Rebecca Vassarotti, former deputy leader of the ACT Greens, has been returned to the Legislative Assembly in a countback following the resignation of Shane Rattenbury last month.

Ms Vassarotti said she felt delighted and privileged to return.

“I’m here to work beside the communities of the inner north and the inner south, and tackle the big problems,” she said.

Her priorities include dealing with the skyrocketing cost of living; housing affordability; access to affordable services; and climate collapse and environmental degradation.

Ms Vassarotti was elected to the Assembly in 2020; in the previous term, she served as minister for the environment, heritage, homelessness and housing services, and sustainable building and construction. She lost her seat in the 2024 election.

Ms Vassrotti described herself as “a lifelong advocate and community organiser”. She has spent the past 18 months “on the front lines, working with vulnerable people”, and involved with causes from food relief to community housing. Before entering politics in 2020, she held leadership positions in YWCA Canberra, ACOSS, and the International Network on Hepatitis and Substance Use.

Following Mr Rattenbury’s resignation, Ms Vassarotti and other unsuccessful candidates for the seat of Kurrajong Marilena Damiano (independent), Harrison Pike (First Nations Party), Jenny Hentzschel (Family First), Ramon Bouckaert (Canberra Liberals), and James Cruz (ACT Greens) — contested the seat.

ACT Electoral Commissioner Damian Cantwell AM conducted the countback of votes. A computer program counted the original scrutiny up to the point when Mr Rattenbury was elected, using ballot papers that listed him as their first preference and other ballot papers that distributed preferences to him.

Ms Vassarotti, who was expected to be re-elected, returned in a landslide: several thousand votes ahead of the runner-up.

Party leader Jo Clay warmly welcomed Ms Vassarotti back on behalf of the ACT Greens.

“She comes to us with experience from the last term — that is fantastic, because there is a lot of work to do for our Canberra community here in Kurrajong. We are really pleased to have Rebecca to rejoin our team today.”

Both women politicians are now in the running to lead the ACT Greens. The party’s grassroots members will choose the leader. 

“This is not a contest between two individuals; this is an opportunity to have deep conversations with our membership [about] the direction and vision for our party,” Ms Vassarotti said.

Ms Clay agreed. “We are a really united team. Our whole party room and our party make decisions by consensus, so we all work really collaboratively… It actually doesn’t matter who wins on one level, because we will all be working together.”

Although Mr Rattenbury stated he was resigning from politics because of the toll of public life, some have speculated that he was pushed out by Greens members unhappy with his attempt to form a coalition with the Canberra Liberals. Ms Vassarotti said that she could not envisage forming partnership with the Liberals at this time. She paid tribute to Mr Rattenbury’s “amazing work, tireless efforts, and legacy”.

As for ACT Labor, Ms Vassarotti said the party had been in power for a long time, and that many were “really disappointed” about community outcomes.

Ms Vassarotti said she was excited to be on the cross bench. In her view, people are exhausted by a political system that seeks to exclude them; the solution, in her view, lies in working with everyday people.

To that end, Ms Vassarotti will launch a series of community initiatives. A community launch party will be held at the Gang Gang Cafe at 6pm on 25 June, hosted by DJ D87. Three deliberative town halls, led by Tim Hollo, will give Canberrans a platform to share their biggest struggles through the cost-of-living and climate crises. They will be held in Ainslie (12 August, 6pm), O’Connor (25 August, 6.30pm), and Griffith (12 September, 11am).

“I recognise that this is a real responsibility that I owe to Canberrans now, and I’m really looking forward to creating this momentum where we can build on the collective power of the community,” Ms Vassarotti said.