The 32-year-old has spent the past four and a half years leading Moira Foodshare, which supports people across 29 rural and remote towns, including Cobram.
Mr Rouel said demand for food relief had grown dramatically during his time with the organisation, from about 800 to 900 people a month when he started to now between 5500 and 6000.
“It’s really nice helping people every day, you get to see some of the most vulnerable in our community,” he said.
Mr Rouel grew up on a family farm in Yarrawonga with his two younger brothers before moving to Bendigo to study teaching.
He later switched to a business degree and went on to work for the Bendigo Tennis Association, eventually becoming its chief executive.
The organisation was heavily affected by COVID-19, with its workforce falling from about 24 staff to four almost overnight.
While visiting his family in Yarrawonga, Mr Rouel saw an advertisement for the coordinator position at Moira Foodshare.
“I thought, ‘That would be a really cool job,’” he said.
“So I applied for it ... in the end I got it and I thought ‘okay, I'll move home’, which seemed crazy at the time, but I love it and I think I have the best job in the world.”
Mr Rouel said his work in food relief gradually sparked his interest in politics.
He was initially hesitant to run, but his views changed over the past year as he saw issues beyond food relief affecting the region.
“There’s a lot of the battles that aren’t just in food relief; it’s in health, education, roads, services, all those types of things,” he said.
Mr Rouel said his decision to run for One Nation had “turned a few heads”, but the community response had been “surprisingly really positive”.
He said One Nation’s support for Moira Foodshare was a major factor in his decision, stating the party helped secure $150,000 in Victorian Government funding for the organisation this year.
“From my own experiences through foodshare, I would consistently ask every single party to support us, to come out and help, to advocate,” Mr Rouel said.
“Every single party came out, got a photo and wanted to talk about it, but only one backed it up.
“They followed through with it and I thought, ‘I want to be part of a party that doesn't just talk about change, delivers on change.’ ”
Mr Rouel said the disparity between services available in regional areas and major cities was “huge” and argued Ovens Valley was being overlooked.
“We’re being asked to accept less than other places, and we have to beg and fight to just to get an equal share,” he said.
Ovens Valley encompasses the towns of Cobram and Yarrawonga, extending through to Wangaratta and the alpine region.
It has been a safe Nationals seat since 1945, with member Tim McCurdy holding the seat since 2014, originally becoming the member for Murray Valley in 2010 before transferring to the renamed seat.
Mr Rouel said the electorate’s long history as a safe Nationals seat meant voters needed more options.
“If we want to start getting our fair share ... we need to put a compelling case forward that there's more than one option on the ballot paper,” he said.
Mr Rouel said he believed that for a long time it had been “a bit taboo” to be a One Nation supporter, but attitudes were changing.
“People are finally understanding that, if I talk locally, the National Party have held this seat for 81 years, 24 elections, and it has not once been marginal,” he said.
“Unfortunately, if you look at where the money is being spent and where people are getting support, it’s those super marginal seats.”
Since announcing his candidacy about two weeks ago, Mr Rouel has been travelling through the electorate, meeting business owners and residents.
Consistent with his employer’s stated commitment to political neutrality, Mr Rouel has voluntarily stepped back from his role with Moira Foodshare to ensure his election campaign is conducted entirely in a personal capacity and remains separate from his employment with the organisation.
“I think after 81 years of one party having the seat, I believe it’s time for a new voice,” he said.
Outside politics and food relief, Mr Rouel is passionate about sport and family, regularly watching his younger brothers play football and recently becoming an uncle for the first time.
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