
Meet Ashok Sherwal for Wyndham
Harrison Ward
If you live in the Harrison ward area of Wyndham, this is why you may consider to vote for Ashok Sherwal
What will be your top three priorities if you get elected?
I will be working towards:
- Community Growth (Jobs, Roads, Transport and Youth),
- Housing Diversity (High, Medium, and Low density, housing developments) and
- Security (In the Home, Online, Financial)
Do you think your local council is appropriately representative of your community and its interests?
At the moment 38 candidates are contesting for 4 seats. Everyone has the right to stand if they believe they could deliver. Within our Indian community, there are a number of small groups which have been created by a number of people. They need to come together in order to achieve their goals.
What would you like to say to a potential voter to vote for you?
Voters should vote for the right candidate who has got the potential, better understanding of local government and can deliver back to the community. I have the potential to represent the community in the local council as I have been trained in leadership and holding membership of a number of community organisations. I have voluntarily delivered food and groceries to people in Wyndham city during COVID times and supported International students by creating a fundraiser. In a nutshell, I’d like to work for the community. Voters are most welcome to visit my page at www.facebook.com/voteforashok .
As a member of the Victorian community do you think migrant communities are appropriately looked after by the mainstream political parties in Victoria?
Victoria is a multicultural state and I feel political parties are doing enough to connect with communities. They interact with migrant communities via their community leaders. The Government has opened a number of organisations to provide resources to migrant communities and happily extend their help if required. There may be a language barrier which needs to be overcome by migrant communities taking more English classes.
As Victorian of Indian/Asian descent what do you miss most about India / your country of origin here or what do you fondly remember?
I came to Victoria when I was 17. I have been out of India for a long time. I don’t miss much at the moment as I follow the principle of vasudhaiva kutumbakam. There are so many ways to connect with people as technology has reduced the gap globally.
Your assessment of the State government’s and the Opposition’s role in handling/addressing the COVID-19 crisis we have been thrown into since March 2020.
COVID-19 is an unexpected type of event which no one was aware of. So in the present situation I believe politicians are making the right decision as far as their knowledge and expertise goes. Politicians’ decisions are based on information fed to them by the experts.