Stephanie Hodgins-May to run again

Ms Hodgins-May competed in the seat of Ballarat during the 2013 election. 

It was this challenge that has spurred her on to run again in what is expected to be a hotly contested election.

“I loved being a candidate, getting to know the community and it is such a great opportunity to get out there and talk about the Greens message and  get it out there,” she said. 

“Connection to the community is paramount and the privilege of really understanding your local electorate.”

Despite running in a metro seat this time around, Ms Hodgins-May said she still had a house in Blampied and regularly returned to the area. 

She said issues such as marriage equality, climate change and the treatment of refugees would be at the forefront of her political agenda. 

“I suppose the big one, that both the major parties are united on, is the treatment of refugees,” she said.  

“There is never an excuse for locking up children in detention, I am constantly angered by that. 

“Climate change continues to be ignored and we are lagging behind to our own detriment.” 

Despite the bigger political parties taking most of the attention, Ms Hodgins-May said she no longer considered the Greens a minor party.

“I don’t see us as a minor party any more, I see us as a major party, they (voters) are so disengaged with the lack of vision we are seeing from the other parties,” she said. 

“The internal politics is distracting from the issues that we need to be looking at.” 

While the idea of a 2015 election has been mooted by some, Ms Hodgins-May said she was expecting the election to be held in 2016. 

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared for an election this year,” she said. 

During the 2013 Federal Election Ms Hodgins-May gained 9.5 per cent of the primary vote.

Ms Hodgins-May’s father, Rod May, is a former mayor of the Hepburn Shire and was also the Greens candidate in the seat of Ripon during  the last Victorian election.