About me

Hi! My name is Simon Gnieslaw.

I grew up in Moorabbin and have lived and worked in the Bentleigh-Moorabbin area for most of my life.

I studied Computer Systems Engineering at the Holmesglen TAFE in Moorabbin and have now been running my own IT business for the past 16 years.

Why I am running

I am dissatisfied with both Liberal and Labor. I don't expect Governments to fix all problems in our personal life for us, but sometimes it feels like they are going out of their way to make our lives worse.

These past two-and-a-half years have really highlighted how much of an impact Governments can have on our day to day lives.

Sometimes it is well meaning, but all too often they have taken things too far and end up making things even worse because they don't want to listen to the community, are incompetent, corrupt, or a combination of all this.

Trust in Government is at an all-time low, and it is making us more divided than ever. I want to bring people together from the Left, Right, and anywhere in between and get us focusing on the big issues, together, as a whole community.

I believe that being in politics should simply be motivated by civic duty to do the right thing for all, rather than for personal gain.

In case you couldn't tell, I do not particularly want to be a politician! But it is important to make a stand that any regular person can and should run for politics. Perhaps I am a little bit odd, but still, at my core, I am just a regular person whose genuine, rather than a career politician who only cares about themselves.

If regular people do not make a stand to run for politics, then all we are left with are career politicians who are doing it for their own selfish reasons.

Everyone has political opinions whether they realise it or not. You don't have to be an expert about politics. As long as you are a normal person who genuinely cares, that's all it takes! We need the regular people to keep the bad people out, and a genuine person could not possibly do a worse job than the bad people.

I strongly recommend participating with a minor party, activist group, or being/getting behind an Independent.

Personally, I am a member of the Fusion Party, they are a good group of people with very good values. Sadly, they were not able to get registered in time for the Victorian Election, otherwise I would have run under the Fusion banner. That is just me, you should find the group which most closely aligns with your values.

Major Parties

Sadly, I think that both major parties have lost their way: Labor is meant to support the worker and the little guy, Liberal is meant to support financial responsibility, but neither have been doing that for quite some time.

Social issues are important, but I see right through them when they spend far too much time making statements about social issues in order to get us to fight each other, rather than focusing on taking actions which are desperately needed.

Their policies are constantly flip-flopping. The only value which they seem to stand for is getting power itself. Either because they are power hungry, or greedy, or both.

We just want to live our lives freely and not have to worry about what the government is up to, but sadly there is too much bad behavior to ignore.

How to vote

When you vote for a Minor Party or Independent, you are sending a strong message that you are paying attention to what is happening in Victoria, and that the major parties should have worked harder to win your vote. Voting should be about picking the best, not the least bad.

If you genuinely believe that Liberal or Labor are really the best, go right ahead vote for them.

District (Lower House) voting - That's me! I am running for Bentleigh District

You should vote for who you truly believe to be the best candidate as your number 1. Then number all the other boxes from who you want the most to the least.

Even if your number 1 preference doesn't win and you think that they have no hope of winning, your vote will still fully transfer to your next preference until someone is elected, so you will not miss out on giving support to the "least bad" option. Your vote is never wasted.

Your number 1 preference will have a higher chance of being elected, it will reflect in the count how many people voted for them as #1, and it can potentially unlock funding to help them contest future elections. The best place to put the person you want to win the most is number 1.

I have deliberately not given myself a preference number, because I hope to earn your preference, and strongly believe that you decide where your preferences go rather than letting other people tell you who to vote for.

Remember: You need to put a number in every box for your vote to count.

Region (Upper House) voting -

I also recommend that you vote below-the-line when you vote in the Upper House.

If you vote above-the-line, then your preferences get chosen by your Number 1 choice. Even if you fill in a Number 2, that preference will be totally ignored.

There has been a lot of back-room dealing with above-the-line votes, and it is possible that your preference will go to another party which you don't agree with if you go with this option.

Remember: You need to either place a 1 above the line, or place a 1 to 5 below the line, for your vote to count.

If you need help or make a mistake

Just ask the VEC staff for assistance! They will be more than happy to help you

Election Promises

(Usually good for toilet paper, but I am sincere)

• Work diligently and engage with the whole community about issues, particularly those who could be most affected.

• Be an advocate for anyone who needs personal assistance with a Victorian Government related issue.

• Hold the Victorian Parliament to account wherever possible, hopefully with a balance of power vote, and also by asking relevant questions and making inquries behind the scenes.

• Act as the feedback loop between People and Government - which is sorely needed!

• Not pretend to be an expert about every subject matter imaginable, use reliable experts and community consultation to find the right solution, rather than to pretend that I know better than everyone else.

• Be accountable, transparent and act with integrity with all my dealings.

The future of my work
Win or lose, I see this election run as the start of being more politically engaged with the community for many years to come.

If you have particular concerns in the community, even after the election and I haven't won, please come to me and I will see what I can do in a private capacity as an advocate and activist.

Full disclosure:

I am running Independently, but I am also a member of the federally registered Fusion Party, which is not a registered political party in Victoria.

My allegiances are only to the Bentleigh District community, this is who I would be elected to represent. I will not put myself, political party affiliation, or anything else above this.

The only reason why I am a member of the Fusion Party is because they closely align with my own views, and they are a bunch of good people - I highly recommend that you check them out. But this campaign is of my own.

Questions and concerns:

I am an open book! Please get in touch with me about any questions or concerns you may have and give me a chance to respond to your concerns.