Alexander Paporakis: Empathy-driven leadership
Edited by Vivien Yii
By day, Alexander Paporakis is a scientist at the Red Cross Lifeblood, where he works on transplantation and immunogenetics.
Outside of office hours, Alexander is a big fan of fantasy novels, video games, and he loves music and going to music festivals (đđ). Infected Mushroom and Pink Floyd are easily his two favourite bands. The greatest song of the last decade according to Alexander? Rufusâ Innerbloom, for sure.
Alexander also wears a number of other critical hats in his community, including âunfit midfielderâ (his words) in his footy clubâs lowest division, where he is vocal about his dislike of this yearâs sixteen-minute quarters. He describes himself as an âabsolutely terrible vegetarianâ who has been earnestly trying to reduce his carbon footprint by cutting back on his meat consumption since the start of this year. Alexander says that his efforts are generally going well... until you put some chicken in front of him.
On a more serious note, one of Alexanderâs biggest passions is conservation. He thinks Eucalypts are a âgorgeous genusâ and one day he hopes to buy, regenerate, and steward a piece of degraded land. A large part of his campaign for election to Moonee Valley City Council this year focusses on his local government doing a much better job of nurturing its biodiversity and unique natural environment, and weâre excited to share what he has to say about this.
One day, Alexander may go back to uni to do his PhD in genetics to pursue his love for science. For now, though, he says that spending three years studying a gene from a mushroom is going to have to wait. As a candidate in the upcoming Moonee Valley City Council elections looking to seriously push the needle on some big issues, we think that might be a fair call!
âI want to live in a better future, so why not help pave the road toward it?â
What inspired you to run in Moonee Valley Council?
I think there were 3 main drives for my wanting to run.
The first was black summer. Seeing devastation on such a massive scale, and seeing the subsequent political response caused a real, deep pain. Here we were, helplessly watching as 12 million hectares burnt, 3 billion mammals, birds and frogs perished, with cities blanketed in haze. Yet our leaders continued to act like children, blaming others and never taking responsibility. Never acknowledging the real driver of the catastrophe, and still to this day refusing to enact laws to deal with and mitigate future megafires. It hurt.
Thatâs when I realised it was time to run for council, because I can only bring change to my sphere of influence - so why not expand that sphere?
The second came about through looking into politics, I realised that elected peoples were unable to admit when they were wrong, unable to learn, and all would play political games, often compromising their own morals to achieve what they believe to be the greater good. This statement holds true at all levels of government. Itâs a shame, but if you were to point this out to someone, their response is, âThatâs politics.â I donât believe in that anymore, politics does not need to be that way. We need caring, morally driven leaders who are willing to learn, and admit when they are wrong. Leaders who listen to experts and not their own egos.
âI realised it was time to run for council, because I can only bring change to my sphere of influence - so why not expand that sphere?â
Lastly, I noticed that not enough elected leaders represent me, my wants and my future. The outlook for us, those under 30, is grim. COVID-19 has accelerated the economy toward recession, and the workforces most affected are ones that have been casualised, ones which so happen to be where younger people are employed, ones which will take the longest to recover. Our future is warmer, devoid of biodiversity, dominated by multimillionaire landlords and multibillionaire CEOâs, with a generation of workers whoâve drawn on their own superannuation just to pay rent. There are so few young politicians in our local, state and federal governments who will suffer through this future like we will. So, I decided to run. Not because I believe that I alone can change our future, but because I needed to believe that if I donât, another person of my generation, inspired by my actions, will. Someone better than me, someone whoâs more intelligent, more charismatic, or greater at inspiring others. I want to live in a better future, so why not help pave the road toward it.
What are the key causes and impact areas you are championing?
Climate change. I envision the whole of the City of Moonee Valley being carbon neutral by 2035, including car and gas emissions. There are studies that suggest 50°C days will be the norm for Melbourne by 2050. I donât want that, itâs terrifying, and we absolutely can stop it. This nonsense that people regurgitate; that Australiaâs footprint is small compared to the rest of the world, is a moot point. If we lower our emissions, we can help other nations lower theirs as well. In addition to this, Australia is literally a sunburnt, windswept country. Why not take advantage of that and encourage the use of and investment in renewables through local government?
