THE Animal Justice Party (AJP) was founded in 2009 and elected its first MP, Andy Meddick, in Western Victoria in 2018. The party is seeking to run a candidate in all 88 lower house seats in Victoria. The party is also running candidates in the upper house, including the Eastern Victoria electoral region. Other Gippsland candidates besides the ones mentioned below include Jessica McAuliffe for Morwell and Laura Rees for Narracan.
The party’s priorities for this state election include:
- Ending legalised cruelty such as the recreational shooting of ducks, jumps racing and the use of sow stalls.
- “Veticare”, the party’s plan to relieve cost of living pressures and the rural vet and vet nurse shortage through subsidised vet care and the creation of public vet clinics including specialised wildlife hospitals
- Action on the climate emergency and providing for a just transition to a new energy future
- Supporting equality based reforms in the parliament, including the provision of LGBTQIA+ safe spaces in regional Victoria.
Tarra Valley Doctor Helen Jeges Announced as Animal Justice Party Gippsland South Candidate
AJP has endorsed Dr Helen Jeges as their candidate for Gippsland South. A doctor of paediatric neuropsychology employed at Latrobe Regional Hospital, Dr Jeges and her husband own and operate a companion animal friendly holiday park just north of Yarram amongst the rainforest of the Tarra Valley, which she shares with a greyhound, staghound, cat and sheep.
Helen is the granddaughter of Gippsland dairy farmers from Garfield, and her Gippsland-born father is a veterinarian. Helen has had a life-long passion for the health and welfare of animals. Over the years this has translated into fostering 18 greyhounds discarded by the racing industry and campaigning against the industry. Helen also deeply cares about native animals and volunteers her time locally in the Tarra Valley rescuing wildlife and treating mange on local wombats.
Helen is also an active member of the Yarram community, acting as a member of both the Yarram Primary School Council and Annual Yarram Dance Eisteddfod Committee.
“As a health practitioner, I treat my patients and their families with respect, dignity, empathy and kindness. I strongly believe that animals deserve the same consideration,” she said.
“The most effective way to achieve positive change for animals, people and the planet is to be elected to parliament where legislation can be changed.
“We are at a tipping point for our native ecosystems, South Gippsland is ready to vote with their heart.”
Sally Court to challenge Tim Bull in Gippsland East
AJP endorsed Sally Court as their candidate for Gippsland East.
With a childhood spent between Melbourne and Latrobe Valley, Sally initially followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a Primary School Teacher, but soon realised that it was not her passion. She went about discovering the world and lived and worked in many places in Australia and the UK with the aim to experience as many aspects of life on this astonishing planet as possible.
Sally spent 19 years working in three Commonwealth Departments – her last position with the Defence Department spanned 12 years and incorporated managing contracts for the Airforce, Army and Navy around Australia, including RAAF East Sale.
These contracts included ensuring compliance to all environmental requirements, control of all introduced and native animals and ensuring military personnel were provided with correct nutritional requirements regardless of specific diets, philosophies or religions. Protecting and preserving indigenous sacred sites at a number of establishments was a high priority as was the protection of old forest red gum trees and other environmental matters that affected endangered species such as the orange bellied parrots at Point Wilson Corio Bay.
Sally is particularly passionate about the wildlife and varied ecosystems throughout this area that have been impacted by humans. This includes the alpine region, our fragile marine and peri-marine ecosystems, the Internationally acclaimed RAMSAR Wetlands, the river systems, grassy plains and old growth forests in the region’s east.
Sally currently has two rescue dogs and is passionate about the welfare improvements and eventual phase-out of greyhound racing, which she believes has no place in modern Victoria. In order to protect sensitive ecosystems in Eastern Victoria, Sally also believes we need to be kinder in our control of brumbies and use non-lethal control options such as immunocontraception and rehoming programs which have proven successful in New Zealand and the United States.
“I’m standing because I want a society where all species are respected and kinder solutions for animal issues are prioritised over profit,” Ms Court said.
“We need stronger laws to protect animals, domestic, farmed, native and introduced alike to act as a realistic deterrent to animal cruelty.
“We are all connected, and when we hurt one, we hurt all.
South Gippsland rooster rescuer Austin Cram endorsed for Eastern Victoria
Austin Cram has been endorsed as AJP’s lead upper house candidate for Eastern Victoria. Mr Cram is a local animal advocate who lives with 29 rescued animals including 17 roosters just outside Korumburra. He works as a town planner but said he decided to stand down because of continuing state government inaction on ecological, environmental and climate issues.
Mr Cram is passionate about incentivising revegetation of native habitats, ending duck shooting, proper care for domestic and farm animals as well as reinvesting into regional public transport.
“When elected, I will push unapologetically to end duck shooting, tackle climate change and build an intersectional and equitable society for all,” he said.
“We have a planning system that still doesn’t recognise the harm urban sprawl and car dependence have on animals and the planet, and a government with no interest in changing it.
“Parties have been inexcusably inactive on animal and ecological issues. We need change now to avoid irreversible collapse of our ecosystems.”
