars Creeks. Increased community support and advocacy is needed to ensure the continued protection and enhancement of these values in the face of industrial and urban development pressures.

Wills

Peter Khalil retained his seat for Labor, despite strong competition from Greens candidate, Samantha Ratman. In his response, Peter expressed his personal support for protecting and restoring the local environment, as well as Labor Party support for reformed nature laws and federal funding for local projects. We thank Peter and other Wills candidates, Sue Bolton, Socialist Alliance, Samantha Ratnam, the Greens and Owen Miller, FUSION, for their responses that were positively aligned with our values across the board.

Federal Labor’s commitments to the Merri catchment

With all six seats along Merri Creek now held by Labor candidates, we were especially pleased to see the party make significant funding commitments to local environmental restoration and protection. The commitments relevant to the Merri catchment total just over $2.1 million and include:

- $1.2 million for Merri-Bek City Council to increase creek vegetation and improve stormwater retention near Coburg North Sports Hub;

- $700,000 for Merri Creek Management Committee to continue their work removing litter, restoring degraded habitat and reintroducing native vegetation; and

- $215,000 for the Friends of Edwardes Lake to install a litter trap, install perches for waterfowl and improve birdwatching for the community.

We thank the Labor government for these generous commitments and look forward to working with our newly elected federal members to continue improving local environmental protection and restoration.

Peter Khalil, MHR for Wills; Ged Kearney, MHR for Cooper; Tanya Plibersek, then Minister for the Environment and Water;
Nick Williams, President FoMC; Kate Jost, President FoEL.
Photo: Office of Peter Khalil MP, reproduced with permission.