By Tricia Mifsud
JOHN Herron, the father of a woman murdered in Parkville in 2019, has announced he will stand as the Liberal Democrats candidate for the federal seat of McEwen.
Mr Herron said he had put his name up for election in honour of his daughter Courtney.
He said prior to Courtney’s death, he didn’t have much interest in politics, but going through such events motivated him to nominate for the position.
“I wouldn’t be doing it at all if I hadn’t been thrust into the situation. I never would have dreamed of moving into politics but what’s happened to Courtney and the journey that I’ve gone through has compelled me to put my hand up,” Mr Herron said.
“I’d say, like the general public, I’m not impressed with the standard and experience of people in parliament and I think it’s about time that we have people of good standing that are experienced and who are genuine leaders to put their hand up.”
A resident of Riddells Creek in the Macedon Ranges Shire, Mr Herron is a lawyer, with his business spanning over three offices, Before that, he served in the military.
Mr Herron’s work has seen him travel the world, with his experiences being another key attribute of his push to be elected.
He has experience at various levels of government through project management and infrastructure development, and believes this will be important to issues in the McEwen electorate.
“There are a lot of law reforms that I am interested in, but I also draw on a lot of my past experiences,” he said.
“Aside from being in the military a long time ago, I’ve worked in every continent around the world, speak several languages and ran several large businesses in that time.
“As a local resident, I am a small businessman too, I have three offices, I employ people, I know how tough that is and can resonate with that.
“I’ve worked on large infrastructure projects in the area too, I did a lot of work for the State Government in station and car park reconstruction at Kilmore East, out to Macedon and up the Bendigo line as well.
“I’ve worked for three tiers of government; local, state and federal mostly in project management and delivering infrastructure, but now I am a country lawyer and small businessman locally.”
When determining the party that Mr Herron would represent, he said the Liberal Democrats, a party that stands for greater freedom, smaller government, and personal responsibility, resonated most to his own beliefs and goals.
“People want someone to speak up on a lot of issues other than the issues I’m well known for and for someone to do that who has the real-life experiences and understands those issues,” he said.
“As a party, the Liberal Democrats represent my position more as a libertarian, so there is a lot of freedom of choice in that, they also give you a fair bit of leeway in how you might have policy views, but generally they catch a lot of the things I believe in.”
Mr Herron remains firm on his belief that someone with genuine real-life experience should represent the community in parliament.
“If we elect someone to lead our basketball or cricket team, we elect someone that’s quality, they’re experienced in that area. I have that local, national and global experience,” he said.
“Put your hand on your heart, and vote for someone who you think really wants to represent the community and not just going into politics for a job.
“I have a job, I don’t need to do this because it’s a career move, but I need to do it because I must do it and people have compelled me to do so.”
