THE ACT Greens have announced their candidates for the 2016 Territory Election, after hundreds of ACT Greens members voted in preselection over the past three weeks.
The ACT Greens will run fifteen candidates across the five electorates, with Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury preselected as lead candidate in Kurrajong, former-MLA Caroline Le Couteur in Murrumbidgee, Rattenbury’s Chief of Staff and former small business owner Indra Esguerra in Ginninderra, long term social justice advocate and women’s rights advocate Veronica Wensing in Yerrabi and clean energy analyst Michael Mazengarb in Brindabella.
“Canberra is a progressive, forward-thinking place; and the ACT Greens is the party to take Canberra into the 21st century. We have a team of fantastic candidates and thousands of members and supporters who are ready to campaign for a fairer, more sustainable and more innovative Canberra,” Shane said.
“This year we celebrated 20 years of the ACT Greens in the Assembly, and in that time we have achieved so much. The ACT is leading the country with our ambitious renewable energy target and we were the first jurisdiction to end marriage discrimination under the law. Having Greens in government this term has made a real difference. I am very pleased to stand with such a high quality team of candidates and am looking forward to continuing to talk with the community about connecting Canberra with light rail, improving water quality in our lakes and waterways and progressing legislation to legalise medicinal cannabis for the sick and dying.”
Caroline Le Couteur reflected on the achievements of the Greens in the Legislative Assembly and said she was proud and humbled by the support of the party.
“When I was one of four ACT Greens MLAs, we achieved substantial reform in the Legislative Assembly in planning, energy efficiency and animal welfare. I have decided to run again as a candidate for the ACT Greens because I believe in a more sustainable and compassionate Canberra. I am excited about the opportunity to hear from the community of Murrumbidgee about what issues matter most to them,” Caroline said.
Indra Esguerra brings a diverse range of experience to the ACT Territory team with over ten years in the ACT Legislative Assembly, she owned a small eco-fashion business for 9 years and spent 4 years as the Station Manager of 2XX radio.
“Canberra is a smart, prosperous city with an engaged and active community. As our city grows, we face challenges and opportunities. The challenges of a growing city include urban sprawl, more traffic and stretched services. But, with political courage we have an exciting opportunity to expand light rail across all of Canberra, and to support and grow innovative small businesses and our arts and cultural scene,” Indra said.
Yerrabi lead candidate Veronica Wensing said she’s excited to campaign with the ACT Greens to protect and celebrate the diversity that makes Canberra so special, and stand up for the most vulnerable members of our community.
“I was born and bred in Canberra, and I believe that it’s Canberra’s unique diversity that makes it such a dynamic capital city. Canberrans have a strong sense of social justice, and I am proud to be standing with the Greens to promote a fairer and more equal Canberra,” Veronica said.
Lead candidate for Brindabella Michael Mazengarb has spent the last seven years working in the clean energy sector and knows that embracing a clean energy future is not only essential to tackling dangerous global warming, but will make our air cleaner and our power bills cheaper.
“The Greens have a vision for Canberra, and for Tuggeranong, of a liveable, connected and clean-energy powered city. I have always been passionate about our environment, and sustainable development, and I am looking forward to talking to the community about the Greens’ vision for Tuggeranong,” Michael said.
The ACT Greens candidates were announced on Sunday afternoon to ACT Greens members.
“I am feeling very optimistic about the Territory election. I have been out at community stalls over the last few months, and the one message I hear consistently is that people are tired of the petty politics up at Parliament House and want an ACT Government that gets on with its own progressive, sustainable vision for our Territory. The ACT Greens are determined to do just that,” said Mr Rattenbury.
The full list of Greens candidates is online.
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