Public school funding, air pollution solutions, electric vehicles: a St Leonards local on the key issues shaping their vote
The cello teacher spoke in depth about the issues affecting her as a dual-income home-owning mother of two.
Melissa Mantle
April 17, 2025
The North Shore Lorikeet sat down with St Leonards resident Eleanor Betts to share her views on the cost of living, education, air quality, and how these concerns are deciding her vote for the election.
Eleanor is a cellist, teacher and Mum to two young kids and describes herself as “reasonably politically engaged” though notes it’s harder when you’re “bogged down” in family life.
The Lorikeet: What are the key issues shaping your vote for this election?
Eleanor Betts: Climate change action, support for sustainability locally and nationally, public education, health and women’s issues.
Who will you be voting for and why?
At this stage, I probably will vote Labor and preference Greens after that. I did think about an alternative to that, but last election I was in the North Sydney electorate and we had an independent get in which was great. Given that I’ll be in Bennelong, I feel the importance of preferencing Labor first because it could go Liberal and that would be the worst case scenario.
I do like there being a Greens presence in the parliament to help push certain initiatives over the line, although they don’t always do a good job of that. I think they have quite ambitious proposals and policies that, because they’re not in government and aren’t going to be, they can dream big and get people excited.
But ultimately I think I vote pragmatically, especially because this is literally the first time I’ll be in anything even approaching a marginal seat. Last time was exciting because of there being the possibility of an independent unseating a Liberal candidate which she did and that was very historic.
You mentioned that you’d like to talk to me about young families in the area.
I just feel like this electorate is interesting because of all the apartments going up. We’re in an apartment and politicians are really sleeping on the fact that there are going to be a whole lot of families in this area all renting because the housing market is insane.
I think [politicians] think this area is traditionally right-leaning, conservative, [and people] live in houses … and I think that they think that this area is extremely well served by private schools - which it is- but that’s not going to be an option for families who have $1 million+ mortgages living in apartments.
When we have a $6000 health emergency come up, for example, that’s a huge thing. We have to borrow money for that kind of situation. And we are two full time working people on pretty average decent incomes, so if that’s a surprise amount of money for us that throws things massively out, then private education is laughable.
They’re not fully aware of the situation that young families would be in, in terms of there not being a choice for private education if that’s what they’re relying on us logically doing.
The federal side of that is the fact that they’ve announced that public schools will have full Gonski funding if Labor is reelected and that’s a massive decider for me. So hopefully it wont continue the situation of Cammeraygal High School being full, because that’s what we’re zoned for.
Public schools in this area are great but the fact I teach at private schools really shows me the disparity. This will be a federal issue but it’s not going to happen: I feel like my controversial take would be reducing federal funding to private schools. Given that I see them very much from the inside, I just think it’s obvious.
What else is on your mind?
Another huge thing for me is pollution from cars. My son is at this preschool on Pacific highway. I worry about it daily. I think about the air quality. My daughter is at Anzac Park Public which is right next door to the Warringah harbor tunnel project and to the already eight lanes of above ground traffic. And the fact there’s going to be an unfiltered pollution stack from that new tunnel that no one seems to be able to get - Labor or Liberal - to agree to be filtered. I don’t know why. That concerns me.
What else would you like to see done?
Electric vehicle (EV) take-up: federal and state support for the purchase of and charging of EV vehicles.
My parents have an EV and I have a hybrid. I'd love to get an EV. I’d feel a lot less climate guilt that way. But there needs to be more infrastructure for people in apartments who now make up I think like 20 percent of NSW but only a very small percentage are able to be solar-powered for example.
Recently I liked the look of grants for converting strata apartments to solar. It would be huge for me. As a renter, which I’ve been a lot, you have no power when it comes to your power sources. But even as an owner in a strata building you don’t have the option to control that either really.
