By Jorian Gardner
FOLLOWING the surprise and unexpected announcement that MLA Deb Foskey will not be re-contesting her seat in Molonglo, the Greens have quickly moved to announce their candidates for the October ACT election.
The loss of Foskey and her predecessor Kerrie Tucker’s recent failed Senate bid leave the Greens with possibly the lowest-profile, local leadership in a long time, a problem compounded by the decision to put their hopes in what they are calling their three “lead” candidates, one in each of the Territory’s electorates.
While they have several candidates in each area, the three lead candidates are:
Shane Rattenbury, Molonglo: The big hope to replace Deb Foksey in Molonglo, Rattenbury is resident of more than 20 years of the ACT. He recently spent time living and working in Asia and Europe and has worked for Greenpeace for the last 10 years. He holds degrees in economics and law from the ANU.
Meredith Hunter, Ginninderra: A previous candidate on the Greens Senate ticket for the ACT, Hunter was born, raised and educated in Canberra. She lives here with her partner and three children and is currently the director of the Youth Coalition of the ACT.
Amanda Bresnan, Brindabella: Passionate about social justice and mental health, Bresnan is a previous Federal candidate for The Greens. She is currently the acting director, policy and projects, with the Mental Health Council of Australia.