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The Canberra Times

Jasper Lindell

Prominent ACT community sector figures to run for Labor

Labor Andrew Barr ACT ACT Labor Gary Ramage Joy Burch Canberra

Three senior figures from Canberra's community sector will run for ACT Labor at the October election.

Heidi Prowse, an executive at Capital Region Community Services; Tim Bavinton, the executive director of Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT; and Anna Whitty, the chief executive of Northside Community Services, have been preselected for the party.

The party has unveiled its full 25-member ticket, with every Labor Assembly member except Joy Burch to recontest their seats. A full list by electorate is at the end of this article.

ACT Labor leader Andrew Barr said his party's plan would seize the opportunities for Canberra over the next five years.

"ACT Labor has progressive, practical and proven plan for Canberra's future. I look forward to working alongside this energetic team over the coming months to put forward our plan to Canberrans," Mr Barr said.

Party secretary Ash van Dijk said the candidates came from a range of backgrounds and had different life experiences.

"ACT Labor's candidates are reflective of the communities they seek to represent, from small business owners to community sector leaders, an early childhood educator and a volunteer firefighter," he said.

"Our candidates are proudly team Labor, as the only party that can deliver both progressive and practical government for Canberra."

Labor candidates Anna Whitty, Heidi Prowse and Tim Bavinton. Picture by Gary Ramage

Martin Greenwood, a director at the Centre for a Better Canberra and a volunteer firefighter; Aggi Court, a PhD student and Labor staffer; and staffer Marina Talevski will run in Kurrajong alongside Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith.

Mr Bavinton and Mrs Prowse will run in Ginninderra, along with public servant and stand-up comedian Sean Sadimoen. Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry and City Services Minister Tara Cheyne will recontest their Ginninderra seats.

Mrs Prowse, who has worked with Camp Quality, Cystic Fibrosis ACT and Mental Illness Education ACT, last year received the Medal of the Order of Australia in the King's Birthday Honours for service to community health.

"I have a personal mission to solve complex community issues and I'm willing to get in from the ground up to create change," she said at the time.

"That was set into overdrive when I fell in love with my late husband who was living with cystic fibrosis."

Taimus Werner-Gibbings, the public servant and Shakespeare by the Lakes founder, who was dropped from the ticket due to affirmative action before being restored as a candidate after an intervention from Mr Barr, will run in Brindabella.

Louise Crossman, a lobbyist and former ministerial planning adviser, will also run in Brindabella, along with Brendan Forde, a senior adviser to federal member for Bean David Smith, and Caitlin Tough, Endometriosis Australia ambassador and public servant.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr with new Labor candidates in Canberra. Picture by Gary Ramage

The seat attracted intense interest in preselection after Ms Burch, the current Assembly speaker, announced her retirement. Mick Gentleman will run again.

Pradeep Sornaraj, a public servant and community worker who led a push for access to free period products in the ACT, will run in Yerrabi with Ravinder Sahni, self-employed, and Mallika Raj, the national co-chair of the Australia India Business Youth Forum.

Michael Pettersson and Suzanne Orr are recontesting their Yerrabi seats.

Newly minted Planning Minister Chris Steel and Marisa Paterson will seek to retain their Murrumbidgee seats, while government lawyer Nelson Tang and Ms Whitty run alongside them.

Noor El-Asadi, a public servant, will also run in Murrumbidgee after she was moved from Brindabella as part of an intervention to resolve the internal party stoush over candidate gender quotas and Mr Werner-Gibbings' preselection.

Here's a list of each ALP candidate for each seat.