ACT Greens maintain representative in Brindabella with Laura Nuttall winning countback

It took just 60 seconds for an electronic countback process to declare ACT Greens candidate Laura Nuttall the newest member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).

A casual vacancy for the seat of Brindabella had opened following the resignation of Johnathan Davis following sexual misconduct allegations, with unsuccessful candidates from the 2020 election putting their hands up to be considered for the open position.

They were Laura Nuttall (ACT Greens), James Daniels (Canberra Liberals), Greg Baynham (Shooters, Fishers and Farmers ACT), Taimus Werner-Gibbings (ACT Labor), Brendan Forde (ACT Labor) and Robyn Soxsmith (Animal Justice Party).

Despite being a clear shoo-in for the spot, Miss Nuttall still expressed shock when ACT Electoral Commissioner Damien Cantwell read her name.

@GreensACT candidate Laura Nuttall is the seat of Brindabella’s new MLA @The_RiotACT pic.twitter.com/mHorFzpmbj

— Claire Fenwicke (@ClaireFenwicke) November 27, 2023

In her first time facing the media, Miss Nuttall said she was “elated and honoured” to be able to represent the Brindabella community.

Being the Assembly’s first Generation Z representative, she said it was now even more important to have younger people’s voices heard.

“We’re going to be the ones living with the policies of this government for the longest time to come, so I think we need a voice as soon as possible and as strongly as possible,” Miss Nuttall said.

“The Legislative Assembly is made up of 25 representatives, and until now, we haven’t had a single Gen Z voice in Parliament. Gen Z people are of voting age, we’re the ones dealing with the brunt of the housing crisis and cost of living … and I think that adding that voice to the table is a really, really important element.”

She outlined environmental and economic justice among her top priorities, including rent control and local issues such as blue-green algae at Lake Tuggeranong.

“I plan on bringing my 110 per cent. I think the people of Brindabella are 100 per cent worth it, and I just want to be a conduit for all the good ideas of the really smart people around me and all the people in the community,” Miss Nuttall said.

“I’ll be taking my cue from the community [regarding policy]. I think it’s really important we start by listening and getting a sense of what the community wants and go from there.”

Johnathan Davis had been a backbencher for the ACT Greens and was the party’s spokesperson on education, health, drug harm reduction, business, nighttime economy, LGBTIQA+ affairs, sport and recreation, tourism and events, young people, and the elimination of family and domestic violence.

No decisions have been made on whether Miss Nuttall will take on all those roles, and which committee panels she will join is still to be decided.

ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said the party didn’t want to be presumptuous about the outcome of the countback.

“Now that the result is affirmed … we’ll start internally to think about portfolio allocations and committee responsibilities – all the sorts of things that go with being an MLA,” he said.

Technical aspects aside, Mr Rattenbury said he and all his colleagues were thrilled Miss Nuttall was joining the team.

“It’s obviously been a circumstance we hadn’t planned for; it’s been a difficult period for our party, but we’re delighted that the Greens will still hold a seat in Brindabella,” he said.

“We’ll now be working to get [Laura] up to speed, to help her get out there and meet the people of Brindabella, and to continue the Greens’ strong focus of supporting the people of Tuggeranong.”

ACT Electoral Commissioner Damien Cantwell said while Ms Nuttall was the winner, he wouldn’t officially declare the result of the poll until tomorrow afternoon (28 November).

“The reason for that is that this ensures that the successful candidate has time in which to resign from any public service position before they are declared elected, should they need to do so,” he said.