Canberra Daily invited candidates running for the ACT’s two Senate seats to tell us about them, their policies and why ACT residents should vote for them in the upcoming federal election.
Animal Justice Party
Yana del Valle and Jannah Fahiz are the Animal Justice Party candidates. For more information, visit https://act.animaljusticeparty.org/. Ms del Valle provided the following response:
What is the Animal Justice Party’s platform?
The Animal Justice Party is the only political party in Australia dedicated to stopping animal abuse and protecting animals.
I am running as a candidate to give constituents an alternative to the two-party system in Australia, and to give a voice to the other 99.99 per cent of life on earth, which has no representation in the political system.
Why should Canberrans vote for you?
Canberrans should Vote 1 for Animal Justice Party if they are tired of the status quo – animal cruelty going unpunished, inaction on climate change, environmental devastation and overdevelopment, poorly planned infrastructure and public transport. I will ensure our government is held accountable for allowing our territory’s native species and natural environment to be destroyed year after year. I want the ACT to lead Australia into a new era of stewardship of the land, by working in harmony with nature and First Nations people to protect all people and animals from unnecessary harm.
What are the major issues facing Canberra, and how will you fix them?
• Secure funding for an independent council that will drive a Senate inquiry of the status of kangaroos across Australia, starting with the ACT. The community do not want these gentle, social creatures gunned down in the remnant bushland that should be their sanctuary.
• Encourage urban infill, and stop urban sprawl and negative impacts on our local and national environments.
• Improved major roads and highways; construct nature overpasses to ensure safer long-distance travel.
• Create a national register of all convicted animals abusers.
• End the government subsidies paid to the animal agriculture industry, and instead promote, incentivise, and fund the plant-based, alternative protein industry, which is projected to create thousands of jobs. Ban the advertising of animal products known to cause cancer, such as processed meat.
Could you give a brief description of your background? What is your experience in politics?
Since the 1980s, I have been advocating for improvements to the treatment of animals across Australia.
I’m on the Board of the Animal Defenders Office, a non-profit community based legal centre that deals with animal law and animal protection matters. I have also been on various committees including ACT Rescue and Foster (ARF), and kangaroo sanctuaries.
I was a candidate for the Animal Justice Party in the 2020 ACT local elections, and am the Convenor and Delegate of the Animal Justice Party’s ACT branch.
Australian Greens
Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng and James Cruz are the Greens candidates. For more information, visit https://greens.org.au/act. Dr Goreng Goreng provided this response:
Hi, I’m Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng, a Wakka Wakka woman, academic, unionist, whistleblower and proud grandmother.
I’m excited to represent Canberra’s progressive, caring, and evidence-driven community. I would bring an all-too-rare perspective to the Senate, while drawing on my experience working in frontline services, including remote Aboriginal communities, women’s refuges, homeless and disability services.
Having worked as a senior public servant, I understand that in order to address complex issues, I need to draw on the complex, detailed policy work of experts who share my values. That’s why I love the Greens platform.
The Greens are the only ones campaigning on the provision of universal services, paid for by building a more progressive taxation system. This includes
o Abolishing student debt, and making childcare, uni, and TAFE free.
o Free dental and mental health care via Medicare.
o Building affordable housing.
We can campaign on these ideas because we have done the hard work of producing a detailed, progressive tax policy. For example:
• A 6 per cent tax on billionaires like Clive Palmer would cover dental and mental health into Medicare.
• Preventing stage 3 tax cuts for the rich (people earning over $180,000 per year) would more than cover the cost of wiping student debt and making uni and TAFE free.
We are the only candidates in the ACT committed to a climate policy that aligns with what the scientists are telling us: in order to prevent catastrophic climate change and keep the world below 1.5oC of warming, we need to replace coal and gas with renewable energy this decade. Our plan for climate action includes:
• 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
• No new coal and gas mines (there are currently 116 new projects slated for approval).
