Madeleine Ogilvie to run for Nelson in Legislative Council election

UPDATED: Former Labor MHA Madeleine Ogilvie has thrown her hat into the ring for the upcoming Upper House elections.

Former Labor MP Madeleine Ogilvie is running as an independent for Nelson. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

MADELEINE Ogilvie has vowed to work as a true independent and act on the will of the Lower House should she be elected to the Legislative Council in May.

The former Labor MHA has handed in her party membership and will run for the seat of Nelson when Legislative Council president Jim Wilkinson retires at the next election.

Ms Ogilvie is a lawyer and said she believed the Upper House needed representatives with legal expertise for the house of review to be truly effective.

“The Lower House generates the laws and the Upper House reviews what arrives,” she said.

“It’s a slightly different job and that means you’re not there to create laws, you’re not there to originate bills. You’re there to review, consult and have a really steady hand across the issues.”

The Upper House will likely debate contentious social legislation when parliament resumes, with transgender reform scheduled to return to MLCs in March and euthanasia expected to be introduced to the Lower House by the Greens this year.

Ms Ogilvie was a member of Labor’s minority right faction and split with the predominantly Left party on same-sex marriage and voluntary assisted dying after her election in 2014.

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Ms Ogilvie said she would support the will of the Lower House should she return to parliament.

“The rules of the road for me in the Upper House and as a lawyer — and I think this is where people get confused about where I will go with things — we are there to get the law right,” she said.

“At the end of the day, the Upper House is not there to block things. It is not its role and it is not the role that I would play.”

Ms Ogilvie — whose great uncle Albert was a Labor premier of Tasmania — was replaced in the Lower House in last year’s state election by union-backed Ella Haddad. She said she had no hard feelings towards the Labor Party and remained friends with many members.

“I don’t think there’s any desire from anyone in the Labor Party for anything but my success as an independent,” she said.

“I think I can do a lot of good for the moderates and on the social justice side of things, that would definitely be supported.”

Elwick Labor MLC Josh Willie said he thought Ms Ogilvie would “run a good campaign”, adding he had not heard that the Opposition was running a candidate in the seat. The party was contacted on Tuesday.

“We know when there are vacancies in the Upper House history shows there’s a long list of candidates who put their hands up so I wish Madeleine all the best,” Mr Willie said.

Ms Ogilvie will work as a full-time MLC should she be elected.

Her campaign will be run by friends and family and includes policies on traffic congestion, housing, health and arts.

Former footballer Blair Brownless and Civil Liberties Australia president Richard Griggs have also announced their candidacy for Nelson.

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The Liberal Party was asked if it was running a candidate.

The seat takes in Kingston, Blackmans Bay, Taroona, Mount Nelson and Sandy Bay.