Labor candidate for Caulfield: ‘I didn’t want to be a spectator anymore’

For the first time, Labor has a strong chance of winning Victoria’s most Jewish electorate. ASHLEY BROWNE speaks to candidate LIOR HAREL.

Having spent 20 years working as a legal counsel in the private sector, primarily in emerging but diverse industries such as online employment, medical cannabis and energy, Lior Harel likes to joke that he should be a rusted-on member of the Liberal Party.

Instead, he is the Labor candidate for the seat of Caulfield at the forthcoming Victorian state election.

For Labor, history is within touching distance. Caulfield has always been a Liberal seat, and for a long-time, came the with descriptor "blue ribbon".

But no longer. Incumbent David Southwick held the seat in 2018 by just 204 votes after preferences. Since then, the federal seat of Goldstein, which includes the southern half of Caulfield, was won by Teal Independent Zoe Daniel at the election earlier this year, while neighbouring Higgins fell to Labor.

Times are changing. And so are voting trends in this highly Jewish part of Melbourne.

In an interview with The Jewish Independent, Harel said, “Labor is now pitching itself to highly educated and highly affluent voters,” citing nearby Armadale and Toorak as proof.

“The Liberal Party does not reflect modern Australia or people with forward-thinking views,” he continued. “I’m a forward-looking person, with a strong passion for social justice, who thinks we need to embrace multiculturalism, promote gender diversity and inclusion and frankly, the Labor Party is the only mainstream political party in Australia that aligns with those views.

“The Liberal Party of today is not the Liberal Party I grew up with. It has moved so far to the Right that I can’t affiliate with it in any way.”

Of course, representing Labor at the election means advocating for Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, the most divisive state leader since Jeff Kennett. He is equally admired for his steely resolve in navigating the state safely through COVID and loathed for the duration and the restrictions caused by the various harsh lockdowns through 2020 and 2021.

But according to Harel, the election won’t be a referendum on Andrews. His sense from getting out and about in the community is that Victorians are moving on from COVID and that the lockdowns are an increasingly distant memory. “He’s a doer who does things for the state,” he said before reeling off a list that includes the environment, infrastructure projects, LGBTQ+ and social justice initiatives.

“What you can’t accuse him of is sitting on the fence or resiling from his responsibilities and saying, ‘that’s not my job’. He’s a man who is passionate about improving the lives of Victorians and implementing policies to do that.”

Federal politics can’t help but creep into state elections. For the Jewish community that includes Labor’s decision to reverse the Morrison’s government’s decision to recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

“I am deeply disappointed by the decision. I think the determination of the capital city of a sovereign state should be made by that state and on that basis, Jerusalem should be recognised as the capital of Israel,” Harel said.

“I acknowledge, as have others including the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and [Macnamara MP] Josh Burns, that the process was not handled in a sensitive and delicate enough manner.”

He said the issue has come up on the campaign trail and there are people in the electorate who are as disappointed in the decision as he is.

“But overwhelmingly, the people who raise this issue with me understand that foreign policy is a federal issue and that we are looking at a state level to effect real change on the ground and locally.”

If there is a battleground in this election it is healthcare and Caulfield, and by extension, the Jewish community is on the frontline. Liberal leader Matthew Guy has promised to scrap the $34.5 billion first stage of the Suburban Rail Loop and use the money instead to beef up the health system.

Included in that pledge is $550 million for a new Caulfield Hospital. The existing hospital has long passed its use-by date but is located on a sprawling parcel of land in the heart of Caulfield, which has also been earmarked for a relocated Mount Scopus College and a host of other community and sporting facilities for community-wide use.

Harel said he had responded to a recent request from Mount Scopus College for his view on the proposed relocation of the school to the Caulfield Hospital precinct.

“Our position remains that we are aware of the ambition and the vision of the school to move to Caulfield. There are a myriad of issues to work through and first and foremost, we will respect the needs of the community with respect to the hospital.

“What we have said to Mount Scopus is that we will work with all relevant stakeholders to try and achieve the best outcome for them.

“I have told the school I am happy to be briefed on the project with David (Southwick) to see whether we can get some sort of bipartisan support for this. This might be the best outcome.

“The role of the member for Caulfield it is to represent the views of the community when it comes to Israel, antisemitism, Judaism, and the community as a whole. David has done a very good job in that respect and I stand shoulder to shoulder with him.”

Andrews is known for his genuine affection for the Jewish community, a point Harel makes repeatedly at the various community forums he takes part in. While in office Andrews has established a Victorian government trade office in Israel and has visited more than once.

“He’s not doing it for political purposes but because that’s where is heart lies. Consider that he’s the member for Mulgrave (an outer southeast suburb) who comes from the Socialist Left wing of the party. There’s no political gain to do that, so it’s to his credit.”

Harel is a relative rookie when it comes to politics. Like many, he watched with increasing alarm as the United States lurched to the right and saw elements of the same in Australia.

“I didn’t want to be a spectator anymore. I was worried about the foundations of democracy but didn’t know what to do about it,” he said, recalling a conversation he had with Josh Burns. “Josh came to me two years later and said he had an idea. Run.”

Harel was the sole nomination to stand for Labor in Caulfield and only joined the party earlier this year but denies suggestions that he was parachuted in by Burns. “Anyone was free to nominate, but I was the only one,” he said.

His path to victory has been complicated by well-known young community activist Nomi Kaltmann standing as the Teal candidate. There is potential for a messy split of the progressive vote between not just Harel and Kaltmann, but also Greens candidate Rachel Iampolski and the Animal Justice Party’s Asher Myerson, both of whom are Jewish.

Harel argues a vote for the Teals at the state election in Caulfield might not be as useful as it was for Zoe Daniel at the federal election.

“If the Labor government is returned with a sizeable majority and Nomi is the MP for Caulfield, she will literally have no way to make an impact. She may have the best intentions and wonderful policies, but unless she holds the balance of power, which is highly unlikely, she won’t be able to implement anything and that’s where I am contrasting myself.

“If I’m the inaugural Labor member for Caulfield I’ll be part of the government and I’ll be able to implement things on the ground and make a difference to people’s lives.”

It is the statement of someone who has caught the political bug. The married father of two young children has had his competitive flame well and truly stoked.

“Let me make this clear,” he said. “This is not something just to tell the grandkids about one day. I want to win and to make a difference in the community and more broadly, to promote the values I have.”

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Candidates in the Victorian seat of Caulfield put forward their cases for election (ABC)

Photo: Lior Harel (Lior-for-Caulfield)