• Banning donations from the fossil fuel industry.
• Creating a publicly owned power provider.
• Investment in public transport and high speed rail.
• Grants for householders and business owners of up to $25,000 and loans of up to $100,000 to turn off gas by electrifying.
I’m also really proud of our “Powering Past Coal and Gas” plan, which outlines how we can support workers and communities reliant on the extraction of fossil fuels.
Finally, the Greens will clean up our parliament, by lifting parliamentary standards, shutting the revolving doors between government and corporate boards, establish an anti-corruption commission, and critically, end the massive flow of money from the super wealthy and big corporations into our politicians.
Australian Labor Party
Senator Katy Gallagher and Maddy Northam are the Labor candidates. For more information, visit https://www.katygallagher.com.au/. Senator Gallagher provided the following response:
When I’ve been out on the campaign trail, Canberrans have raised three main issues with me:
- The cost of living is only going up while people’s pay is going backwards;
- The decade wasted on the climate wars is taking a real and devastating toll on our natural environment;
- Integrity must be restored in politics so that we can end the waste and rorts.
With the cost of living skyrocketing, there’s no one silver bullet, and the pressures that Canberra households face can’t be fixed with one-off, short-term bandaid solutions.
That’s why Labor’s taking to this election a host of policies that will help everyone stretch their dollars further.
We will make child care cheaper and more accessible for 96 per cent of families, which will help a lot of parents, particularly women, head back to work; we will invest in renewables through our Powering Australia Plan that will cut power bills by $275 a year by 2025; we will address the housing crisis through our Housing Australia Future Fund, which will build 30,000 new social and affordable housing properties in its first five years; and we will tackle job insecurity and low wages head on.
Over the last few years, fires and floods have ruined lives and livelihoods. Labor will end the climate wars, not only because it’s making it harder to live on our planet, but because the world’s climate emergency can be Australia’s jobs opportunity.
Our Powering Australia Plan will create 604,000 jobs, with five out of six new jobs in the regions. The extensive plan includes upgrading the electricity grid, making EVs cheaper, investing in 10,000 New Energy Apprentices and a New Energy Skills Program, and even installing 400 community batteries around Australia – Canberra will have three, in Casey, Dickson, and Fadden.
On the issue of integrity, Anthony Albanese has made it clear that, if elected, Labor will establish a powerful, transparent, and independent National Anti-Corruption Commission this year. It’s that simple.
It’s been a great privilege to have been able to stand up for Canberrans in the Senate over this last term. From Chairing the COVID Committee to ensure proper oversight of the government’s handling of the pandemic to introducing my anti-rorting bill and standing up for our territory’s rights, it’s been hard but rewarding work. To continue fighting the good fight, I need your continued support.
I’ve never taken anything for granted, and I’m not about to start now. This election, I hope I can count on your vote.
Australian Progressives
Therese Faulkner and Stephen Lin are the Australian Progressives candidates. For more information, visit www.progressives.org.au.
What is the Australian Progressives’ platform?
The Australian Progressives are about societal progress, underpinned by ethics, empathy, equality, and evidence. Their policies are reducing inequality (including ending poverty), fairness and transparency in politics (including ending corruption and vested corporate interests), and planning for the next 100 years (including addressing climate change, investing in future energy, and caring for the environment).
Why should Canberrans vote for Ms Faulkner and Mr Lin?
Therese is a long-term Canberran, and Stephen is a Chinese-Australian who is relatively new to Canberra and has strong ties to the multicultural community. They offer Canberrans a choice to vote for a party that is small but growing. They’re here for the long haul, with big ambitions to change the political landscape.
What are the major issues facing Canberra, and how will they fix them?
While Canberra is a generally progressive and comfortable place, there is an ever-widening gap between rich and poor which will become increasingly problematic if policy settings are not changed at the federal level. This includes greater investment in social services and the public service generally, not to mention jobs, education, and training, and more progressive policies on things like illegal drugs, and tax. If elected to the Senate, the Australian Progressives intend to introduce and influence a significant reform agenda across these areas, as well as incentives for accelerating action on climate change, especially transition to clean energy.
