Spice shopping with Julie Owens
MARK SHARMA catches up with his local member Julie Owens as she sets up a mobile office at a Wentworthville spice shop.
No cars with beacon lights, no black cat security commandos, and no army of private attendants. We in the Indian community have seen our politicians back home live the rock star life while common people suffer. Thankfully it’s not the same in Australia.
Parramatta Labor MP Julie Owens perfectly portrays the life of an Australian Parliamentarian. In her third term representing Parramatta, Julie knows the game well. She knows that it is important to meet her electorate and listen to their concerns. Recently, she announced she would be setting up a ‘mobile office’ outside an Indian spice shop in Wentworthville, to meet and talk with her constituents.
As I got there on the Saturday morning to talk to her, I was somewhat taken aback to see her putting her own posters up. What, no staffers in tow? Offering my assistance was a natural thing to do, but Julie politely declined.
“I’ll be alright, I do ten of these a month,” she said.
A volunteer Swapan soon showed up. A Bangladeshi immigrant, Swapan was in complete awe of her.
“I’ve never come across any negative comments about Julie,” he remarked.
He may have sounded like her greatest fan, but there was hardly anyone from the general public to question their local member. The few people who walked past were either uninterested or had no clue as to what was going on at their local shopping centre.
As we waited for people to come up, I grabbed the opportunity to learn more about Ms. Owens. It turns out that she joined politics at the relatively older age of 30, is a musician, and has worked extensively with the small business community. Julie also loves nature – her favourite form of holidaying is camping which she does regularly. But there is more to Julie. She also enjoys her cycling, participates in various events and volunteers for the community as a Justice of Peace.
“From my Indian-origin constituents, the issues brought to my attention have been uranium sales to India, parental visas and the visa capping bill,” Julie revealed. “I have taken note of these concerns and understand them, and will do my best (to address them) in the new parliament”. Chatting about the recent federal elections, Julie acknowledged that there have been huge swings against Labor but points to the positive results in South Australia and Tasmania. She refused to accept though that international issues like immigration effect voting pattern. “At the end of the day, it’s about everyday issues of jobs, education and family that matters to all Australians, including Indian Australians,” she said.
Meanwhile, one constituent who came up to talk to his local member, did not hold back on the fact that he was disgruntled with Labor. “I’m a retiree and have been a Labor voter all my life, but I’m not happy with the way things are now,” he said to Julie. Privatisation of electricity, carbon tax and Labor’s deal with Greens, were some of the issues that he brought up.
Julie listened patiently to his concerns, but ultimately had to disagree. Like a clever politician she pushed the onus back on the gentleman by saying that it was the public that elected the Greens, not her. Her defense was that it was the decision of the voters to bring in more independents, and now Labor has had to work with them in order to keep the country going. Julie’s answer was honest but it did not convince him. I guess it will take more time and effort to explain the “new paradigm” to everyone.
Another retiree, who also claimed to be a Labor voter, voiced similar concerns. Labor’s ‘cosiness’ with the Greens was his biggest gripe. “Julia Gillard signing deals with Senator Bob Brown on national television freaked me out,” he said. It was clear from the mood that an increase in Greens vote is upsetting people. Death duties, carbon tax and gay marriage which are all Greens policies, do not seem acceptable to working class Australia, and Labor will ultimately pay the price for any deals with the Greens. Once again Julie presented her side like a sea of calm, and reassured the gentleman that Labor will not abandon its “core” policies for the sake of power. Whether her answers were enough to secure the support of these voters is anyone’s guess but one thing is for sure – this won’t be her last trip to the spice shop
