MISSION STATEMENT
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My mission is simple.
To make sure the electorate of Mildura gets the attention and resources it deserves from the Victorian State Government.
Because we are Victorians too and we’ve been neglected for too long.
THE NAME IS A MISNOMER
The electorate really shouldn’t be called “Mildura”, because it’s misleading. Mildura is just one small part of a much bigger region, properly known as “the Mallee”.
The Mallee is Victoria’s outback. It is the most isolated region in the State. It was the home of many Aboriginal tribes for millennia and European settlers since the late 1880s. It’s been my family’s home for seven generations.
MALLEE TOUGH
The electorate really shouldn’t be called “Mildura”, because it’s misleading. Mildura is just one small part of a much bigger region, properly known as “the Mallee”.
The Mallee is Victoria’s outback. It is the most isolated region in the State. It was the home of many Aboriginal tribes for millennia and European settlers since the late 1880s. It’s been my family’s home for seven generations.
LOYAL ...
TO A FAULT.
The people of the Mallee are also known for their stoicism and loyalty. Loyalty is a great quality. But in politics, it can have a downside – if the side you’re loyal to is letting you down. The electorate’s long term loyalty to one side of politics was costing us.
The big parties didn’t care because they didn’t have to.
The Coalition didn’t care because they knew we’d vote for them every time, and the Labor Party didn’t care because they knew we would never vote for them.
Eventually the people of the Mallee were ready to ask the question, what are we getting for our loyalty?
The answer was not much.
CHANGING THE GAME
So in 2018, the people of the Mildura electorate voted to change the game and take a chance on a relatively young, independent Mallee girl called Ali Cupper.
Ali is the great-great-great granddaughter of famers at Lalbert; the great-great-grand daughter of farmers at Ultima; the great grand daughter of farmers in the Millewa, and World War 1 soldier settlers in Birdwoodton; the granddaughter of dried fruit blockies in Birdwoodton, and the daughter of Graeme Cupper, the first in his family to receive a University education. He worked as a science teacher at Irymple Secondary College and Principal at Nichols Point Primary School and Merbein P‑10.
Ali grew up in various places around Sunraysia including Mildura, Irymple, Birdwoodton and Sunnycliffs.
She now lives at Nichols Point with her husband, Ben (originally from the Goulburn Valley, but with historic family connections to Rosebery, near Beulah) and their 5 year old son, Jed, a seventh generation Mallee boy.
GAME CHANGED
Issues that had been unwinnable for decades, like bringing the State’s only privatised public hospital, Mildura Base, back to public management, getting air conditioning in public housing, or getting a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre in the Mallee, were suddenly fixed within three and a half years.
There were major wins for irrigators with the Government finally agreeing to impose a moratorium on new extraction licenses below the Barmah Choke, and significant concessions on the inter-valley trade rules to maximise protection for our farmers. There was drought relief for farmers in the Millewa.
There was significant funding for our kids, with a major upgrade of Hopetoun P-12 and new kinders for Sea Lake and Wycheproof.
And then there were our roads, with the innovative, albeit slightly controversial “Shit Roads Tour”, yielding significant investment, especially for the Robinvale-Sea Lake Road, which was the subject of a Greta Thunberg style protest on the steps of Parliament. I felt like a knob, but it was worth it. We secured a record-breaking $12.9 million of improvements to the road, making it safer for all users, including the local school bus.
CHESS.
That’s how I would describe independent State politics.
It’s a game of strategy. Some factors you can control, and others you can’t. They key is to capitalise on the advantages and work around everything else.
A strategic disadvantage in this term was Labor’s landslide majority in the lower house. It meant they didn’t need my vote to get anything through. So I worked around.
Despite some nail-biting moments along the way, my team and I secured record-breaking investment, without the balance of power.
It took a lot of thought, skill, good judgement and some brave risks. But the end result is something I am incredibly proud of. Every win we have managed to secure will change lives.
And I am grateful to the Victorian Government for listening.
NEXT STEPS
The Government is paying attention to us. We are on the map and the wins are accumulating fast.
But there’s more hard work to be done and results to be achieved.
Let’s keep fighting.
Ali & Team AC.
