NSW upper house: Animal Justice Party’s Emma Hurst beats out David Leyonhjelm, One Nation picks up second seat
Vegan bodybuilder Emma Hurst has beaten David Leyonhjelm to a spot in the NSW upper house.
The micro-Animal Justice Party has won its second seat in the NSW Legislative Council, with vegan bodybuilder Emma Hurst elected, joining Mark Pearson in as an upper house MP.
The result saw Ms Hurst beat Christian Democrat Paul Green by about 8000 votes to the spot.
She also defeated Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm and Keep Sydney Open’s Tyson Koh to the final spot of 21 elected members when preferences were finally distributed today from the March 23 election.
In a statement on her Facebook page today, Ms Hurst said: “You believed, so we won.
“You believed that the Animal Justice Party can make a difference in parliament.
“You believed that together we can change the world. You believed, and because of your confidence in us, we won! Today I write to tell you the wonderful news that the animals have another voice in parliament in NSW.
“We’ve shown once again that when we all come together, our movement is more powerful than anything the Shooters and Fishers or the National Party can throw at us.
“Tens of thousands of residents voted in the Animal Justice Party because they saw what we saw — that it is time for change.
“But this is just the beginning. Now the real work begins. I won’t be some politician full of empty promises — I plan to do whatever it takes to make changes for animals because there are still millions of hens in cages, there are koalas having their homes torn down, and there are animals being shot from the skies. For them, we must seize this opportunity.
“We now have the chance to get another member of parliament in the Federal election. I’ve never been more confident that we will.
“Let’s be relentless, audacious and tenacious. Let’s demand change. Let’s rise fearlessly and step into this moment.
“For the animals — let’s do this!”
One Nation picks up second seat
One Nation under Mark Latham has won two seats in the NSW upper house and will form a conservative coalition to hold the balance of power with the Christian Democrats and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers.
Overall, after the final NSW Legislative Council preferences distribution this morning from the March 23 state election, the Coalition won eight seats (taking their number to 17), Labor won seven seats (taking their number to 14), the Greens one (three), the Shooters Fishers and Farmers one (two), One Nation’s Mark Latham two, Animal Justice Party one (two).
The Christian Democrats have one seat, with Paul Green missing out. Justin Field moved from the Greens to sit as an independent after the election.
Because Premier Gladys Berejiklian has nominated Liberal John Ajaka as the President, the Coalition needs five crossbenchers to get legislation up if Labor opposes it.
Ms Berejiklian told The Weekend Australian on Saturday that she believed there was a lot she could achieve without legislation.
One Nation’s Rod Roberts was elected in the 21st and last spot.
Mr Roberts, a small businessman and former detective who retired from the police force in 2000, made his first phone calls to his wife and national One Nation leader Pauline Hanson to inform them of the result.
He said Ms Hanson congratulated him and told him he should never have doubted he would get there.
The result means it is likely Ms Berejiklian would need the support of One Nation, the Shootets and CDP Fred Nile to get laws though.
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