Bhuwan Khadka: Practising your |culture can be difficult.
Camera IconBhuwan Khadka: Practising your |culture can be difficult. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

First-time candidate Bhuwan Khadka to run for Greens seat in Belmont

Sophie MooreSouthern Gazette

Mr Khadka caught the eye of Greens party officials when he volunteered for their 2016 Federal election campaign.

Arriving in Australia from Nepal in 2008, he was a Labor supporter at first.

“I knew nothing about the Greens |except their leader was Bob Brown,” he said.

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Mr Khadka then took the Vote Compass Quiz on ABC Online.

“I saw I had more in common with the Greens so I read their policies and joined the party right away,” he said.

Mr Khadka and his wife built their first house in Belmont a year ago.

“It has so much potential,” he said.

“When I think about Belmont I think about the Forum – that’s the centrepiece.

“The Forum redevelopment is a great thing. But with the Airport Link, Belmont will be the gateway to the city, putting its name on the map.”

Mr Khadka said Belmont was very multicultural but segregated.

“Practising your culture in a foreign country is difficult. People are trying to hold on to things, so they don’t mix with each other so much,” he said.

He said the greatest concern for Belmont residents was crime.

“I support a 24/7 police station,” he said.

“Even if people don’t need to use it, having it open gives everyone peace of mind.”

Mr Khadka was born and raised in a small Nepalese village famed for its fruit and vegetables.

His father, a farmer, paid for his son’s education at a local private, English- speaking school but could not afford to send him to university.

“I wanted to do engineering so I was very disappointed,” Mr Khadka said.

His elder sister scraped together all her savings to send him to Australia.

“She gave up her education in Year 8 to look after my younger sister and me,” he said.

“She was like a mother figure to me.”