One Nation names food relief leader as Ovens Valley candidate

The race for Ovens Valley is taking shape after One Nation named its long-awaited candidate for the seat in November’s state election. Yarrawonga food relief coordinator James Rouel earned preselection from the party to contest long-serving incumbent Tim McCurdy when the region heads to the polls. The 31-year-old Moira Foodshare coordinator said his decision to run stemmed from years of watching regional communities fight for basic services. “I got to the point where I could either keep complaining about it or put my hand up and try to do something about it,” he said. “I’m running because I want Ovens Valley to matter. “No political party will ever take us seriously when we have been an ultra-safe seat for generations.” Drawing heavily on his daily work coordinating food relief across 29 rural communities in the Moira and Berrigan shires, Mr Rouel said cost of living and food access would be central to his campaign. The Yarrawonga local said food security needs to be treated as essential infrastructure, not an afterthought. “I’ve spent years seeing what happens when families who have always managed suddenly can’t make the weekly budget stretch far enough,” he said. “I also want a much stronger focus on supporting our farmers, small businesses, sporting clubs and community organisations. “The issues change from town to town, but there are some very consistent themes including healthcare, roads, cost of living, housing, public transport and keeping young people in our communities. “I am not running to be the Premier of Victoria, I am running to get results for Ovens Valley.” Pitching himself as a non-career politician, Mr Rouel pointed to his own path of leaving the region at 18 to study and work in Bendigo before choosing to return home to Yarrawonga four years ago. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result,” he said. “I’ve spent the past four years fighting for better results across rural communities and have seen first-hand what can happen when you stop accepting ‘no’ as the answer.” Mr Rouel is the third One Nation candidate to declare for contention of a North East seat, following Steve Campbell for Euroa and Tim Barber for Eildon. One Nation has pledged to have a candidate run in each of the 88 lower house Victorian seats. Upper house Northern Victoria MP Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell will be re-contesting her seat alongside Athol Thomas who has nominated to represent the Northern Victoria region. The Ovens Valley seat has been held by Nationals’ member Tim McCurdy since 2010, who will be running to stand for his fifth term in parliament. Voices for Ovens Valley Independent Steve Manning has been the only other candidate to formally announce their contention for the seat so far. Mr McCurdy said he welcomed the challenge of Mr Rouel, whose party has made a rapid surge in popularity over the past 12 months. “I've got nothing against One Nation or Voices for Ovens Valley, they're all good people trying to do the same as me, just want the best for their community,” he said. “I'm a big believer in democracy, people like to have the choice; give them a choice and I think bring it on. “I've been in for a while, doing the best I can and will continue to do the best I can.” Mr McCurdy said the Nationals’ Party will finalise its preferences following the close of nominations on 9 November.

One Nation names food relief leader as Ovens Valley candidate

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