A publication of the Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne

A kaleidoscope of cultures in Brunswick

Sydney Road is Brunswick’s main artery, a lifeblood embodying old and new, reports Andy Hazel.

Words and pictures by Andy Hazel
 
https://the-citizen-web-assets-us.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2018/02/14000142/Town20hall-1.jpg

Family-run shops have signs written in Italian, Arabic, Greek, English and Mandarin. Many have changed little since the 1970s, their nondescript windows suggesting a reliance on regulars rather than enticing passers-by. Familiarity is important in Brunswick.

Yet change is happening, too. Modern multi-story apartment blocks loom over the old shops, and more are being built all the time.

Home to mortgage-saddled young couples, long-established migrant families and student share-houses, Brunswick is a complex and evolving community.

https://the-citizen-web-assets-us.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2018/02/14000157/streetsigns20and20modern20flats-1.jpg

“I’ve seen a massive demographic shift,” says incumbent Labor MP Jane Garrett, who won the seat in 2010. “There are a lot of changes in the electorate, not just multiculturally. There are a lot of young families now and one of the big issues that the community is facing is the scale of change.”

From its pre-World War II working class roots to its current status as one of Victoria’s most ethnically diverse electorates, Brunswick has spent almost all of its 110 years as solidly Labor territory, but the Greens have been expanding their vote since 2002. Last time, they fell short of victory by just 1200 votes. Then, Labor and Liberal parties swapped preferences to keep the Greens at bay, and not even independent Phil Cleary’s strong double-digit showing could shift the final result.

Pundits expect a repeat come November 29, with Labor and the Greens going head to head and preferences deciding the victor. Whatever happens, the fate of this seat will be decided by a fascinatingly diverse body of voters.

Reaching out will present a challenge to all candidates. The 2011 census found just 60.9 per cent of residents were born in Australia. Reflecting this, the most common non-English languages spoken in the electorate are Italian, Greek, Mandarin, Arabic, Urdu, Spanish, Lebanese and Nepali. And the ethnic diversity is reflected too by religious diversity.

One of the electorate’s biggest schools, Brunswick Secondary College, has students of more than 50 nationalities, indicating a marked shift from the strong Italian and Greek communities that once shaped the suburb.

https://the-citizen-web-assets-us.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2018/02/14000212/Ceres-1.jpg

Away from Sydney Road, quiet streets are lined with the sort of comfortably-sized houses around which the Australian dream of the quarter-acre lot was built. New cafes and old grocery stores dot the corners of secondary roads, while light industrial estates line the wide streets around the Upfield train line.

Compared to surrounding electorates, Brunswick is young and educated. The 2011 census found one quarter of residents are couples without children, and more than 15 per cent live in shared accommodation.

Many young couples choose to forgo a car, underscoring public transport as a key issue for voters.

The State Government’s lead infrastructure project, the East-West Link, will cut through Royal Park, at the southern tip of the electorate. The government claims the planned tunnel will make it easier for Brunswick residents to access other parts of the city, increase “liveability” and increase property prices in nearby areas.

The Liberals’ local flag-bearer, Giuseppe Vellotti,  acknowledges that the project is a tough sell, but says Brunswick would “benefit tremendously”. 

“We will not be building the East-West Link,” Labor’s confident incumbent, Ms Garrett, tells UniPollWatch. “Every part of that money will be going into public transport which I think has been a very significant announcement from us.”

A staunch objector to the East-West Link, Greens candidate and public health activist Tim Read says its construction is one of the biggest issues facing the electorate.

Describing it as a “looming financial burden that will suck the funding out of the public transport budget for decades”, he also dismisses Ms Garrett’s recently promised $9 million investment in new trams as insufficient.

SNAPSHOT Brunswick

Held by:Jane Garrett, Labor

Since:2010

2010 result:Retained by Labor, ahead of Greens 

Redistribution: Gained parts of Parkville north. The boundary with Richmond was realigned through Fitzroy North along Park Street. 

Area: 16.5 sq kms 

“It’s just enough to replace those that are falling to bits. Trams are often so crowded you can’t get onto them.”

The head of the Public Transport Users Association, Tony Morton, agrees. He said the public transport system was already plagued by inefficiency and a lack of coordination between buses, trams and trains.

“While north-south transport is effective, Upfield trains are infrequent and the Sydney Road tram is slowed by heavy traffic,” says Mr Morton. “Generally, the basis for a good service is there in the north-south direction, but what you get in the east-west direction is entirely different. There’s no central coordination.”

Another key issue cited by all candidates is domestic violence and public safety. Both Dr Read and Ms Garrett are critical of the state and federal government’s focus on street violence at the expense of what the latter calls Labor Leader Daniel Andrews’ campaign “centrepiece” – Labor’s promised Royal Commission into domestic violence.

“When you look at the state, most people assaulted in our community are in the home and for too long we’ve not dealt with it as a community properly,” Ms Garret says.

The Liberal Party has promised greatly increased funding to domestic violence support services.

“I’ve seen evidence of [domestic violence] throughout my medical career,” says Dr Read, who nominates it as “far and away the leading form of crime in the electorate. Even from when I was an intern I remember struggling to find emergency accommodation for women after midnight.”

Long a home to many manufacturing and light-industrial businesses, sections of Brunswick remain bereft of street lighting.

Several locals, including long-time resident Chris Dite, told UniPollWatch that inadequate lighting was the biggest issue, especially in the wake of the murder of Jill Meagher in September, 2012.

In Brunswick, local domestic violence support services are limited to the programs run by the Salvation Army and religious groups, with the Women’s Domestic Violence Crisis Service of Victoria located in the adjacent electorate of Melbourne.

Primarily staffed by volunteers, the Asylum Seeker Welcome Centre and Foundation House are both institutions catering to migrants and offering support services for some of Brunswick’s newer residents.

https://the-citizen-web-assets-us.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2018/02/14000228/Tram20depot-1.jpg

Many services are offered in conjunction with local religious and community organisations such as Moreland Council, Brunswick Uniting Church and CERES Environment Park.

The vibrancy of the community might suggest an electorate that is politically engaged – and so it is, although perhaps not as much as the candidates would wish.

Dr Read says the biggest obstacle to a Greens victory was not Jane Garrett, but political disengagement. “A large percentage of the electorate don’t know the election’s on,” he told UniPollWatch.

https://the-citizen-web-assets-us.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2018/02/14000244/Brunswick-District-1.gif

► This is an edited version of a story first published at Unipollwatch.

About The Citizen

THE CITIZEN is a publication of the Centre for Advancing Journalism. It has several aims. Foremost, it is a teaching tool that showcases the work of the students in the University of Melbourne’s Master of Journalism and Master of International Journalism programs, giving them real-world experience in working for publication and to deadline. Find out more →

  • Editor: Jo Chandler
  • Reporter: Qiyun (Gwen) Liu
  • Audio & Video editor: Louisa Lim
  • Data editor: Craig Butt
  • Editor-In-Chief: Andrew Dodd
  • Business editor: Lucy Smy
Winner — BEST PUBLICATION 2016 Ossie Awards