Irresponsible development. Suburbs are losing more and more greenspace in favour of monstrous structures with unreasonable density. Future construction needs to cater to our flora and fauna, emissions regulations, the needs of people, and to the surrounding communities. I even discovered that Australian law dictates that I have to be super vague when talking about regulation on property development, because if I do not present an open mind, then I can be disbarred from voting on development approvals. Our love-affair with development only benefits foreign investors and massive development groups. We can and should have a thriving construction industry, but one that is regulated, and sensitive to the wants of the people and the community.
Public transport in Moonee Valley is lacklustre to say the least. Public transport lowers emissions, raises the value of an area, costs the consumer less money than cars and road upkeep, and decreases traffic. I want a new tram line, more buses (electric of course) and the creation of a fully underground airport train line that passes through key suburbs of Moonee Valley. The airport line should avoid Sydneyâs model, where travel to the airport train station costs three times that of every other station. Well-planned public transport is a key component of any modern city, and Melbourne is lagging behind.
Biodiversity increase. I donât see why we canât push to not only save the biodiversity of Melbourne, but enhance it. More trees, more native flora and fauna, especially on our nature strips, more conservation areas strewn throughout the suburbs, more wildlife corridors. More revegetation initiatives - we can live alongside the bush, we donât have to demolish it. The return of our critically endangered grasslands - thereâs only 0.05% of these left! Greater protection for waterways - the Maribyrnong river is Melbourneâs second most important body of water, and it is in a terrible state due to storm water run off, and active pollution from the airport. Wouldnât it be amazing to see some platypuses return?
All of these initiatives create jobs, foster community, and improve our mental wellbeing. Humans are the stewards of the land, not the arbiters of its destruction.Greater community connection. Moonee Valley City Council should aim to have a strong community, which supports biannual festivals, local music events, connects local businesses through markets, connects residents through community gardens, and above all is kind and caring to its people. This also includes providing greater support and representation for people who identify as LGBTQIA+. Iâm not just talking about a few words to appear inclusive, Iâm saying having community officers whose sole role is to help foster the LGBTQIA+ community in Moonee Valley. The same goes for maintaining and enhancing the relationship with the Wurundjeri Council. Enough with empty promises, enough passive action toward hate, letâs foster real community.
What is your message to other young people who might be thinking about running too?
Do it, run.
If you think youâre not good enough, or that you wonât try hard enough, or that you donât know enough, you are wrong. Second-guessing yourself is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of strength. Too often, our leaders and councillors are overly confident in their decisions, trusting their own judgement over that of experts and the wants of the community. You have to worry youâre not doing enough, or else you will rest on your laurels (not to say you should go overboard and never rest).
I freaked out when I decided to run, even now it feels ridiculous. I still second-guess my actions constantly and deliberate over the tiniest details. But I will push myself to keep going, because I know I can make meaningful change. I can help those who need it, and I know you can too.
Iâll leave you with this: The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) conducted a survey on key issues for people under twenty-five years old. Regardless of their political leanings, those surveyed were almost unanimous in their wants. Close all coal fired plants, provide greater protections for our bush and our reefs, close our offshore detention facilities, and keep higher rates of JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments into the foreseeable future. Yes, these wants are on a grander scale than what local government can provide, but it is at the local level where movements start, where ideas are formed, and where they can snowball into real change.
The path forward is undeniably tilted against us, but there is hope. For it seems all young people want a greener, happier, more morally-driven future, so why can't we be the ones to lead this?
Alexander Paporakis is an independent candidate for Rosehill Ward in the upcoming Moonee Valley City Council elections. You can follow and support his campaign via these links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexanderpaporakis
Website https://www.alexanderpaporakis.com/
