George Beardsley is a retired secondary teacher, who is married with three children and two grandchildren. In the past, he worked in a number of areas, including the printing industry, as a professional diver and a trade instructor before going on to teach humanities and work as a careers counsellor. He has been a dedicated union member for almost forty years - eighteen of them in the Printing and Kindred Industries Union and twenty-one in the Australian Education Union.

In his local community, George is a committee member of the Mount Eliza Association for Environmental Care and also is the under 14s nipper trainer for the Mornington Lifesaving Club. Over the years, he has attended rallies and helped out on campaigns on issues such as the Franklin River, anti-logging, and anti-war. George's hobbies include surfing, lifesaving, diving, camping and travel.

"In the 1970s, I first heard about climate change and its long-term implications for our planet. The Greens are the only party who have consistently campaigned on this issue."

Some issues which George feels are important to the region include:

• ending logging in water catchment areas

• defending the green wedges against Melbourne 2030

• halting channel deepening

• real action on climate change

The Eastern Victoria Region covers an area from Warburton and Omeo in the north to the south-east coast in the south, and from Portsea, Beaconsfield, Belgrave, Lilydale, Wonga Park and Coldstream in the west to the New South Wales border in the east.

For more information on the new electoral system for the Upper House, visit the Victorian Electoral Commission's website: http://www.vec.vic.gov.au