Federal Election 2019: Dobell election candidates
With 16 days until the federal election, meet the people behind the politics running for the seat of Dobell.
THE race for Dobell is officially underway with confirmation five candidates will vie for the seat held by Labor MP Emma McBride.
Ms McBride, a pharmacist, grew up on the coast with her family entrenched in the community. She holds the seat by a 4.8 per cent margin and said providing “quality healthcare” was at the very centre of her motivation to enter politics.
Another well-known member of the community is Liberal candidate Jilly Pilon. The mother-of-three entered the political world following the death of her son Banjo in 2015.
“After losing Banjo, the community rallied around our family in support of a skatepark in memory of Banjo and to give kids a safe place to skate,” she said.
“I had always wanted to make a difference but didn’t really know how. I decided I wanted to do more.”
Greens’ Scott Rickard is a former volunteer firefighter and is passionate about urgent action on climate change, while United Australia Party candidate Aaron Harpley-Carr said his nieces inspired him to stand.
“I look at them and the Australia they are growing into, versus the Australia I grew up in and I can’t help but see the changes,” he said.
Retired firefighter Gregory Stephenson, the brother of golfer Jan, will have a second crack at Dobell.
“I made a commitment to my grand daughter that she should have a lifestyle as good as I had or better and I do not believe that the major party’s will deliver this,” he said.
Paula Grundy will run for the Christian Democratic Party but did not respond to requests for information.
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