What is their background? What is your experience in politics?
Therese is the National President of the Australian Progressives, a party that has gained widespread support across the country. After a 30-year career in the APS (mostly with AusAID/DFAT, with eight years in the Senior Executive Service), Therese has worked for private firms since 2014 managing international projects; has been President of the Canberra International Film Festival; and has been involved with many sporting teams (as a player and a coach, mainly soccer and softball). She ran as an Australian Progressives candidate for Bean in 2019, and as a Canberra Progressives candidate for Kurrajong in the 2020 ACT election.
Stephen is a native of Wuhan in central China, and brings a fresh and different perspective to the issues in the ACT. Before settling in Canberra in 2018, Stephen was a community lawyer in Queensland. He works as a human services contractor, working on the frontline of support for people experiencing hardships and disasters. Stephen ran as a Canberra Progressives candidate for Murrumbidgee in the 2020 ACT election.
Informed Medical Options Party
Michael Simms and Mary-Jane Liddicoat are the Informed Medical Options Party candidates. Canberra Daily asked Mr Simms for a profile, but received no response. For more information, visit https://imoparty.com/Michael-Simms.
Kim4Canberra
Professor Kim Rubenstein and Kim Huynh are the Kim4Canberra party candidates. Professor Rubenstein provided this response.
I’m not the only person disappointed with the way politics is being done. We need to restore integrity into all decision making, and ensure climate change action. The party system, where politicians represent their party, not the people, has left so many of us disheartened. Faith in politicians and political institutions is at an all-time low. As a passionate advocate for active citizenship, I feel it is my duty to use my skills that I have been using on the outside of Parliament, and bring them into Parliament.
I moved to Canberra with my husband Garry and our two children in 2006 to continue my work as a lawyer – and legal scholar in the universities – teaching, writing, and sharing my expertise in the media on many issues about which I am passionate. I know how to draft and interpret legislation, the main duty of the Parliament. I’ve regularly appeared before parliamentary committees and Senate estimates as an expert: I understand the Parliament. I can review the conduct of the government, which is central to the role of the Senate.
The major issues facing Canberra:
Here’s what Canberrans are telling me. First, something needs to be done about integrity in politics. And it leads into why we haven’t seen meaningful action on climate change, a response to the housing and health crisis, and safety for women.
How do you expect the election to go?
We know for certain that no matter who wins the election in the lower house, neither major party will have a majority in the Senate. For this reason, it is even more important to have a strong cross bench in the Senate as each piece of legislation needs to pass both houses. I expect and hope the election will see more women in Parliament. In particular, across the nation, the profound disillusionment with the way the parties are doing politics will lead to an influx of votes for Independents like me.
Party politics has become about which team you are on rather than what you want to do as a representative of the community. Our campaign has raised over $300,000, and the bulk of it has simply come from the community: people who want change. I have accepted donations from Climate 200 but it is with NO strings attached and it has absolutely no effect on my independence – for each decision I make, I will be using the lens of transparency in decision making, drawing on expert evidence, and listening to and taking into account all perspectives from the community I represent.
Legalise Cannabis Australia
Dr Andrew Katelaris and Michelle Stanvic are the Legalise Cannabis Australia candidates. For more information, visit https://legalise.org.au/. Dr Katelaris provided this response.
I graduated from Sydney University Medicine in 1982 and in 1992 was awarded a Doctorate of Medicine in the sub-specialty of Immunopathology.
My interest in Cannabis and Hemp started in 1988 while researching for solutions to the old growth forest controversy. This research opened the hidden history of the industrial uses of cannabis and the political basis of the cannabis prohibition.
