For a politician, Western Metropolitan MP David Ettershank is as laid back as they come, he speaks to Gerald Lynch about life in and out of the chamber.
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do?
Well, I’m pretty easy to spot being 6’10” and have been in the Upper House of the Victorian parliament since November 2022. Before being (unexpectedly) elected to Parliament, I worked in aged care for 20 years, mainly in the not-for-profit sector, and before that, almost 20 years in the union movement as a training or industrial officer. I’ve lived in Kensington for about 30 years and always been very active with the local residents’ group. I am a member of Legalise Cannabis Victoria, so you can probably guess my major issue: Ending the criminalisation of consumers, allowing medicinal cannabis patients to drive, and developing a sensible approach to drug health and education. Our crew have been campaigning around a range of issues including pathetic public transport in the west, getting a fair go for the west in terms of services and infrastructure and more recently, some of the major environmental issues we face like pollution, overdevelopment, and the third runway.
What’s your connection to the area?
My electorate office is in Braybrook. It’s a friendly, down-to-earth, multicultural community. When I need to clear my head, I walk in Cranwell Park and head down to the Maribyrnong River. That always grounds me – being in parliament is a great privilege but tends to have the opposite effect.
What do you like about where you live?
I love living in western Melbourne because it’s unpretentious, multicultural and vibrant. We have great communities and some wonderful green spaces and waterways, but we need the government to fairly fund services like education, housing, health services and transport in the west. As we say – “the west is the best, but it gets so much less”.
What, if anything, would you change about where you live?
We need better public transport, especially more buses and we need a trainline to the airport because too many people have to drive to Tullamarine every day.
Where is your favourite local place to spend time?
At work, our local refuelling stop is the Hop and Spice restaurant in Braybrook. It’s a Sri Lankan place, with fantastic food at a great price.
Sunshine is also an awesome shopping and foodie destination. I’ve travelled abroad quite a bit and never been anywhere that has the diversity of food and culture that we maybe take for granted here in the west.
Tell us something people would be surprised to know about you?
I was rather surprised to find out in April that I was one of 200 Australian politicians that have been sanctioned and banned for life from entering Russia! Not sure what I did to offend Putin.
