The federal elections to be held on Saturday 3 May 2025 will see at least 24 candidates of Greek origin contesting seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Among them is John Photakis, who on behalf of the Greens is seeking election to the lower house in the seat of Kingston, South Australia.
The young candidate spoke to SBS Greek and tells how from a young age he felt strongly the need to help people and stand up for the most vulnerable.
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Ακούστε εδώ ολόκληρη τη συνέντευξη με τον John Photakis στα αγγλικά
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"When I was young I was asked what I wanted to do when I grew up. I had a lot of choices, but what I really wanted was to help people. I had a very strong sense of social justice. I was thinking about what kind of society I wanted to build and I always ended up with the Greens. When I studied their policies and saw who their elected representatives were, I realised that our values were aligned."
Speaking about his experience through the local community forum, he stresses that the most meaningful insight he has gained is that communities can become more resilient and more united when they have the ability to organise themselves collectively.
He explains how the skills he gained from community action are almost directly applicable to politics, especially in terms of preparing for natural disasters, technical breakdowns or other crises.
“I never had a word for it, but for a long time I've been working to empower communities - to build local cohesion, resilience, harmony. It's about empowering communities to be resilient to change - whether it's more frequent weather events, power outages or technological failures. If we have resilience, we can recover faster and more united," he notes.
Photakis outlines the Greens' philosophy on climate change with a simple but apt example: "if you have a fire, you don't pour oil on it", stressing that no new coal or gas mines should be opened.
When you have a fire, you don't throw oil on it. That's why we don't want new coal or gas mines to open.John Photakis
At the same time, it refers to the need for communities currently dependent on fossil fuels to gain the tools and autonomy to transition to a model of sustainable and secure energy development.
"We do not want climate change to worsen. When you have a fire, you don't pour oil on it. That's why we don't want new coal or gas mines to open. We know that some communities in our country depend on natural gas. We want those communities to have control over their future and the ability to live in a low-emissions future in a safe climate," he said.
On the housing crisis, he points out that the policies of the last few decades - particularly tax breaks for investors such as negative gearing and the capital gains discount - have driven up prices.
The Greens, he says, propose phasing out these privileges and returning the state to its role as a developer of affordable homes to buy or rent, with the aim of relieving younger generations and vulnerable groups.
"Right now we have a housing crisis, and successive governments have led us there. There is a complete lack of government funding for public housing. Previously the government used to build houses that people could buy or rent. The Greens want to overturn these policies and get the government back involved in building public housing that people can afford to buy or rent.
My family came from Greece to escape the Nazi occupationJohn Photakis
"The Greens want all welfare benefits to be above the poverty line - whether it's JobSeeker, Austudy, Youth Allowance or pensions. We want education to be accessible to all, without financial barriers. We want free education - from childcare to university, with full funding for state schools, free TAFE and universities."
He also recounts the story of his family who fled Greece during the Nazi occupation and found in Australia peace, security and opportunities for a better tomorrow.
For him, representing the Greek community in parliament is not only a duty - it is also a personal mission, a return to a country that gave him the opportunity to dream and move forward in his life.
"My family came from Greece to escape the Nazi occupation. My grandfather's brother came first and sent letters back saying: 'You will love Australia - it has peace, prosperity and opportunity. The roads are paved with gold." And slowly the rest of the family came. I can't even imagine what our life would have been like if we had stayed in Greece," he said.
John Photakis is one of the young Green candidates who aspire to bring fresh ideas on social policy, climate action and community empowerment to the political stage.
He is standing as a candidate in Kingston, a seat that covers the southern suburbs of Adelaide, from Hallett Cove to Maslin Beach, and includes areas such as Morphett Vale, Hackham, Aberfoyle Park and Flagstaff Hill.
It has traditionally been the seat of the Labour Party, with Amanda Rishworth representing it since 2007.
Candidates standing in the same seat are Jim Rishworth with the Liberal Party, who is in fact Amanda Rishworth's cousin, Bin Liu with the Animal Justice Party, Nathan Skrlj with One Nation, Steven Price with Family First and Russell Patrick Jackson with the Trumpet of Patriots.
