Toowoomba’s candidates for Groom at upcoming federal election revealed

The final candidate has been revealed in Groom for the upcoming election, and he’s actually secured a slight advantage. Here’s everything you need to know about the people vying for your vote:

The final person to announce themselves as a candidate in Groom at the upcoming federal election has secured first place on the ballot sheet.

The Australian Federation Party’s Ryan Otto was drawn first by electoral officers during the random ballot draw in Wilsonton on Friday, with the top position offering a small but observable advantage.

Groom will field eight candidates at the May 21 election, the largest number since 2013.

One Nation’s Grant Abraham was second, followed by the Greens’ Mickey Berry, United Australia Party’s Melissa Bannister and independents Kirstie Smolenski and Suzie Holt.

The LNP’s Garth Hamilton and Labor’s Gen Allpass occupy the bottom two places.

ABC election analyst Antony Green said having first position on the ballot can earn a candidate “donkey votes”, where voters number all the boxes from top to bottom.

Six party candidates and two independents have now put their names forward for the election, which will be held by the end of May.

Here are profiles (written at the time of their announcement) on everyone declared:

GARTH HAMILTON MP (LNP)

A mining engineer and the seat’s current member, Garth Hamilton sprang out of nowhere to claim the LNP’s nomination in October 2020, before comfortably securing Groom at the subsequent by-election created by the retirement of John McVeigh.

Mr Hamilton was born in Southport in 1979 and won a scholarship to attend Ipswich Grammar School.

“It changed my life,” Mr Hamilton said in his candidate booklet shared to party members before the 2020 preselection vote.

“Without that financial support, my parents could never have afforded to send me there and the wonderful opportunity was not lost on me.

“Very early in my time at Ipswich I decided to follow the school’s proud history of producing mining engineers and in 1997 I entered UQ to do just that.”

After graduating from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Engineering in 2001, Mr Hamilton worked in London.

He said charity and volunteer work has also been key to his life, having been an active member of the Rural Fire Brigade.

“I became heavily involved in the Wooden Spoon Children’s Charity, fundraising for projects that provided specialist facilities for children with serious physical and mental challenges” he said.

“The opportunity arose to create a new branch of the charity focused on London city based fundraising and served in the role of secretary in its initial two years.”

He lives in Toowoomba with his wife Louise and three children, Adeline, Red and Claude.

“We have made the Darling Downs our home and have come to realise our own little piece of the Australian dream,” he said.

He was previously a columnist for conservative news outlet The Spectator.

Mr Hamilton recently announced a $25m funding deal to create the Railway Parklands project in the Toowoomba CBD, as part of the SEQ City Deal.

GEN ALLPASS (LABOR)

Genevieve Allpass, a journalist and former chief executive of a Toowoomba-based refugee advocacy charity, will contest the Coalition-held seat of Groom as the Labor Party candidate at the next federal election.

Leader of the Opposition, Anthony Albanese announced in June Ms Allpass had been picked to be the Labor Party’s federal candidate for the Toowoomba division.

Ms Allpass is currently a teachers’ assistant focusing on English at a Toowoomba high school.

The passionate unionist spoke at the Labour Day flag raising ceremony held at the Toowoomba Railway precinct last month, addressing several local, state and national challenges faces by workers from a range of backgrounds.

Despite facing a steep battle in the electorate which has only had LNP members since its inception, Ms Allpass said this wasn’t her first foray into politics having been involved with local politics and social issues all her life.

“Over the last several years I have been a voice for people within the Groom electorate who have otherwise gone without a voice including refugees, workers, women and Indigenous members of the community,” she said.

“I believe a lot of different groups need support right now, especially when it comes to affordable long term housing and social housing which is an issue I think desperately needs to be addressed in the Groom electorate right now.”

RYAN OTTO (AUSTRALIAN FEDERATION PARTY)

A former Toowoomba science teacher who was stood down over his stance on the state’s vaccine mandate is the final candidate to be announced for the upcoming federal election.

Ryan Otto, who was involved in local anti-mandate protests and joined the Convoy to Canberra earlier this year, will represent the Australian Federation Party in Groom.