Cannabis hemp was prohibited by the United States in 1937, because the DuPont company was launching nylon, the world’s first synthetic fibre, and intended to destroy the competition. Before the twentieth century, cannabis hemp was the world’s most grown crop and hemp fibre the most traded commodity.
In 1995, we produced a documentary “Billion Dollar Crop” which outlined the many uses of cannabis hemp for the production of paper, clothing, building materials, and many more items.
In 1998, I obtained the first ever licence to cultivate cannabis for scientific research and analysis.
Our research proved very successful as we demonstrated that cannabis is an efficient weed smothering and soil conditioning crop, which produced a large quantity of quality fibre, a nutritious seed and a safe and effective resin medicine.
Notwithstanding these successes, the project was cancelled on spurious grounds by the chief health officer.
Despite this I continued my research into the medical uses of cannabis, initially for the control of chronic pain and later for children with intractable epilepsy.
In 2017, I was arrested by a dozen armed police, who raided my home after I appeared in a TV report showing such treatments.
I spent six months in maximum security remand prisons prior to trial, where I was facing life imprisonment. The jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning not guilty verdicts on all charges, due to medical necessity.
We require the complete removal of cannabis from the schedule of prohibited substances, where it should never have been placed. This would pave the way for a great expansion of the hemp industries and all the benefits that it would bring: returning wealth to farmers and rural communities; rejuvenating rural centres; revolutionising our current health care system, saving billions of dollars annually going to international pharmaceutical companies; and the widespread adaptation of hempseed foods would be a health boon for young and old.
Having one senator elected will not directly lead to law reform, but it will give cannabis a voice that cannot be ignored by the current vested interests.
Help me to help you.
Dr. Fuxin Li
Dr Fuxin Li is an ungrouped Independent candidate. Dr Li provided this response.
What is your platform?
My motto is “Speaking for all and standing for harmony”.
My top four initiatives of this campaign are: multiculturalism to drive our national development; education to empower our nation; languages to unify the people; and enterprise to strengthen our country.
Why should Canberrans vote for you?
My policy is based on [my] vast experience in Australia and my long-time work with multicultural communities, especially in the field of education and community languages.
I stand for election to give a fairer and stronger voice in the Parliament House:
• To advocate social unity and harmony
• To oppose racial discrimination and to promote multiculturalism
• To build on education policies and recognise community languages
• To support women and vulnerable groups
• To support business and business development projects
• To support policies of reducing carbon emissions and to tackle climate change
• To advocate balanced international relations based on Australia’s national security and national interests
• To accept more immigrants and international students
• To support humanitarian assistance to Ukraine refugees
What are the major issues facing Canberra, and how will you fix them?
Integrity, harmony, and not being ignored in the Commonwealth Budget. I will chase the funding in the parliament if I am elected.
Increase investment for upgrading infrastructure, including transportation, public health, and schooling systems. Call for investment to build up the National Multicultural Centre in the ACT.
Could you give a brief description of your background? What is your experience in politics?
I am an Australian Chinese educator, the founder and principal of the Australian School of Contemporary Chinese in ACT, one of the biggest community language Chinese schools in the ACT.
I am the President of the ACT Community Language Schools Association (since 2018); Secretary of the Australian Federation of Ethnic Schools Association (since 2019); and National President of the Chinese Language Teachers’ Federation of Australia (since 2015). I stood for election in the 2020 ACT Election. I am also a business owner as well.
I am not a politician, but I am a community leader and educator [who can] represent the communities in politics.
I have a long experience of working with the government and politicians to deal with community issues, e.g., motion of community languages in the ACT Legislative Assembly.
Liberal Party of Australia
Senator Zed Seselja and Kacey Lam are the Liberal candidates. For more information, visit https://www.zedseselja.com.au/.
Senator for the ACT Zed Seselja says he will fight for the cost of living, housing affordability, strong national defence, and policies that support families, with lower taxes and more opportunities for small business.
