By Ethan Benedicto
Bringing it all back to basics is key for Narre Warren North resident and council candidate Stephen Matulec, as he plays his hand for this October’s Casey Council elections.
With the council having no councillors for the last four years, he has a strong belief that leaders having their boots on the ground is a necessary step that needs to be taken.
To Mr Matulec, what matters first is for councillors to “just listen”.
“I think the biggest thing that annoys a lot of people and myself is that those who are in office, or any sort of politician, they do a lot of talking but they don’t do a lot of listening.
“It’s all about putting yourself on the people’s level and just having to listen to what people have to say; once you’ve heard that and what people would like, then you can make the decision based on that,” he said.
Something about where he’s running from.
If elected, enhancing communication through later council meeting times is a crucial change Mr Matulec would be vying for, adding that it is “fundamental” to the act of listening to the community.
“This is besides politics, if you even want to discuss politics or any issue, you’re going to make sure that people are there to have that discussion,” he said.
Speaking on politics, he believes that what is important for the council is to “not be too political” in the first place, and more so serve as an advocate for the municipality’s concerns.
Transparency, integrity and accessibility are the trifecta of principles that Mr Matulec promises to deliver and also hopes to see other future councillors acknowledge in order to be an effective governing body.
The second topic he addressed was council rates, where if elected he would like to give every ratepayer a rate cut”.
“I think there shouldn’t be any more rate increases either, they’re already very high,” he said.
Building on that, Mr Matulec also touched on homeowner property rights and increasing the housing supply, such as allowing residents to make changes to their properties as long as does not affect neighbouring properties.
“Especially with larger properties up in Narre Warren North and Northern Harkaway, there is a lot of land – farmland – up there and people might want to build more dwellings.
“I think that if people want to cut a tree down in their backyard, whether the roots are going to be damaging something, and they want to put another dwelling in, they should be able to,” he said.
While he acknowledged that certain conditions may require more attention, such as impairing certain views from neighbouring properties, the red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy on properties is, to Mr Matulec, “the sort of politics we don’t need”.
Likewise, political beliefs from major parties are something that Mr Matulec would like to see be put aside when dealing with local matters, saying that “we don’t want to see major political parties caucusing before meetings”.
“Trying to block votes, just because you know, ‘oh we’re a political party we all have to vote together based on our political opinions’, we shouldn’t be seeing any of that from councillors.
“We should be seeing councillors who listen to the community and vote for what’s best for the people, what’s best for the City of Casey and do that first,” he said.
Endorsed by the Liberal Democrats in 2022 for the state election, Mr Matulec, among other candidates like Liberal Timothy Dragan and Independent Stephen Capon, fell short of Labor’s Belinda Wilson that November.
However, two years later, Mr Matulec is brimming with confidence, and that “you lose more than you win, especially in this sort of environment”.
“I think being prepared to endure the losses and just keep fighting as much as you can is key, as well as doing more independent work of my own accord, a lot of grassroots activism and advocacy is key,” he said.
Still in his early 20s, Mr Matulec received some backlash previously for his possible lack of experience, something that currently, he said, is “not always about” him.
“It’s about small businesses suffering, people trying to buy houses, people trying to pay rent, it’s about what I want for my kids and future generations.”
He recalled that people have made comments about his age and that he should “go back to school”, but has argued that “there are politicians out there who are in their 50s who have done absolutely disgraceful things”.
“I think no matter how hard it is for me, I’ve just to keep pushing and try to get something done.
“I don’t think age has anything to do with your ability to have any sort of knowledge, but at the end of the day I will keep fighting to make the world a better place, as much as I possibly can,” he said.