Mr Otto said he had only decided to run two days before nominations closed, but was drawn first on the ballot sheet during the random selection process on Friday.

The 25-year-old said while his policy platform would be created based on local polling of the community — an essential selling point by the party — he was supportive of environmentalism and animal rights and the national “freedom” movement.

“I’d been going to these protests and I met a good friend of mine from Warwick and he decided to support the Australian Federation Party,” he said.

“It’s never really been in Queensland but it’s put together a team across both the electorates here.

“I believe the AFP is running very much like the UAP and Pauline Hansons’ One Nation, alongside the Freedom movement, who are pushing back against the Coalition’s Covid-19 mandates.

“That’s a big part of it, but for me personally, environmentalism and animal welfare are key components of my platform.”

Mr Otto also expressed concerns about the Inland Rail and its impacts on “native flora and fauna”.

According to the AFP’s website, the party is fiercely against the vaccine mandates and what it calls Australia’s “top-down” political system.

The AFP also states it “opposes precepts that undermine individual responsibility and character development”, while also claiming the country’s existing representatives “behave like unaccountable Marxist dictatorships”.

The group advocates for a decentralised system, taking inspiration from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, where MPs vote on issues based on the views of their constituents and not with the party line.

It is the promise of direct democracy, delivered through open source technology, that attracted Mr Otto to the party.

“A big thing the AFP has going for them is they’re developing an app to allow for direct feedback and a more involved democratic process,” he said.

“The two-party system has a very static way of interacting with the public and the AFP’s ideas of uplifting that and making it more dynamic and interactive for the average person is great.”

MICKEY BERRY (GREENS)

Toowoomba’s Greens candidate at the upcoming federal election says the party will focus on more social housing and action on climate change for the city.

Mickey Berry has joined the growing list of names fighting for the seat of Groom at the May election.

The 23-year-old, who has been involved with the progressive-left party for five years, said they would promise to expand funding for public accommodation to combat the growing housing and rent crisis affecting Toowoomba residents.

They said there was a stronger appetite for more progressive voices in parliament, even in a safely conservative seat like Groom.

“There is a little bit of change coming, with climate change being such a prominent issue,” Berry said.

“We’re seeing the impacts of climate change now and (people are) willing to vote more progressively.

“We are (also) currently in a housing crisis, so there is work that could be done to help renters and people trying to get into homes.

“I’d love to see more social housing built and more rent control to help the little guy.”

Berry said the Greens would also prioritise the expansion of Medicare for both dental and mental health, as well as advocate for free university and TAFE to support younger people.

The Greens performed historically strongly at the 2019 federal election, with previous candidate Alyce Nelligan capturing nearly eight per cent of the primary vote in Groom.

Berry said they would like to see Groom become a more marginal seat to secure a better deal on infrastructure from the next government.

“We can make it a bit more balanced rather than a 100 per cent conservative seat,” they said.

“There are a lot of younger people coming up and voting in this election for the first time (and) younger people are a lot more aware of social issues than they used to be.

“Ultimately, we’re in a conservative region and I’d love the chance to make a difference.”

Five of the seven candidates for Groom at the election are either women or non-binary, which Berry said was an endorsement of changing demographics and public sentiment.

“It’s fantastic to see more women stepping up and taking action and wanting to make a difference,” they said.

SUZIE HOLT (INDEPENDENT, VOICES OF GROOM)

A former social worker has announced she will be throwing her name in the ring at the next Federal election.

One of the co-founders who established Voices of Groom earlier this year, Suzie Holt has been endorsed by the community group as a candidate for the Groom electorate.

Stepping down as co-founder when the group called for independent candidates to nominate themselves for the endorsement, Ms Holt presented to a group of 50 people, at a public forum last year.

The mother-of-two daughters who has lived in the region since 1993, said she will apply her experience as a social worker to the role, should she win the votes.

“My heart is in mental health and aged care and those are real issues for the region,” Ms Holt said.

