Greens candidate lives local, votes first

The Northern Territory is the only Australian parliament without a Greens member and Jonathan Parry is trying to change all that.

THE only candidate that can actually vote in Saturday’s Fannie Bay by-election has cast their ballot.

Unsurprisingly, The Greens’ Jonathan Parry voted for himself when he cast his vote at the Northern Territory Electoral Commission’s CBD early voting centre on Wednesday.

But he doesn’t believe election candidates should be made to live in the area they’re contesting.

“It’s a really good question and I think that the answer will be given by the people of Fannie Bay,” he said

He said local issues should drive voter decisions.

“What’s really important are the issues for the people for Fannie Bay and I’m calling on the major parties for bipartisan support and bipartisan action on the issues that actually matter to people in Fannie Bay.

“Vote for me for three reasons – justice, climate action and accountability.

Jonathan Parry is the only candidate to vote in the Fannie Bay by-election. Picture: (A) manda Parkinson

“I’m a Legal Aid lawyer, I’ve worked in the justice system and I know what real justice looks like for communities.

“I’m going to push the government further and further on climate action so we’ve got a sustainable future for all Territorians and we can keep our lifestyle.

“I’m also pushing for accountability because good financial management and good governance are things that are important to people in the Territory.”

Mr Parry lives in Parap, just metres from the primary school polling place where voters will jostle with market-goers for car parks when polls open at 8am Saturday.

Three of the remaining candidates live in Palmerston, one in Darwin’s northern suburbs and one in Darwin City.

Mr Parry said the Covid-19 pandemic showed the importance of people-focused policy.

“We’ve seen in the pandemic that you can’t separate the economy from the well-being of the people,” he said.

“We know that when people are sick or unwell and unable to work, supply chains fail and that’s why the well-being of people and the health of the community is the same thing as the economy. It’s common sense.”

The Territory is the nation’s only parliament without a representative from The Greens.

The Greens performed strongly in suburbs in the Fannie Bay electorate at the May 21 federal election, with 19.4 per cent of the vote in Parap and 20.6 per cent of the vote in Ludmilla.

Mr Parry is also buoyed by The Greens’ strong electoral showing in Brisbane, where they won three seats and the Teal Independents, who defeated six Liberal MPs in the House of Representatives.