New teal candidate announced in Melbourne ahead of state election

A young mum has entered the battle for an ultra-marginal Melbourne seat in a contest against one of the state’s most senior Liberals.

A new teal candidate has officially been announced in Victoria ahead of the upcoming state election.

Lawyer and journalist Nomi Kaltmann will be running as a “teal” independent in the ultra-marginal seat of Caulfield in Melbourne’s southeast, which is currently held by deputy Liberal leader David Southwick.

The 30-year-old mother of three, who has previously worked for two Labor MPs, including former minister Marsha Thomson and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, was approached by Voices of Caulfield at the end of last month and was officially nominated on Friday.

NCA NewsWire understands she is meeting with Climate 200 on Tuesday to discuss funding for her campaign.

Ms Kaltmann, who is Caulfield born and bred, said her electorate was ready for a shake up.

“It’s really exciting,” she said.

“I think that Caulfield is ready for change.”

Ms Kaltmann will be facing off against deputy Liberal leader David Southwick at the state election. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

The independent is running on the same policies as the federal teals, such as high-profile Monique Ryan who snatched former treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s seat of Kooyong at the recent federal election, including gender equality, greater action on climate change and integrity in government.

Ms Kaltmann, who is the president of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, is a well-known figure in the Melbourne Jewish community which predominantly resides at Caulfield and its surrounds.

She is also the Australian correspondent at Tablet Magazine, the largest Jewish newspaper in the United States, and has had her work reported on in major Australian newspapers on several occasions.

Alex Fein, president of Voices of Caulfield, said they had looked at a variety of candidates, but Ms Kaltmann was “the clear winner”.

“Caulfield deserves the best independent candidate to represent it in the parliament and we think Nomi is a brilliant candidate who has the drive, passion and community backing to succeed,” she said.

Ms Fein said Australia had shown it was ready for more women to jump into the political arena.

“Voices of Caulfield seeks to actively promote women to positions of leadership and we are so pleased that Nomi will be the candidate for Caulfield,” she said.

Originally published as New teal candidate announced in Melbourne ahead of state election