“We have one of the highest rates of suicide and self-harm so I will be looking at the National Mental Health policy for a solution and working alongside the relevant stakeholders to implement recommendations from the royal commission into this region.”

And while she’s new to the world of politics, her family isn’t.

Ms Holt said her mother was a member of the Liberal party in Brisbane, while her grandfather was involved with a political party in the South Burnett.

The independent candidate said issues that were at the forefront of her mind included supporting the arts and renewable energy projects, homelessness, aged care, mental health and suicide prevention.

While Voices of Groom members may choose to assist with Ms Holt’s campaign, the group will not be providing funding for any candidate.

KIRSTIE SMOLENSKI (INDEPENDENT)

Another independent candidate has thrown their hat in the ring for the federal election and she hopes the result will make history.

Former nurse Kirstie Smolenski said her decision to run in the Groom electorate stemmed from her growing desire to help the community.

An active volunteer, she works closely with Tony’s Kitchen and as the volunteer co-ordinator for St Vincent’s Private Hospital.

And should she win the majority of votes, the mother-of-five said her focus will be on climate change and housing affordability, among other important issues.

“I was very active in Toowoomba’s recycled water debate 15 years ago, but we still do not have any significant action in this area despite almost 70 per cent of voters wanting increased action on climate change and sustainable living solutions,” Ms Smolenski said.

Now working in a vaccination clinic for Queensland Health and helping to run a family-operated construction company, health and supporting local businesses remains high on the candidate’s priority list too.

It’s not the first time the candidate has stepped into the world of politics, after she ran in the Toowoomba Regional Council election in 2020.

And while she didn’t win the votes on that occasion, Ms Smolenski said the experience prepared her for the federal election race.

MELISSA BANNISTER (UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY)

A Toowoomba health worker and local anti-vaccine mandate organiser has been announced as the Groom candidate for Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party, but she insists the campaign will be about more than restrictions.

Melissa Bannister has announced her candidacy for the upcoming election, having been inspired to sign up for the UAP late last year during the peak of the anti-mandate movement.

Ms Bannister, who was raised and schooled in Toowoomba and has a diverse corporation background, said her focus was not just on the current restrictions but also support for small businesses.

“Groom deserves a representative who supports our small businesses and believes in our community’s abilities to decide what is good for them,” she said.

“I was certainly a big organiser in a pro-choice gathering late last year, and that brought together concerned business owners and residents about how they continued to be affected by restrictions and mandates.

“Many businesses will never recover, some have closed their doors.

“I’ve spoken to two local travel agents about how much the industry has lost — hospitality has really suffered as well.”

Ms Bannister also expressed interest in projects like light rail in Toowoomba as well as finding greater water security for the region.

When asked how many people she believed had died from Covid, Ms Bannister said the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggested the country should be “logical” about its approach to Covid, pointing to the number of people who had comorbidities.

GRANT ABRAHAM (ONE NATION)

A former Toowoomba cop and child safety officer has been unveiled as One Nation’s Groom candidate at the upcoming federal election, outlining a host of local national issues he wants to address.

Grant Abraham, who stood down from the Queensland Police Service last year over the vaccine mandates and after a decade in the force, will try to capitalise on what believes is dissatisfaction with the major parties over the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Abraham said he believed Groom voters were looking for an alternative.

“The major parties are promoting their own agendas, not working for the people so it highly motivated me to get involved,” he said.

“I believe there’s a large following of people who want to vote the majors out.

“We understand the government will (most likely) be either Labor or the LNP, but we need to get more heads (in parliament) who will make a difference.

“If I get voted in, I will advocate for the Australia I remember growing up in, the land of opportunity.”

One Nation performed strongly at the 2019 election, polling third on first preferences with more than 13 per cent of the vote.

Mr Abraham said his focus would be on supporting small businesses and farmers, boosting public transportation in Toowoomba, fast-tracking the Inland Rail and improving water security.

Mr Abraham also expressed his views on a range of national issues that echoed One Nation’s leaders, including foreign ownership, education reform, improved manufacturing and opposing mandates around the pandemic.

Originally published as Toowoomba’s candidates for Groom at upcoming federal election revealed