Snake catcher, Gen Z hopefuls among field for Warrandyte byelection

A mixed bag of minor parties and independents – including two Gen Z candidates and a snake catcher – will take on the Liberals in next month’s Warrandyte byelection and fill a potential void left by Labor, which looks increasingly unlikely to field a contender.

Snake catcher Raymond Hoser, an independent candidate from Park Orchards, is running on a platform of “getting the snakes out of parliament”, and says eliminating corruption in politics and the justice system is his No.1 issue.

Snake catcher Raymond Hoser is running as an independent in the Warrandyte byelection.Credit: Eddie Jim

“You vote Liberal, you get more of the same shit, you vote Labor, you get more of the same shit,” the 61-year-old said. “It’s a common saying if something’s not working, you don’t keep doing it.”

Hoser – who vigorously protects his Snake Man trademark with legal threats and has sued Nine newsreader Peter Hitchener and Media Watch host Paul Barry for defamation, and often settles his various legal battles out of court – said he would work hard for constituents if elected.

“I have my phone on me 24/7, I go out at four in the f---ing morning to catch snakes in people’s houses,” he said. “They [the voters] know they will have someone that will work for them.”

Labor has yet to formally decide whether to contest the Liberal-held seat on August 26, but time has become a factor as the deadline for nominating candidates expires within three weeks.

Opposition Leader John Pesutto with Nicole Ta-Ei Werner, the Liberals’ candidate for Warrandyte.Credit: AAP

The Liberals have preselected Nicole Ta-Ei Werner, a former youth pastor and Liberal staffer. She is only candidate formally listed as running by the Victorian Electoral Commission, and aims to succeed Ryan Smith, who announced in May he was retiring as an MP in part due to the “growing negative tone of politics”.

Smith retained the seat at the 2022 state election with a 3.9 per cent margin over Labor.

Despite a push among MPs for Labor to mount a serious challenge in the seat, the party is wary about spending an estimated $400,000 to run a campaign in a byelection that comes more than eight years after the Andrews government was first elected.

Labor’s likely absence opens the door for Greens candidate Tomas Lightbody to run second in the outer suburban Melbourne seat, and the 25-year-old is pitching to become Victoria’s youngest MP.

Tomas Lightbody, the Greens candidate for Warrandyte.

Lightbody already has political experience after he was elected to Manningham City Council at age 22, and believes young people should have more of a say in decision-making.

He nominated the cost of living as a major political issue and said the Greens’ policy for a rent freeze would help alleviate the problem.

Sustainable Australia Party candidate Jack Corcoran.

“The reality is the government needs an effective opposition and I think the Greens have a proven track record of holding the government to account,” Lightbody said.

Another young candidate, 24-year-old Jack Corcoran from the Sustainable Australia Party, said his campaign would focus on environmental issues.

“That resonates in Warrandyte because it is such a green and leafy area, it’s one of the last remaining places in Melbourne that you can make that claim of,” he said.

All candidates hoped they would profit from Labor’s likely absence. “It certainly allows for me to hopefully suck up a few more votes,” Corcoran said.

On the other side of the political spectrum is libertarian independent Maya Tesa, who said Warrandyte was one of the most neglected seats in Melbourne.

Tesa has a taste for elections, having stood in four over the past 14 months, and previously ran for the Liberal Democrats in last year’s state election.

Maya Tesa, an independent candidate for the Warrandyte byelection.

“Warrandyte doesn’t have a dedicated hospital you have to go to Box Hill or go further out,” the 40-year-old small business owner said.

“Everyone knows there’s one road in and out of Warrandyte, there’s been no major upgrades.”

Colleen Bolger, the Victorian Socialists candidate.

Tesa said her main focus was the government reining in its spending. “It’s important the government pays back what it has spent,” she said.

Lawyer Colleen Bolger, 40, is running for the Victorian Socialists and wanted to present a left-leaning alternative to the major parties.

She said the cost-of-living crisis was hitting everyone hard at the moment.

“We’re calling for things like a rent freeze,” she said.

“We think that there should be price controls on the supermarket giants when inflation is running at 7 per cent.”

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