Ed Bryant is almost constantly surrounded by children. The teacher and director of junior programs at Footscray Rangers soccer club in Melbourne’s inner west may not have any of his own, but his thoughts about politics are inevitably moulded by young people.
Bryant lives in Ardeer, on the western edge of the electorate of Fraser. The seat stretches from the Maribyrnong River, only 5km from the CBD, almost to the western boundary of greater Melbourne.
Bryant, 26, grew up in Spotswood, another suburb of the west, and feels part of its working-class history.
He thinks that because Melbourne’s west has always been a Labor stronghold politicians do not think it is worth fighting for. That sense fuels a growing antipathy towards politics that he believes is far from uncommon among his generation.
Tell us about an average week for you
Obviously being a teacher I basically work from 9-5 Monday to Friday. On Mondays and Wednesdays as soon as work finishes I’m at the soccer club, and I’m usually there until 10 that night [Bryant trains with the senior team after junior training finishes]. There’s no games at the moment, but once that starts weekends will be taken up too.
Other than work and the club, [my week is] pretty low-key. A bit of reading, might try to head out camping, I like watching a film or playing video games, or just hanging in.
What does your housing situation look like?
We bought a house last year in Ardeer, my fiancee and I. We live there with our two dogs.
What are the major stressors for you right now?
Hecs debt, that’s a big problem. It’s indexing more than what I pay off working full-time on a graduate teacher’s salary.
Crime is a big issue as well that’s sparked recently. We’ve had big issues not just in the suburb I’m working in, but also around work. I’d say youth crime has become a massive problem, and when I say youth I mean under 25, it certainly seems to be getting worse.
Interest rates as well, as a homeowner. The rate cut is helping with some of that stuff, but promises about cutting Hecs debt rates, if that’s followed through, that would be good.
A federal Ibac, hearing that promised last election, I just think corruption is a big issue as well … and that links in to being a teacher in a way as well, we’re held to such a high standard, and there’s a body of ethics that we’re held accountable to.
Our teachers and frontline workers … are paid significantly less than politicians, but are held to such a high standard of scrutiny, it would be nice if that was mirrored at a federal level.
Are you better or worse off than three years ago?
Better off, to be honest. Certainly in terms of lifestyle. Back then, I was working as a grad lawyer, and working those conditions, I’m glad to have made a change. And cost-of-living pressure has eased off, in a subtle way. Some of that is probably because of state policies, things like being able to get the V/Line to work, which saves … about $50 a week.
Where do you get your news from?
I read the Age online, and Reddit, that’s a good source of news you might not get on the Age, international news. Never from TV, and very rarely listen to the radio. Podcasts, not really. The Age lost its relevance in a way, I read that far less than I did during the pandemic. I think print news has changed a lot, even since then … and I read the Guardian more for the feature articles and for work, and for sport.
What are your hopes for the future?
For future generations, as an educator, I’m concerned about environmental factors more than anything. I want us to be signing up to environmental treaties, pushing grants for solar panels, that type of thing.
The thing that really scares me about future generations though is AI and … what will be our purpose going forward as humans. It’s a scary thing!
Who will you vote for at the election?
Probably Labor … [what has changed is] it’s not an open desire to vote for Labor, it’s more for a lack of options. No one has ever really seemed like a good alternative. Either it’s through a lack of trying, or a lack of presenting at all.
You know how Labor doesn’t bother in areas where they don’t have a chance, like [in the state byelection for] Prahran? It’s like the opposite of that in the western suburbs: no Green or Liberal candidates take it seriously.
Ultimately, it’s about who has the country’s best interests at heart, and that comes back to the Ibac thing as well.
The cost of living affects us, it doesn’t affect the ruling class. And when there’s not accountability for politicians either, I think that’s where a lot of disenchantment with them comes in.
