THE WA Greens have picked first time candidate Bhuwan Khadka to run for the seat of Belmont.
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.
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READ NOW“I knew nothing about the Greens except their leader was Bob Brown,” he said.
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,” Mr Khadka said.
“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,” he said.
“People are trying to hold onto things so they don’t mix with each other so much.”
He said the greatest concern for Belmont residents was crime.
“I support a 24/7 police station – 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.”
Mr Khadka earned a Diploma Community Services and has been studying a Bachelor of Social Work at Curtin University while working for disability provider Senses.
“I want to help people as much as I can, students, neighbours, anything I can do to make a difference,” he said.