Rakesh Raizada
Independent

Summary

Policies & Commentary

Rakesh Raizada is a Rotarian and a Hindu, who has spent many years as a banking executive – in fact, he’s worked at three of the big four Australian banks in his career¹He lacks only Westpac to complete the set. I mention this because these three parts of his history very much inform his approach to politics: he’s community-focused while also being a reasonably hard-headed businessman, and his faith is the source of his values, up to and including his slogan in this election.

His main priority is “A Victoria where everyone is safe, respected & included” and he identifies six particular areas that he intends to focus on, although he has gone into sadly little detail – the quoted statements below – all of them motherhood statements with no elaboration – are literally the entirety of his policy offerings to date.

01 Stronger Families & Communities
Supporting the local networks, volunteers and organisations that hold Western Metro together.

It’s not entirely clear how this applies to families rather than communities, but there’s nothing objectionable here. Some explanation of the nature of the support wouldn’t hurt, mind.

02 Ending Family & Gender-Based Violence
Prevention, early support and safety for every household.

Yes, Rakesh, but how? How will this be done? That said, Rakesh does have form in this area, as he is the president of RaMon Helps Inc. – of maybe was the president, as the organisation’s site is down and their facebook not updated for more than two years. Still, he does have some experience in this field.

03 Women & Young People
Opportunity, mentoring and a real voice in decisions that affect them.

A solid idea, expressed in a somewhat… old-fashioned manner.

04 Multicultural Inclusion & Social Cohesion
Every community respected, connected and able to participate fully.

For all that Rakesh is clearly deeply involved in his religion, his professional and personal life do show a person able to reach across those kinds of boundaries. Which is to say, I credit him with having these values, but I still want to know how that translates into policy.

05 Jobs & Economic Opportunity
Small business, community organisations and financial literacy for a fairer economy.

This is an excellent idea, although teaching financial literacy only goes so far when the problem is poverty.

06 Transparent, Accountable Government
Responsible governance, with integrity and openness at its core.

This sounds good, but it’s also coming from someone who was working at the big banks in the years leading up to the Royal Commission. How much integrity, how much openness, and how will they be enforced?

One thing I do like about this candidate is that he clearly doesn’t think he has all the answers. One of the features of his website is a survey, on which you can nominate up to four issues from a list of twelve. There’s also a freeform section that asks “If you could fix one problem in your area, what would it be?” While vox populi is not vox Dei, it’s still refreshing to see such a commitment to actually listening to voter’s concerns – the twelve categories are refreshingly broad, and it doesn’t give the sense that he’s trying to force answers.

I can’t make up my mind about Rakesh Raizada. He seems to have pretty decent ideas, but there’s virtually no details about them to be found. I’d rank him about the middle – he’ll do less damage if elected than some, but the vagueness of his positions makes ranking him more highly problematic.