Given that Julia Banks (née Lolatgis) has been a member of the Liberal Party for not much more than a year, and the seat she has won was virtually owned previously by the popular Anna Burke, Ms Banks’ victory in the federal election is all the more remarkable.

From a business background, this working mum, who traces her political education back to the challenges faced by her Greek parents, struck a chord with voters big time, and it’s clear that communication – her ability to connect with the electorate – was the deciding factor.

Much has been made about one aspect of communication in that campaign – what the media has called her “sophisticated” use of social media to cut through to voters in Australia’s third most culturally diverse electorate, and particularly, how her campaign’s WeChat account provided a platform to pitch the Coalition’s policy positions to the local Chinese community.

With the 2011 census showing more than 15 per cent of Chisholm residents as speaking a Chinese language at home, and more Chinese migration into the electorate over the past five years, given that the Chinese community use WeChat as their social media platform of choice, it was an important conduit to getting the message across to an influential section of the electorate.

One Chinese Australian Labor supporter went as far as suggesting Banks’ campaign team were posting “disinformation” in a volunteer-run social media campaign. It’s an accusation Banks refutes absolutely.

“WeChat was just one element to communicate to the people of Chisholm,” she says, “whatever was put up was similar to our Facebook posts, about the economy, stability and leadership.
“The commentary on these platforms is the commentary of the public, but there was nothing unusual about the way we used it,” says Banks.

In Victoria and beyond, the Coalition’s use of WeChat and other platforms has been reported as a success in the fight for ethnic-minority votes, even though Liberal sources told SBS after the election that the party leadership had not chosen to focus on the ‘ethnic’ vote.

Banks echoed that approach. “While Chisholm is a very culturally diverse electorate, at the end of the day, regardless of people’s heritage or language or culture, people want to be heard and consulted, and listened to, that was my umbrella philosophy throughout the campaign,” she says.

“I learned from my 20 years in business where I’ve worked in senior roles in very diverse businesses; it’s the old adage that applies – pick up the phone, go and meet people one on one. Nothing beats that.

“Out of all the activities one has to undertake in this role, the thing I absolutely love is engaging with people. That’s what gets me out of bed in the morning.”

Banks says state government issues played no small part in her victory, and while hitting the phones and pounding the streets, she noticed voters didn’t buy the state versus federal divide.

State Labor’s plans for Sky Rail and Premier Daniel Andrews’ handling of the CFA dispute certainly impacted Banks’ support.

“My view, and clearly also the view of many people in Chisholm is that ‘no, those are ‘people’ issues’. If you want volunteers to be governed by the iron fist of the trade unions, that’s a people issue.
“With Sky Rail, there was zero consultation with the people of Chisholm. The Labor government said we’re going to shove this down your throat and refused to listen, in public meetings people were crying, because they were told that this whopping thing was going to cut a swathe through their backyards.
“If there had been proper communication it would have made all the difference.”

Banks talks of being less a politician and more a channel for her electorate to get their concerns across, but there’s no doubt she’ll be as driven as any other MP in holding up the Liberals’ core values.

Banks says what riled her most about Labor’s election campaign was their communications about Medicare.

“Coming from business, for me the whole ‘Mediscare’ message, that was the most appalling thing.
“I got so many calls from constituents. One, the most emotional for me, was from a man who’s voice was quivering. He said ‘Julia, my wife has just been diagnosed with cancer. Please, please tell me this whole Medicare thing isn’t true.
“As he and his family was recovering from hearing about the diagnosis, he had received a call in the dead of night from a Labor party person telling him that the Liberals were going to cut Medicare.
“He started crying. I told him that Medicare is not going to be sold. It’s an absolute lie.”

The combative and communication-savvy Julia Banks made a connection with the voters of Chisholm that has important lessons for the Liberals. It’s little wonder Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull showed such delight in her performance when he travelled to Oakleigh last week to congratulate her. He could do with more MPs like Julia Banks.

It may be chilly in the national capital, but she’s sure to get a warm welcome.