Teacher Jess Teesdale backed by PM for ‘must win seat’ of Bass
The Labor candidate who will take on sitting federal Liberal MHR Bridget Archer has finally been announced. Find out who it is.
Tasmania
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared Bass a “must win seat” as he announced teacher Jess Teesdale as the candidate to take on sitting Liberal Bridget Archer in one of the most marginal seats in Australia.
In Launceston on Sunday, he described Ms Teesdale as a “fantastic” candidate who had spent her life helping others through education.
“It’s absolutely winnable,” the PM said.
“It’s one of the most marginal seats in the country, at around about 1 per cent.
“Bridget Archer’s, I think, a good person, but she’s a member of a bad party. A party which increasingly is seeing any moderate voices driven out.”
Mr Albanese said it was to her credit that Ms Archer had opposed her party on some issues but “it hasn’t changed their view”.
“They’ve continued to become more and more conservative, more and more right wing as time has gone on,” he said.
At the 2022 election, Ms Archer became the first MHR to hold Bass for two consecutive terms since Labor’s Michelle O’Byrne, who held the seat from 1998 to 2004.
Ms Teesdale, 37, a teacher at Launceston’s Indie School, will take leave without pay to contest the election.
She grew up in Launceston and graduated from the University of Tasmania in 2010 but was unable to get a job in the state so she moved to the Northern Territory.
“I have left the classroom aiming to create a broader change,” she said.
“Within a classroom you can create a really huge impact, but that impact is on between 15 to 30 students and their families. I’m now looking to create an impact on a national scale.
“After 10 years of teaching in the Northern Territory, I saw very clearly how much national funding and dollars create an impact, particularly for regional and remote communities.
“It’s really frightening to see how the rest of the world is becoming so divisive, and the rhetoric is so angry and hateful, and to see the way that impacts the students that I work with has been really hard.”
Ms Teesdale believes Bass has benefited from a Labor government including with a new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Launceston.
She joined the Labor Party four years ago “to work towards building a stronger, healthier community”.
“It is very close. A vote for Bridget is a vote for Peter Dutton and that’s a truly terrifying thought.
“I’m running to ensure that no people have to leave to access good job opportunities, they don’t have to leave to have quality education, or to be able to access affordable healthcare.
“I think with supporters like we have here today, I believe that we can do anything.”
With the election tipped for March or May, Labor is yet to announce its candidate for Clark held by Andrew Wilkie since 2010.
Former Labor leader Rebecca White will run in Lyons, Senator Anne Urquhart will stand in Braddon and Julie Collins will recontest Franklin.
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