Former soldier, now business manager Jon Metrikas will challenge Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles after drawing inspiration from the state Werribee by-election, which saw a major swing against Labor.
Earlier this month, Liberal candidate Steve Murphy came close to winning the Labor stronghold (16.6 percent of voters turned away), which has been held by the incumbent state government since 1979.
This week, Metrikas revealed to The Epoch Times his decision to stand as a candidate in the federal electorate of Corio, while admitting the challenge ahead of dislodging the current defence minister.
“Let’s announce it now—I’m going to run in Corio. I’ll be representing Geelong and our area federally,” Metrikas told The Epoch Times.
“It’ll be a very difficult get, but hopefully I can bring attention to the fact that this has been a safe seat that has received nothing from the feds for so long.
“It’s been held by a margin of about 19 percent, and they just say, ‘We’ll never lose this.’”
Metrikas was previously defeated by the Labor-aligned Melissa Cadwell in a contest for Cheetham Ward at the Greater Geelong City Council elections last year.
He will campaign on similar issues for the seat of Corio, such as reducing crime, easing cost-of-living pressures and using his federal seat to lobby for better defence force outcomes.
The electorate lies to the west of Melbourne, near the suburb of Werribee, and covers the industrial city of Geelong. It has largely been a safe Labor seat since the late 1960s.
Work Ethic Needed for Today’s Youth
Last week, Victoria’s Shadow Treasurer James Newbury told The Epoch Times it was “shameful” that his Labor counterparts voted down Shadow Attorney-General Michael O’Brien’s bill to amend the Bail Act of 1977, to include stronger penalties for indictable offences.Metrikas believes the root cause of crime comes from a lack of work ethic and discipline among young repeat offenders.
If he wins the federal seat of Corio, he will focus on how he can help once-troubled youths become productive members of his community.
“People want change. And I’m from a migrant background—my father was a refugee,” he said, who’s family escaped communism in Eastern Europe.
“We were an ethnic minority here—Lithuanian people, and there are very few of them. And we’ve made a great contribution to Australia.
“My dad, he had to work in the desert to be allowed to come here. So he did.
“He never complained, worked at it and gave it a red-hot go. And I think everyone who comes here should have to make that same contribution, not arrive and go straight onto benefits and government-sponsored housing.”
The Allan Labor government has endured no shortage of criticism for its refusal to back bail law reform.
Rally organiser for last month’s march against violent in St. Kilda, Lauren Sherson, told The Epoch Times that small business owners had been told by police to “learn martial arts” due to a lack of crime-prevention resources.
She added youth criminals now felt emboldened because they could continue to offend without facing strong consequences.
If successful at the upcoming federal election, Metrikas said he would listen to the concerns of residents.
“We need to make it [the federal election] so it’s marginal. And if [Marles] gets back in by say, half a dozen votes, [Labor] have to really think about it and say, ‘I’m representing these people,’ and not the ‘wokery’ of inner Melbourne,” he said.
Metrikas drew parallels between local crime issues to those in other countries, pointing out that the “horrendous” bail laws have incited more serious levels of crime, from graffiti to shoplifting.
“One of the big issues [in Geelong] is graffiti, which leads to disrespect from the community,” he said.
“Now we’re getting low-level shop theft that’s become a big issue overseas where the government is saying, ‘Hey, they’re only stealing under a couple of hundred dollars–we won’t do anything about it.’
Stronger Stance on CCP Needed
Metrikas previously served in the 4th/19th Light Horse Regiment, and believes Defence Minister Marles and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese need to take a tougher stance towards the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).He made those comments after commercial flights were forced to divert after a small flotilla of CCP naval vessels made a sudden decision to carry out live fire exercises in the Tasman Sea.
“It’s very disappointing, isn’t it? They’re very willing to fire flares off in front of Australian aircraft flying in international airspace,” Metrikas said.
“They have the right to sail nearby, no problem with that. But they can’t fire off unannounced.”
Metrikas said the Australian Defence Force was underfunded and ill-equipped to deal with the continual threat from Beijing.
This is something he would also look to strengthen.
Metrikas also believes the Albanese federal government is sending too much taxpayer money as aid overseas, something the new U.S. administration is dealing with.
“We give aid to Africa. It’s not our area and it’s not our responsibility,” Metrikas said, noting he would push for tougher scrutiny of defence spending.
“We never settled people there. We’re not a colonial power. We should look after our own people and the Pacific, because they’re our area of responsibility.”
