by Michaela Meade
Hume councillor Joseph Haweil has announced his nomination for Labor pre-selection in the new outer northern Melbourne seat of Greenvale.
Cr Haweil recently served as mayor of the municipality, and saw the community transform from one of the most COVID-19 infected cities in Victoria to one of the most vaccinated, with new federal health data revealing over 95 per cent of eligible residents had received two doses of vaccine as at Sunday, December 5.
He also chaired the Northern Councils Alliance and the Interface Councils group – which advocate for increased road and infrastructure funding for the northern growth corridor – and served on the board of the Municipal Association of Victoria – the state’s peak legislated local government body.
Cr Haweil said he would be able to represent his community well, as “Greenvale is my home”.
“I know the community and its needs intimately and am best placed to represent it in the challenging years ahead,” he said.
“As mayor during the peak of the [COVID-19] outbreak, I fought for community-specific vaccination opportunities in this community of battlers, leveraging my deep community knowledge and networks to secure appointment-free vaccinations, pop-up hubs in council facilities, interpreters and bi-cultural workers on site and a massive boost in Pfizer supply into the north.”
Cr Haweil has a professional background in humanitarian and settlement policy.
He said his familial history of refugee experience and his professional background made him an ideal candidate in the region known for refugee resettlement.
“I’m calling on the Premier, my fellow local branch members and our community to back a genuinely local candidate that lives in the electorate, reflects its diversity and can unite our community as we enter the rebuilding phase of the pandemic,” Cr Haweil said.
“Rebuilding this Covid-ravaged community starts with genuine local representation.
“As somebody who reflects the diverse face of the Greenvale community, I feel called to duty and am best placed to represent this community.”
