Alan Mascarenhas named as Labor candidate for Epping electorate
LABOR HAS chosen its candidate to run for the Epping electorate – a seat that has been held by the Liberals since the district’s first election in 1999 – in the March State Election.
Northern District Times
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LABOR HAS chosen its candidate to run for the Epping electorate – a seat that has been held by the Liberals since the district’s first election in 1999 – in the March State Election.
Labor’s Alan Mascarenhas, 39, will run for the seat which is held by Liberal MP Damien Tudehope.
He said the key issue he wanted to address was overdevelopment across the district.
“The biggest issue by far is overdevelopment and the effect that overdevelopment has on services.
“It leads to overcrowded health, education and transport services.”
The Parramatta-based candidate said too many roads were grid locked in peak hours, schools such as Epping West Public were relying on a high number of demountables, and Ryde Hospital needed an upgrade to deal with the growing population.
Mr Mascarenhas said, if he was elected, his first step in taking pressure off those services would be to address overdevelopment.
Last month, Labor said it would scrap the Berejiklian Government’s priority precincts scheme if voted in.
The priority precincts scheme refers to a planning strategy which involves accelerating the rezoning process in suburbs identified as a priority for greater density housing. Suburbs effected include Epping.
“Their policy has meant open slather for high-rise development in Epping and we need to pull that back in, and Labor has said we will abolish priority precincts,” he said.
“We want to return to a council-first (strategy) rather than a priority precinct.”
He said in his opinion the State Government’s medium-density housing approach also needed to be addressed.
Mr Mascarenhas grew up in Carlingford and West Pennant Hills after migrating from London with his family at the age of seven.
Mascarenhas previously worked as a media Adviser and speech writer for Labor leaders John Robertson and Luke Foley from 2011 to 2015 and is now working as a corporate writer and editor.
He also worked at the Sydney Morning Herald for a few years and was the dux of Trinity Grammar School, later completing a Master of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.
The state election will be held in March.