Tom Ingleton
The scent of freshly cut grass lingers in the air at Gladstone Park Bowls Club as Jo Briskey takes a moment to reflect on her first days as the newly-elected Labor MP for Maribyrnong.
Ms Briskey is clear-eyed about the task ahead as she talks with the bowls club owners – it’s evident she is deeply proud of the place she now calls home.
“I love living here, we’ve been here since the end of 2020 and my husband and I and my two little girls love being in this part of Melbourne –and Maribyrnong is such a beautiful community,” Ms Briskey said.
Ms Briskey, who moved from Brisbane, has already made a mark through a grassroots campaign.
“Over the course of the campaign I door knocked every single suburb so I really got to know the entire electorate,” Ms Briskey said.
“There are lots of differences [to Brisbane] but what drew them all together is a sense of community.”
Accusations that she was “parachuted in” to the electorate as a candidate don’t sit well with the new MP.
“Not at all, my husband and I have been living here for years, we have made Melbourne our home and our future, and the incredible opportunity to represent this electorate is an absolute privilege and an honour –I’m really excited.”
Ms Briskey has already committed $1 million to improve facilities at the Gladstone Park Bowls Club.
“We have committed $1 million…to help put shades over the top and another green to really make this bowls club a fantastic facility for this local community,” Ms Briskey said.
“I want it to look like getting the best outcomes for this community and that’s what I will be focused on… that will be my goal in the long and short term.”
Ms Briskey said her background as a psychologist, mother and long-time advocate will shape how she governs.
“I think it gives me an understanding of ways in which we can best serve the community to get the best possible outcomes, and really bring people together,” Ms Briskey said.
“So I’m going to bring all that with me to this new role and make sure this community gets the best they can out of the decisions that are going to be made in Canberra.”
