For most people, seeing a photo of themselves at their parent’s house would hardly be unusual.
But for Werribee MP John Lister– who fought last year’s Werribee by-election as the Labor candidate – it was a shock to see his face on campaign material firmly planted in his mum’s front lawn.
“My mum has always had a corflute or a poster out the front of the house for nearly every election that’s happened since I was 18…we had Tim Pallas, Joanne Ryan and Julia Gillard,” Mr Lister said, listing the Labor luminaries who have enjoyed his family’s election support in the past.
“Then to go past my mum’s house one day and to see my face on the front lawn, that’s when it really hit me that I have gone from being private citizen John to representative John.“
Mr Lister, 32, took his seat in state parliament last February after winning the by-election that was triggered by the resignation of long-time Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas.
A teacher by trade, Mr Lister moved to Werribee at the age of six with his family and said his desire to help people led him into classrooms and politics when the opportunity arose.
“When the opportunity came up to run in the by-election, I had always been a Labor person…so this was almost like the planets aligning and saying this is a way to do what you have always wanted to do, which is help your town, ” he explained.
“I made the decision to become a teacher because I knew I could go back and help young people wherever I moved– but the intention was always to come back to Werribee.”
Entering public office has been a challenge, but a year into the job he said the sacrifices demanded of MPs have been worth it.
“Being an MP is not a 9am-5pm job– you are always thinking about doing the job 24 hours, seven days a week,” Mr Lister said.
“I think finding that balance between family life and just being a person who lives in Werribee who just wants to go for a run on the weekend and hangs around town to bring that face on the billboard has been a big adjustment, which can make it quite hard, but people put that trust in you to do that job for them.”
Mr Lister said the thing that surprised him most was how much influence he can have as a local MP.
“What I have realised is as a member of parliament there is so much you can do… and being part of that Labor team, I have been able to influence policies particularly around community safety.
“I never realised how much influence I had over that process… I don’t think I realised during the by-election just how much I could do in this role.”
An anthropology student at university, Mr Lister studied how communities function and has spent time in the South Pacific for field work, and is still a keen volunteer with the CFA in Werribee.
He was asked what matters most to him personally.
“I am really, really passionate about learning and by extension I am really passionate about helping young people,” he said.
“Protecting our environment, especially as someone who wants to raise kids in this town, is also really important to me.”