“I’ve been in public life in Canberra for 18 years, and throughout all that time I’ve listened to the community. I sought to take up issues that are important.”
Senator Seselja said he and the Liberals have “a proven track record of growing jobs in the economy, of record investment in infrastructure here in Canberra – $2.2 billion in the last term from the Liberal Nationals government, the most since self-government. Record investment in health in the ACT, doubling the health spend, but also cutting taxes, protecting people’s livelihoods and lives during COVID.”
Similarly, Senator Seselja said, he had fought his whole time in the ACT Legislative Assembly and in the Federal Parliament to make housing affordable, and will continue to do so.
“We’re delivering lots of programs to support first home buyers. I’m working to secure more Commonwealth land into the market. So I’m going to do what I can to stand up for first home buyers in Canberra…”
Slade Minson (for Canberra), a real estate agent; Nathan Kuster (for Fenner), a lawyer; Jane Hiatt (for Bean), a former small business owner, educator, and navy veteran, are running for the House of Representatives as Liberal candidates, while Kacey Lam-Evans is running for the other Senate seat.
“Two senators in the ACT is very, very difficult, but we have a team, and we have a team for a reason,” Senator Seselja said.
Senator Seselja said that Jane Hiatt brings military experience, and that she, Nathan Kuster, and Slade Minson all have small business experience.
“They understand what it’s like to run a small business, and they are connected to Canberra. So I think we’ve got some very strong candidates who bring a really diverse array of backgrounds.”
YouGov polls this week have put Labor ahead of the Coalition, but other recent polls have put Scott Morrison and the Coalition ahead of Anthony Albanese and Labor.
“We are the underdogs,” Senator Seselja said. “We are seeking a fourth term, and that’s not easy. But I suspect it will tighten as people consider the record of our government when it comes to the economy, when it comes to national security, when it comes to investing in the services that Australians expect.”
David Pocock
David Pocock was endorsed by proact as the community-endorsed candidate for the Senate, with Clare Doube as his running mate. For more information, visit https://www.davidpocock.com.au/. Mr Pocock provided this response:
Through thousands of conversations this year we’ve built a policy platform that reflects what Canberrans genuinely want.
Real action to restore integrity to politics by introducing things like an integrity commission with real power. Policies that seriously address the skyrocketing cost of living, and housing affordability in particular. Someone who will stand up for our community and stop us missing out on our fair share of federal funding, especially when it comes to infrastructure and things like the NBN or enough cops in the community keeping us safe. Attracting more specialists and a better standard of care for older Australians. Support for our extraordinary local businesses.
The right to debate and make our own laws on important issues like voluntary assisted dying. Longer-term thinking about the future of our city and a commitment to sensible, pragmatic climate action like my plan to save households over $5,000 a year in fuel and energy costs and create more than 5,500 new tradie jobs by 2030.
People are telling me they’re tired of career politicians. The last few years have shown that it’s independents, people from different backgrounds, who are getting the best results for their communities. From people like the tell it like it is Senator from Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie, getting her state’s entire social housing debt wiped, or South Australian Senator Rex Patrick using freedom of information laws to hold the government to account.
That’s what we want. More transparency, more accountability. Senators who will show up and go into bat reflecting the views of those they were elected to represent.
And that’s my commitment to the people of the ACT. If elected, I will serve you with integrity and I will represent all Canberrans. I’m not here to silence one part of the community or the other, but to listen authentically and consult widely.
I have a proven track record standing up for our community, a background in professional sport where I’ve demonstrated leadership, a capacity to learn, to take on board feedback and to work extremely hard. I’ve also got a Masters in Sustainable Agriculture and have been involved in multiple community projects and small businesses.
I’m running as an independent because I want the opportunity to represent the community I love. I want to give us a strong voice in key national debates and a seat on the crossbench holding the balance of power. I want to stop them taking us for granted or treating us like second class citizens. I will be a proud champion for our city and work together, to make Canberra count again.
