news, act-politics, leanne castley, rebecca vassarotti, emma davidson, new mps, act assembly, inaugural speech, maiden speech
Country music-singing, single mum of two Leanne Castley doesn’t think she fits the mould of a politician. She says she’s really just a chick from Charny. Giving her inaugural speech at the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, the new Liberal member for Yerrabi said politics should be about ordinary “battlers” like herself. “A few weeks ago Assembly staff addressed me: ‘Ms Castley, may we order some new crockery for your office?'” she said. “No one has ever spoken to me that way. “Working in office admin in Kingston many years ago, I remember my boss sighing as she said ‘Leanne, could you sound less Charnwood and more Kingston?’ “The perks and privileges for politicians, the deferential treatment – it throws me. “Few people receive their own free car space, and with the politicians’ car park being next to the public one I am conscious of that privilege every day, as I see ordinary workers lining up to pay for parking tickets.” Ms Castley rejected political labels of conservative and progressive, saying they meant nothing in her part of town. She said she just wanted to represent ordinary Canberrans. “The only label you can slap on me is ‘battler’,” she said. “Why do we in politics put ourselves in such limiting groups, play silly political games behind factional walls and eye each other with suspicion? “No wonder ordinary people have had a gutful.” One of two new Greens ministers, Emma Davidson, used her inagural speech to highlight her years working in the community sector, and how her small-town upbringing had instilled in her the importance of volunteering. “In the town where I grew up, there were more community associations than buildings, because people working together is what builds a community,” she said. “It’s why I followed the example set by my parents and started volunteering as a teenager. “I’ve lived in Canberra for over 25 years now, coming here after finishing high school, but that spirit of volunteering and being of service to my community continues.” She said she would work with everyone in the Assembly for the common good of the community, but also had a swing at her political opponents. “To any of my Labor or Liberal colleagues who put politics above progressing towards a more equal, fair, and respectful Canberra, and care for our planet, I won’t be angry with you – I will be disappointed,” she said. “Doing politics differently means holding ourselves to a higher standard of integrity.” Fellow Greens minister Rebecca Vassarotti said she had spent most of her life calling for change from afar. She decided a few years years ago it was time to get off the sidelines and get involved in politics. “It came from a deep conviction that people in public life needed to be deeply connected to the communities they serve and the need for political representatives to have a strong understanding of the diversity of people’s experiences – beyond the small circles that we usually travel in,” Ms Vassarotti said. She said as Environment Minister she would act decisively to respond to the ecological crises we face and ensure ecosystems are protected. “My focus over the next four years is to work tirelessly to do everything we can to make this city a more connected, caring, sustainable place,” she said. Liberal Member for Ginninderra Peter Cain – a former maths teacher and lawyer – said he was shocked when the Liberals lost the 2016 election. He thought they were a shoe-in. Just a few months later he decided to join the ACT Liberals for the first time. He said he was concerned about how issues were discussed in the public arena, and insulting language was aimed at intimidating those with differing ideas into silence. “I was becoming very worried for our society,” Mr Cain told the Assembly. “What occurred to me then, and has crystallised strongly with me now, is that the best government policies arise from free and open discussion. “The desire to shut down and de-platform differing opinions is contrary, in my view, to the fundamental Westminster principles of our parliamentary democracy.
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Country music-singing, single mum of two Leanne Castley doesn’t think she fits the mould of a politician.
She says she’s really just a chick from Charny.
Giving her inaugural speech at the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, the new Liberal member for Yerrabi said politics should be about ordinary “battlers” like herself.
“A few weeks ago Assembly staff addressed me: ‘Ms Castley, may we order some new crockery for your office?'” she said. “No one has ever spoken to me that way.
“Working in office admin in Kingston many years ago, I remember my boss sighing as she said ‘Leanne, could you sound less Charnwood and more Kingston?’
“The perks and privileges for politicians, the deferential treatment – it throws me.
“Few people receive their own free car space, and with the politicians’ car park being next to the public one I am conscious of that privilege every day, as I see ordinary workers lining up to pay for parking tickets.”
Ms Castley rejected political labels of conservative and progressive, saying they meant nothing in her part of town. She said she just wanted to represent ordinary Canberrans.
“The only label you can slap on me is ‘battler’,” she said. “Why do we in politics put ourselves in such limiting groups, play silly political games behind factional walls and eye each other with suspicion?
“No wonder ordinary people have had a gutful.”
New Greens ministers Rebecca Vassorotti and Emma Davidson. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos
One of two new Greens ministers, Emma Davidson, used her inagural speech to highlight her years working in the community sector, and how her small-town upbringing had instilled in her the importance of volunteering.
“In the town where I grew up, there were more community associations than buildings, because people working together is what builds a community,” she said.
“It’s why I followed the example set by my parents and started volunteering as a teenager.
“I’ve lived in Canberra for over 25 years now, coming here after finishing high school, but that spirit of volunteering and being of service to my community continues.”
She said she would work with everyone in the Assembly for the common good of the community, but also had a swing at her political opponents.
“To any of my Labor or Liberal colleagues who put politics above progressing towards a more equal, fair, and respectful Canberra, and care for our planet, I won’t be angry with you – I will be disappointed,” she said.
“Doing politics differently means holding ourselves to a higher standard of integrity.”
Fellow Greens minister Rebecca Vassarotti said she had spent most of her life calling for change from afar. She decided a few years years ago it was time to get off the sidelines and get involved in politics.
“It came from a deep conviction that people in public life needed to be deeply connected to the communities they serve and the need for political representatives to have a strong understanding of the diversity of people’s experiences – beyond the small circles that we usually travel in,” Ms Vassarotti said.
She said as Environment Minister she would act decisively to respond to the ecological crises we face and ensure ecosystems are protected.
“My focus over the next four years is to work tirelessly to do everything we can to make this city a more connected, caring, sustainable place,” she said.
Liberal Member for Ginninderra Peter Cain – a former maths teacher and lawyer – said he was shocked when the Liberals lost the 2016 election. He thought they were a shoe-in. Just a few months later he decided to join the ACT Liberals for the first time.
He said he was concerned about how issues were discussed in the public arena, and insulting language was aimed at intimidating those with differing ideas into silence.
“I was becoming very worried for our society,” Mr Cain told the Assembly.
“What occurred to me then, and has crystallised strongly with me now, is that the best government policies arise from free and open discussion.
“The desire to shut down and de-platform differing opinions is contrary, in my view, to the fundamental Westminster principles of our parliamentary democracy.
