The two best mates wanting to bring a fresh voice to the City of Melbourne

With a wealth of experience in entrepreneurship and public health, the two best mates who are behind the councillor-only ticket Innovate Melbourne are looking to approach local government a little differently if elected in October.

The number one candidate on the ticket, Andrew Rowse, is the director of the Melbourne Entrepreneurial Centre Programs at the University of Melbourne, while the second candidate, Jesse Greenwood, works in public mental health.

Beginning his engineering engineering studies at the University of Melbourne in 2007, Mr Rowse admits “I’ve got to get out of Parkville at some point in my life” but considers his location amid the city’s innovation district to be the perfect home for someone dedicated to entrepreneurship.

The pair behind Innovate Melbourne said that running for the City of Melbourne allowed their passion for innovation and the city to coalesce.

At the heart of the campaign is supporting residents and, if elected, they are looking to use their respective fields of study and work, to provide a unique perspective on all matters that come through Town Hall.

In fact, Mr Rowse went so far as to say that if there’s an epithet to remember him by it would be “how to impact residents Rowsey”.

Mr Greenwood admits he won’t be elected, with the ninth and final seat their one chance given they are a councillor-only ticket, but he said that their point of difference to other councillors was their expertise in their respective fields.

“Both of us have very strong skill sets that really complement the role of a councillor, we can provide that voice, ask tricky questions and are not afraid to have difficult conversations,” he said.

A recent example that Mr Rowse said should have undergone a more thorough due diligence process was the e-scooter ban led by the incumbent Lord Mayor Nick Reece.

“In my world, we would understand what the specific problem is, we would look at other ways that we might have solved that rather than just this kind of nanny-state-esque way of saying, ‘well, it’s either in or it’s out’,” he said.

That might feel like a really kind of small decision in the council room, but how is that actually going to impact on the ground and can we just pump the brakes.

Mr Rowse would look to bring a solution-orientated approach to council which would involve critically analysing everything that passes through the chambers so that the decisions made are informed, not reactionary.

Innovate Melbourne is not endorsed by a political party, which was a decision that the duo behind the ticket made to ensure that they are able to represent the community’s interests and have a genuine solution-oriented approach.

A functioning government, according to Mr Rowse, shouldn’t make decisions based on political affiliations and while this is more evident on federal and state level, he said it existed at a local level and that it was time restore balance. 

He said he was determined to utilise his solutions-based approach to ensure key projects like the Arden Precinct work for residents, exploring ways that strategic planning can transform the area into a dynamic hub.

Mr Rowse believes the city must do more to nurture our local startup ecosystem to boost job opportunities, by prioritising them in tenders and creating targeted incentives to provide crucial support to the local economy. •