Sustainable Australia Party – Stop Overdevelopment / Corruption
Joy Angel and John Haydon are the Sustainable Australia Party candidates. For more information, visit https://www.sustainableaustralia.org.au/federal_2022_candidates_act. They provided this response:
Sustainable Australia Party is an independent community movement from the political centre. We support a science and evidence-based approach to policy, and are campaigning to protect our environment, stop overdevelopment and stop corruption.
Canberrans should vote for Sustainable Australia Party if they care about our quality of life in Canberra, which is being degraded by overdevelopment and the systemic corruption of the planning process by vested interests overriding the interests of ordinary Canberrans.
Importantly, Sustainable Australia Party is the only political party to challenge the folly of unlimited growth in both resource consumption and population – the twin drivers of Australia’s growing environmental problems. Sustainable Australia Party will prioritise growth in health and wellbeing, including growth in the health of our environment, education standards, job opportunities, housing affordability and democracy, over so-called ‘economic growth’ as measured by the crude economic statistic of ‘aggregate GDP’.
The current aggregate GDP ‘growth’ agenda is driven by greed and the related corruption of Australia’s political system by vested interests and is lowering Australia’s per capita living standards.
Joy Angel is Sustainable Australia Party’s lead Senate candidate. Joy has a track record of supporting her community, is a strong advocate for human rights and violence against women and children, and has extensive work experience including in the public service. She is currently an office manager in a small business legal firm.
John Haydon is also standing for the Senate for Sustainable Australia Party. John held leadership positions in community education organisations in the ACT advocating for efficient public schooling. John has lived and worked in several countries and is currently a small business consultant.
Sustainable Australia Party recommends Canberrans vote 1 for a minor party in the knowledge that their vote will flow through fully to their lower preferences if the minor party candidates are not elected. It will send a clear message that voters want action to protect Australia’s environment and quality of life.
United Australia Party
James Savoulidis and Tracey Page are the United Australia Party candidates. For more information, visit https://www.unitedaustraliaparty.org.au. James Savoulidis provided this response.
What is the United Australia Party’s platform?
The United Australia Party is about restoring and maintaining the Australian dream: to succeed economically, achieve stability and security, and leave our future generations better off than ourselves.
Why should Canberrans vote for you?
Canberrans should vote for me because I am Canberra born and raised, I truly believe we live in the best city in the best country in the world (and want to keep it that way), and will always put Australia and its people first!
What are the major issues facing Canberra, and how will you fix them?
First, the people of the ACT seek out higher education probably more so than any other state or territory. Canberrans have a real thirst for knowledge, and we at the United Australia Party when elected will make TAFE and university free, and will forgive all student debt. This will also increase many young Canberrans’ borrowing capacity when applying for home loans and assist them in buying their first homes.
Second, interest rates are set to rise, and many Australians – including those in Canberra – will face mortgage distress. Economic modelling has shown that at 4 per cent interest rates, 60 per cent of Australians will face mortgage distress, and at 6 per cent, that number rises to 80 per cent. This is a real concern for many Canberrans, especially those who bought at the peak of the market. Thankfully, the United Australia Party has a plan that will allow us to cap interest rates at lower than 3 per cent for a five-year period, and save many Australians from losing their homes.
Last, and most important, our first task when elected to government will be enacting a Bill of Rights outlawing lockdowns, protecting the right of all Australians to choose their medical treatment, and preserving freedom of speech. What has occurred over the past two years should never be repeated, not only in Canberra but Australia-wide, so we must ensure freedom forever for all Australians.
Could you give a brief description of your background? What is your experience in politics?
I have spent my entire adult life working in my family’s businesses. I am also the president and founder of the Canberra City Stallions Basketball Club, one of the largest and most successful basketball clubs in Canberra. I have no experience in politics; I am a regular person who saw the trouble our country was in and knew I couldn’t stand by and watch any longer.
